Radiation Safety

Reviewed by Milton Morris, Associate Professor, Benedict College on 6/29/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This textbook is comprehensive for its intended purposes. It is designed for a specific cohort of students who are studying radiography at Linn-Benton Community College in Oregon. I found the text to contain all of the key points that I would expect to find in a book specific to the subject of health physics or radiation safety. It is comprehensive in that it logically begins with the history of radiation by discussing the life and careers of some of the key early researcher in radiation. Some of the key radioisotopes are discussed and highlighted. However a less random discussion of those isotopes may provide better clarity to some students. The text does a credible job in discussing health issues associated with radiation exposure. It also examines the mathematical calculations that are used by health physicists in analyzing radiation. As an additional benefit to Hispanic students whose primary language is not English, the book offers many components in Spanish.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

This text is accurate in its content and much of the information is supported graphically with charts, figures, tables, etc., which one would expect to find in any good text to assist in assuring its accuracy.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Although this text is designed specifically for students of radiography at a specific college, its content could be transferrable to other universities or academic institutions that offer a course in health physics or radiation safety. The content is up to date and does not depict information that should become obsolete at any time within the near future.

Clarity rating: 5

The book is clearly written as designed for specific students. It offers tests and exercises to assess student progress as a method of helping ensure that the content is clear to the intended readers. Technical terminology is discussed sufficiently for readers to get a basic understanding of otherwise esoteric terms.

Consistency rating: 5

The internal consistency of the text is apparent. It did not display any noted contradictions of information that would have cause significant concern to astute readers.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is designed sufficiently to afford reading without issues of modularity. The text is subdivided well and does not get off onto tangents that would make it more difficult to follow its content or its logic.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics are logically presented and include information that logically should come first such as historical content. The discussion of types of radioisotopes and their impacts on materials and people logically follows within the text.

Interface rating: 5

Interfacing contents that may have been problematic were not in evidence within the text.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The grammar within the text was correct, as indicated for the English content. No apparent grammatical errors were noted.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The text is apparently not culturally insensitive and is relevant and usable by readers of different cultures. Admittedly with a broad range of cultures and ethnicities that may use the text, it is a great challenge to ensure its usability among a broad range of culture.

Comments

As a reviewer who previously provided a summer workshop in radiation safety, I would definitely use this book as one of the references for the workshop. Although it would not necessarily be the principal textbook, it would certainly serve as a good resource text. As a text for a very specific subdivision or occupation in radiation safety, the text meets that objective.