Adopting the International System of Units for Radiation Measurements in the United States Proceedings of a Workshop (2017) / Chapter Skim
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3 Exclusive Use of SI Units for Radiation Measurements
3 Exclusive Use of SI Units for Radiation Measurements
Pages 21-34
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From page 21... ...
It also summarizes opinions of the workshop participants on the benefits and challenges of the exclusive use of SI units. ISSUES WITH CONTINUING USE OF CONVENTIONAL UNITS One focus of the workshop discussions was on whether the continued use of conventional units for radiation measurements is problematic for emergency response, most notably the response to the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in Japan.
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From page 22... ...
Consequently, communicating information on environmental contamination with the various stakeholders was also delayed. DOE faced additional delays during its response to the Fukushima n uclear plant accident because of the need to produce radiation con tamination mapping products using both SI and conventional units, or a combination of the two systems, depending on the stakeholder who was requesting the maps.
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Dr. Dainiak noted that local first responders primarily use conventional units, and medical professionals primarily use SI units, especially when they are concerned with acute radiation syndrome.
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Dr. Mettler stated that there are no reports of anyone dying during the response to the Fukushima nuclear plant accident because of a conversion mistake.
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Agencies that support responses to international incidents, such as the IAEA, use SI units. In her view, the United States would face the same chal lenges during a domestic response to a radiological incident as it did during the Fukushima nuclear plant accident, unless it adopts the SI units for radiation measurements.
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From page 26... ...
David Ropeik, Harvard University, said that the public neither cares about nor understands radiation units, but it does care about what the numbers and associated units mean in terms of health effects. However, both participants acknowledged that the continuing use of a mix of SI and conventional units for radiation measurements by the government and other organizations complicates communications with the public for two reasons: 1.
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Embassy in Tokyo at the time of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, where he served as a U.S. Department of Health and uman Services technical expert in radiation dose and risk.
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cost and effort of conversion Risk for Inadvertent Overexposure Workshop participants noted that a momentary confusion between doses expressed in SI units as opposed to the more familiar conventional units could put the life of a first responder or a radiation worker at risk, if that responder or worker underestimates the amount of his or her radiation exposure. There was no discussion about how probable such confusion might be, but some participants suggested that the risk could be higher during the transition period from conventional to SI units, especially if it is prolonged.
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He often has to train British radiation workers, including radiation-monitoring technicians, who come to the United States for temporary employment. In his experience, training these workers in conventional units is feasible through intensive training over a couple of days.
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He said that some documents published by New York City would need to be updated; some of these documents were prepared within the past 5 years and relate to • radiological response and recovery plans, • community reception center field guides, • community reception center health and safety guides, and • community reception center decontamination plans.
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From page 31... ...
instrumentation companies on their perspectives on challenges related to adoption of SI units for radiation measurements. The companies were described as follows: • 4 large instrument companies with significant international business • 13 small instrument companies, some doing business primarily in the United States • 5 analytical service laboratories primarily doing business in the United States • 3 dosimetry service providers primarily doing business in the United States 5 This DHS-sponsored program assists state and local partner agencies to build regional capabilities to detect, analyze, and report radiological and nuclear threats.
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From page 32... ...
• dosimetry service companies and analytical service laboratories would also be affected because they hold large amounts of histori cal data that are in conventional units. • radiation-source manufacturing companies that do international business welcome the adoption of SI units for radiation measure ments because it simplifies the preparation of shipping.
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From page 33... ...
Mark Mendonca, editor-in-chief of the journal Radiation Research, identified long process to update radiation science textbooks and the necessity to reference older source literature as factors that delay progress toward the exclusive use of SI units. Generational Differences in Training Whether a radiation expert is most comfortable with SI or conventional units for radiation measurements and supports the exclusive use of SI units depends on the expert's training and current practices.
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From page 34... ...
Workshop participants from several agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency, said that their agency's credibility and trust was placed in jeopardy during the response to the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident because of near-miss conversion mistakes and other related issues. The exclusive use of SI units for radiation measurements has benefits, including alignment of the United States with international practice and improving communications with the public.
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