Response to Comment on Valič et al., 2009

✍ Scribed by Blaž Valič; Peter Gajšek; Damijan Miklavčič

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 29 KB
• Volume: 30
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0197-8462
• DOI: 10.1002/bem.20530

✦ Synopsis

Valic ˇet al. [2009] suggest that the presence of an intramedullary nail in the femur can mean that the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) basic restriction for the general public is exceeded even when the reference level is met. As someone who (a) is responsible for ensuring compliance with the ICNIRP guidelines in my company and (b) has an intramedullary nail in my femur, I found this quite exciting-could I have to investigate myself for non-compliance? However, the excitement is groundless. Valic ˇet al.'s conclusion is based on the ICNIRP basic restriction applying to the head and trunk, as stated in ICNIRP's original article [ICNIRP, 1998]; but in fact it applies only to the central nervous system, as subsequently clarified by ICNIRP [Matthes, 1998, question and answer 10]. Valic ět al.'s results do not indicate that the basic restriction would be exceeded in the central nervous system.