Provide your reaction to the In The News insert on page 147 of your text.
The following is the News article on page 147.
In the News According to “X-Rays and Unshielded Infants” by Walt Bogdanich and Kristina Rebelo, published on February 27, 2011, in The New York Times, in some hospitals, infants are given full-body X-rays or babygrams, even though they expose the baby to high levels of radiation. Radiation technologists are not regulated in 15 states. Many mistakes occur: For example, in 2010, in Michigan, several cancer patients were burned when their healthy tissue was given radiation treatments. According to Christine Lung, the technologist association’s vice president of government relations, “It’s amazing to us, knowing the complexity of medical imaging, that there are states that require massage therapists and hairdressers to be licensed, but they have no standards in place for exposing patients to ionizing radiation.” In 2007, a New York hospital (Downstate) brought in an expert, Dr. Amodio, to evaluate their radiology practices, particularly with children. Dr Amodio found that incorrect settings were used with babies. According to Dr. Amodio, “Excessively irradiating children is something we must have zero tolerance about.” According to Downstate, “We are working with the New York State Department of Health to re-evaluate the issues raised by our Department of Radiology in 2007, and to ensure that we are in compliance with national and state standards.” A bill in Congress, CARE, would require radiologists to keep up with changes in the field. It has not yet been passed.
