Ontario is a province that is home to one-third of Canadians. The health minister of this province is facing the flak for endangering health of children in Ontario. Children who had to undergo routine CT –scans were exposed to high doses of radiation. Children were exposed to an equivalent of 4,000 x-ray units during an abdominal scan. This is equivalent to the adult dosage, commented Auditor General Jim Carter.
Opposition leaders in the province have criticized the health minister of Ontario for not quickening his steps to take concrete action to stop this excess exposure of children to radiation. Health Minister George Smitherman has however countered, saying that a safety committee is scrutinizing the problem. The Safety committee has been endowed with the authority to recommend the right doses of radiation levels, and also to give advice the hospitals about the right way to use the equipments.NDP Leader Howard Hampton opined that standards, at par with U.S and Britain, should be implemented in Ontario as well. The health minister has not communicated how long it would take the Safety Committee to come up with revised standards.
Source-Medindia
MST
