How many HPs does it take... -Reply

[Charles Willis <CAW@nrc.gov>]

Stephane,

Your question (how many professionals are doing HP work in the US?) is simple
but obtaining an answer is not at all simple.  We can start with the nearly 7,000
members of the Health Physics Society, but that is only a start.  My (very
subjective) guess is that, in the NRC,  about half of the people who do HP work are
members of the Society.  This might be a reasonable guess for DOE and its
contracts as well.  Certainly of the people who attend HP-related meetings, such as
NCRP meetings, no more than half are HPS members.  A number of professionals
who are specialists in dosimetry or instrumentation are not HPS members.  Then
there are over 20,000 licensees of the NRC and of the Agreement States, all with
RSOs and many with radiation or isotope safety committees.  Also, there are
people involved in the radiation safety of non-atomic energy act radiations such as
NARM, accelerators and x rays.  My wild guess would be on the order of 50,000
people.

Charlie Willis
caw@nrc.gov