Tracy Tipping
Our state fire marshal recently determined that a normally locked gate
in a chain-link fence surrounding the roof of our lab should be left
unlocked as a fire exit. This brought about a discussion of possible
radiation hazard to the public since previously, the public did not have
access to the roof of our lab. Some quick calculations and dosimetery
determined that the maximum dose to the public under normal operating
conditions would be approximately 0.3 mSv per year (well within the
allowable 1.0 mSv annual dose to the public). However, a university
official insisted that we err on the side of caution and install special
hardware on the gate to allow exit from within the fenced area without a
key while keeping the area off limits to the public.
This is not an earth-shattering event, but just a reminder that our HP
activities have consequences in other areas as well. For those of you
that do a combination of HP activities along with other safety and health
activities, you are probably already aware of this fact. But for those of
us that work exclusively within the HP realm, we sometimes should step
back and look at the "big picture" while doing our HP activities. You may
find that a "simple" HP activity may be causing a tremendous hardship on
another EH&S professional. Looking at the big picture and making adjustments
may help avoid such conflicts.