RE: Does Size Matter?

[Gerald Feldman <gfeldman@uci.edu>]

You've done it now, Scott!  I can already see a new table for 10CFR20:

	Body Size	Annual Limit
	-------------------------------------------
	Gaunt		7 Rems
	Svelt		6 Rems
	Average		5 Rems
	Rotund		4 Rems
	Massive	3 Rems


(Note to NRC types:  This is a joke.  It is not to be taken seriously nor
proposed for incorporation into the regulations.)

Gerald Feldman
gfeldman@uci.edu

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At 02:34 PM 10/28/98 -0600, Scott Sorensen wrote:
>Does size matter?  Radiation dose from whole-body irradiation, expressed
>as Sv (J/Kg) or Rem (ergs/g), basically is an average energy-deposition
>concentration (on a macro scale).  As such, the more mass a person has,
>the more energy that is deposited.  The more energy deposition, the
>greater the number of free radicals (i.e., reactive species) generated.
>The more free radicals floating around, the greater the probability for
>adverse interactions with cell nuclei,  thereby initiating
>carcinogenesis.  This seems to indicate that, for stochastic processes,
>size does matter.
>
>Another way of looking at this question is considering target areas.
>Larger, non-obese people tend to have physically larger and more massive
>organs than smaller individuals.  Therefore, the number of radiation
>interactions within sensitive organs should be higher for larger people,
>given the same energy fluence.  Once again, it seems that size dose
>matter when looking at stochastic radiation effects.
>
>This is probably too simplistic...?    Any additional thoughts?
>
>-Scott Sorensen
>ssorensen@doeal.gov
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