MEDICAL X-RAY EXPOSURE REORDS (continued ) and more universal. He recalle. that two suggestions had been made; one, the initiation of a study on a relatively small population in order to determine the difficulties and effectiveness and two, the possible use of the social security card as a means of keeping a radiation exposure record. CHAIRMAN STRAUSS commented on the loss of a child's accumulative record be— cause social security cards are carried only by adults. He also suggested the advisability of suggesting the program as a privilege rather than as an obligation because of the normal American resistance to anything obligatory. He suggested the possible use of a durable plastic card upon which entries could be made with a stylus. -DR. DUNHAM said that the employees at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory are now attempting to accumulate information on non-occupational exposure primarily to diagnostic x-rays. He suggested that this might serve as a pilot study. DR. BURNETT mentioned the possible resistance on the part of physicians. CHAIRMAN STRAUSS suggested the possibility of a campaign for State laws to require medical practitioners to keep proper records as a condition for a license to use x-ray equipment. In this connection DR. DUNHAM mentioned the proposed program of the New York State Radiological Study and called upon MR. BLATZ to describe the plans of the New York Society. These are for the voluntary issue of record cards to patients by radiologists. Radiologists and hospitals will be furnished cards (similar to the WHO immunization cards for international travelers) and also a table of typical gonadal doses for various standard diagnostic x-ray techniques. DR. EMERSON said that the subject had come up at the World Health Organization meeting but the participants were of the opinion that it was merely wishful thinking. Some of the difficulties in recording exposure data in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki cases were described by DR. WARREN. DR. CANTRIL suggested that the Richland area in Washington might be the ideal location for a pilot study because of the fact that there was only one x-ray machine in Richland and very few of the Richland residents went elsewhere for their medical examinations. DR. BURNETT expressed the opinion that any suggestion such as that made by Chairman Strauss, that State laws be enacted, would arouse the AMA and physicians to the point of at least thinking about the problem. The result might be an effort towards self regulation. DR. CANTRIL raised some questions about the difficulties which would be encountered because of the fact that most x-rays are taken by non-radiologisats who have little conception of proper techniques CHAIRMAN STRAUSS raised questions about the difficulty of evaluating exposure in connection with fluorscopic examinations. DR. WARREN and DR. CANTRIL reassured him that reasonably accurate dosage approximations could be made in spite of a variation in techniques. DR. CANTRIL expressed encouragement in the recent interest by pediatricians in this problem. The meeting was adjourned until 1:00 p.m. for lunch. - 28 -