Radiation risk must be recalculated for women & children
January 9, 2009 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
The United States has been taken to task for using outdated methods of measuring allowable radiation levels to prevent development of cancer. Currently, the rules are based on white, so-called, average men. However, the community is made of people from all ethnic backgrounds, men and women, different sizes, and of course, children.
According to an article that appeared in the New York Times yesterday, “The report, from the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, said the rules were still too heavily based on Reference Man,’ a standard created by the International Commission on Radiological Protection in 1975. That standard is a 5-foot-7, 154-pound man who is ‘Western European or North American in habitat and custom.””
The problem is, women and children aren’t generally 5 foot 7 inches nor weigh 154 pounds. Plus, their body make up is different when you look at fat and muscle distribution.
To read more about this issue, go to the NYT article, Report Faults U.S. Measure of Cancer Risk.
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