RE: Safety or Protection?

["Frame, Paul" <FrameP@orau.gov>]

Andy:

The change was made to be consistent with the Objectives and Purposes of the
Health Physics Society as identified in article II of the Society's By-Laws.
The By-Laws had been changed sometime earlier but it took a while for
someone to notice that the Journal's by-line also needed updating.

The recommendation to change from the word "protection' to "safety" was made
by Otto Raabe at the Board of Directors meeting in San Antonio in 1997. It
would be best if he gave his reasons for suggesting the change, but to me it
seems clear that it was a PR move based on the different ways in which the
public perceives the two words. 

Safety has a nice warm fuzzy feel to it. It also implies that radiation can
be "safe."  The word protection implies that radiation is out to harm folks,
and that the Society is devoted to protecting people against an evil menace.


Wordsmithing the Society's Objectives and Purposes is a time-honored
tradition.

 
Regards

Paul Frame
Professional Training Programs
ORAU
framep@orau.gov
http://www.orau.gov/ptp/ptp.htm
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