RE: Abbreviations

["Dr. Marvin Goldman" <mgoldman@ucdavis.edu>]

At 02:30 PM 8/5/98 -0500, you wrote:
>Lorna,
>
>I'm not sure who's got the final answer on this one.  I've always
>understood that rem stood for  "roentgen equivalent man" (and I have
>several textbooks that make that assertion).  The choice of  "roentgen"
>didn't bother me because dose equivalent includes the quality factor,
>which used to be based on RBE, which used x-rays as the reference
>radiation (how's that for contorted?).  But, lo and behold, FGR-11
>includes in its definition section a statement that rem stands for
>"radiation equivalent man," and your understanding is that rem stands
>for "rad equivalent man."   Where's our historian?
>
>Philip
>
>__________________________
>Philip C. Fulmer, PhD, CHP 
>Carolina Power & Light Company
>Harris Energy and Environmental Center
>3932 New Hill-Holleman Road
>P. O. Box 327
>New Hill, NC 27562-0327
>philip.fulmer@cplc.com
>(919) 362-3363      
>
>>----------
>>From: 	Lorna Bullerwell[SMTP:ljb1@cornell.edu]
>>Sent: 	Wednesday, August 05, 1998 3:12 PM
>>To: 	Multiple recipients of list
>>Subject: 	Re: Abbreviations
>>
>>I've seen a couple of posts saying that rem stands for Roentgen equivalent
>>man.  I thought rem stood for rad equivalent man, thus not named after a
>>person.  If it is Roentgen eqivalent man, wouldn't it only be valid for for
>>x and gammas effects and for air-equivalent people?
>>
>>
>>
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>REPLY:
You are right. There is no radiation equivalent in man unit; it is and
always was an absorbed dose unit---roentgen equivalent in man, rem, mrem,
microrem, etc.(always lower case) And the old exposure unit, the R for
Roentgen, is and was R, milliR, microR, mR, etc.  And I'm old, but not the
historian.  Hope this clears it up.
Marvin Goldman
mgoldman@ucdavis.edu
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