COM 0931.018 1996-1998 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Hbwai ltaftlfiW PO Box 786 Hilo, Hawaii 96721-0786 m August 3, 1998 Hawaii County Council r RECEIVED • Hilo, Hawaii Arta______ By--- Ladies and Gentlemen of the county Council: Dote.------- County Council Thank you for the opportunity to speak before you today. I am James Lambeth. I am a physician. I have lived in Hilo and practiced on this island for the past 22 years. I specialize in the practice of Radiology. My practice is now limited to radiation oncology and therapeutic nuclear medicine. I have more than thirty years experience working with radiation, both natural and man made, in diagnosis and treatment of patients. This experience includes fifteen years working with Cobalt 60. I also have thirty years experience with radiation safety programs and radiation safety program compliance enforcement by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission and its predecessor agency. What I can tell you in this forum in less than five minutes about irradiators and their safety is, of necessity, anecdotal. I have no first hand experience with food irradiation. I choose to rely on the evaluations of the evidence presented by the American Medical Association, the American Dietetic Association, the United States Department of Agriculture, the United States Pudic Health Service, the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the International Atonic Energy Agency. In summary, on the basis of observation and experiment, these organizations find food irradiation a safe and effective process. This Council's proper focus is public safety. I can offer experienced based observations on this subject. • Cobalt 60 was in use on this island at Hilo Hospital, now Hilo Medical Center, for seventeen years from 1972 to1989. There was as much as 7000 curies on island at one time. There were never any accidents, incidents, or events related to its use. In brief, the safety program was effective and there was no crews. • The structure, or vault, in which the Cobalt 60 source was housed was built in 1972. Design principles and construction are similar to that required for food irradiators. This building did not sustain any damage in the large earthquakes the island experienced in 1975 and 1987. The latter caused major damage to the old hospital and cracked the foundation of the new hospital which was unoccupied at that time. It seems dear that a single story building can be designed and constructed to contain radiation and withstand major tremors without damage. In our case a properly designed and constructed building has made no news. • The radiation safety programs at Hilo Medical Center and North Hawaii Community Hospital operate under license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. NRC approves and enforces the conditions of licensure. Aside from Hawaii Certificate of Need rules applicable to medical facilities, I am not aware that the county or state maintains any jurisdiction over these programs. NRC enforces both the terms of licensure and the U.S. Department of Transportation regulations which control transport of radioactive materials. NRC has the authority to levy significant fines for violations. Hilo Medical Center (Hilo Hospital) and North Hawaii Community Hospital (Lucy Henriques Medical Center) have passed all inspection with no incidents, violations , or fines. Effective local management of safety at these institutions has produced no news. The conclusions I draw are simple. Human use of radioactive materials can be safely managed by a knowledgeable, dedicated, and trained staff with regulatory enforcement by a federal governme / 01, 3 r Comm. No. t2ef. To; Pr s Y Q.4 DRtPAG_ 3 t'340