Radiologists and protection from radiations.

Abstract

The publicity resulting from the development of nuclear power has called the attention of all thinking citizens of the world to the dangers of ionizing radiations. To the public at large and to many scientists the existence of such hazards comes as a great surprise and they treat the problem as if it had never before been considered. In studying the subject, a committee of the National Academy of Sciences found that diagnostic x-ray examinations were one of the greatest sources of exposure of the public to ionizing radiations. Ignoring the fact that such exposures are often the means of saving individual lives and of protecting the public health, and ignoring previous activities of radiologists and their colleagues, the committee called upon the medical profession to initiate a movement for protection. Without going into all the history of efforts at protection, which started in 1896, I would like to point out that in 1920 the American Roentgen Ray Society formed a committee to recommend protection measures, which committee reported in 1922. From the combined efforts of this committee and similar groups in other countries, an International Committee on X-Ray and Radium Protection was formed, which established certain rules and regulations. The original American Roentgen Ray Society committee also served as the nucleus for an Advisory Committee on X-Ray and Radium Protection which functioned under the sponsorship of the National Bureau of Standards but was made up of representatives from the various national societies and manufacturing companies interested in x-rays. In 1946, after World War II, this National Committee recognized that the problems of radiation protection were no longer limited chiefly to medical x-ray installations and therefore expanded its membership to bring in other interested groups. In keeping with this change of emphasis, the name was changed to “The National Committee on Radiation Protection.” The committee is made up of representatives of the following organizations: American College of Radiology American Dental Association American Industrial Hygiene Association American Medical Association American Radium Society American Roentgen Ray Society National Bureau of Standards National Electrical Manufacturers Association Radiological Society of North America U. S. Air Force U. S. Army U. S. Atomic Energy Commission U. S. Navy U. S. Public Health Service Three representatives-at-large There are now so many different scientific disciplines necessary to the work of the Committee that it has formed many subcommittees whose members are selected on the basis of their scientific knowledge. The main Committee is a policy-making body, which also correlates the work of the various committees. For purposes of expediency, an Executive Committee conducts the affairs of the main committee between its meetings, and much work is done by mail.