Potential Radiation Exposure in Military Operations Protecting the Soldier Before, During, and After (1999) / Chapter Skim
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5 Army Radiation Protection and Safety Programs in Light of Civilian Standard Practices and Recommendations for Improvement
5 Army Radiation Protection and Safety Programs in Light of Civilian Standard Practices and Recommendations for Improvement
Pages 64-82
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From page 64... ...
Using that information as background, the committee discusses here how well the Army radiation protection and safety programs are structured to protect soldiers. This report's focus, reflecting the charge to the committee, is radiation doses of 700 millisievert (mSv)
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From page 65... ...
This committee brought this to the attention of the Army in its interim report (IOM, 1997) in its recommendation that the Army provide soldiers the same level of radiation protection that civilians working in similar environments receive.
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From page 66... ...
The ACE Directive appears to manage all military missions involving radiation exposures as interventions. Although this is clearly appropriate for many missions (e.g., emergencies, radiation accidents, and operations involving hostile action)
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From page 67... ...
Under the committee's recommendations, soldiers would be considered radiation workers if they are assigned military duties that have the potential for radiation exposures that could result in doses in excess of ICRP limits for the public (ICRP, 1991a) 1 mSv per year.
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From page 68... ...
Likewise, the term normal risk incorrectly implies no additional risk to that from natural background radiation exposures, even though such exposures are considered to contribute very small, possibly negligible, health risks.
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From page 69... ...
Instruments sensitive to beta and alpha radiation will be useful in conducting assessments for potential skin contamination and internal deposition and for triggering appropriate protective actions. However' the exact wording of the requirement suggests that the instrumentation will be capable of measuring "dose rate." The committee is not aware of any practical and durable instruments that can directly measure beta- and alpha-radiation dose rates in the field.
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From page 70... ...
radiation workers set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (CFR, 19911. Given its consistency with these comparison figures, the radiation dose rate at the edge of the exclusion zone is reasonable for defining contaminated areas and instituting radiation protection actions.
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From page 71... ...
The commander shall ensure that the dose a soldier receives is accurately recorded upon each radiological exposure and that the total dose is annotated in his individual national medical record in accordance with national regulations (emphasis added)
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From page 72... ...
The ACE Directive (NATO, 1996) en hancements to the Operational Exposure Guidance specify that dose reference lev els are to be used with cumulative doses.
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From page 73... ...
15. Expand Operational Exposure Guidance to include radiation doses from both internal and external sources of radiation.
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From page 74... ...
. Reference Levels for Operational Exposure Guidance The ACE Directive Operational Exposure Guidance table (Annex A tNATO, 19961)
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From page 75... ...
Include radiation doses from internal sources (e.g., from inhaled airborne radioactivity) in applying reference levels in Operational Exposure Guid ~For comparisons in this paragraph the committee is assuming that the exposure is to gamma or x-ray radiation and that 1 mGy is approximately equivalent to I mSv ( I red ~ I rem)
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From page 76... ...
22. Develop separate Operational Exposure Guidance for managing practices (routine tasks involving radiation exposure)
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From page 77... ...
In a good radiation protection program all three must be intricately interwoven. Training should impart some basic understanding of radiation, communicate the risk, help the soldier to understand the ramifications of risk perception, and then place that knowledge in a context whereby the risks associated with radiation exposure can be compared with other non-radiation-related risks.
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From page 78... ...
When existing technology allows detection of radiation exposures, advance notice of radiation exposures is the goal. When feasible, radiation levels should be monitored in settings of suspected exposure.
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From page 79... ...
Army whenever possible, given military organization and operational exigencies-be guided by the philosophy and content of civilian radiation protection and safety programs (as described in Chapter 3~. This training would include, at a minimum, an understanding of the threat of radiation exposure; the principles of protection; the importance of communication, including recordkeeping; the need for follow-up after an exposure in tandem with information on possible acute effects, long-term effects, and future exposure; means of identifying actual or potential sources of radiation emission; decontamination procedures; and, in the event of exposure, the treatment of symptoms of acute radiation effects and the prevention of delayed effects.
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From page 80... ...
Adequate recordkeeping of radiation exposures has two important ethical facets. First, recordkeeping requirements should respect, to the extent possible, the privacy of the individual and the confidentiality of that person's data.
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From page 81... ...
Although records of radiation exposures may be kept for a variety of legitimate purposes, information should be collected pursuant to these objectives and not merely for the sake of having the information. No secret databases or uses of information should exist unless they are consistent with sensitive and ethical military objectives that require justified temporary nondisclosure.
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From page 82... ...
Medical records, by their nature, are created to be shared with others. Health information is lawfully exchanged among numerous parties, regardless of an individual's claim to control the circumstances in which it is transmitted.9 In the military individual interests in health information privacy must be balanced against the individual's own interests in comprehensive and accurate recordkeeping, as well as the competing interests of the military and clinicians in information concerning radiation exposure.
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