HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0931.018 1996-1998
Hbwai ltaftlfiW PO Box 786
Hilo, Hawaii 96721-0786
m
August 3, 1998
Hawaii County Council r RECEIVED
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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 /
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agency. Safety issues in use of radioactive materials are not inherently different among medical
applications, industrial applications, consumer product applications, research application and
food/agriculture applications. If anything medical applications present more complex issues because
not only are there safety concems about the users and the general public, but there are also safety
issues pertaining to the patient. The physical properties of Cobalt 60 do not change according to its
application. If its use in a food irradiator is unsafe, then its use in a human irradiator should also be
unsafe. However experience here and elsewhere show that Cobalt 60 irradiators can be constructed,
maintained, and operated safely.
I am confident that a Cobalt 60 irradiation facility can be located, designed and constructed, and
operated as safely and as effectively here as on the mainland. We have already done it well enough
that we made no news.
;If-L-Imbeth, you. MD