Biomedical subjects

B M Newton

Publications and source records attributed to B M Newton.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Quantitative goals for a 222Rn multimedia mitigation plan.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's revised proposed 222Rn in drinking water regulation gives states or individual community water systems the option of compliance with the maximum contaminant level or compliance with the higher, alternate maximum contaminant level accompanied by the implementation of a multimedia mitigation plan. If states or water suppliers choose to comply with the alternate maximum contaminant level, the health risk reduction achieved by multimedia mitigation programs must be equal to or greater than the health risk reduction that would be achieved by compliance with the maximum contaminant level rather than the alternate maximum contaminant level. We have developed a method to determine quantitative goals for mitigating existing homes and building new 222Rn-resistant homes to achieve a health risk reduction to the public equivalent to the health risk differential between alternate maximum contaminant level and maximum contaminant level compliance. This method can be applied to an entire state, a portion of a state, or to an individual water supplier. The method was applied to North Carolina, and it was concluded that, over time, the health risk reduction achievable from alternate maximum contaminant level compliance and the implementation of a multimedia mitigation program would be much greater than from compliance with the maximum contaminant level.

Radon↗

PubMed1987

Slow-stream rehabilitation: is it effective?

Fifty-two patients, who were not considered to be suitable for traditional therapy, were evaluated on their admission (53 admissions) to the Slow Stream Rehabilitation Unit at Greenwich Hospital, and on and after their discharge from hospital, with a minimum follow-up period after discharge from hospital of 13 months. Mobility and the capacity to perform basic self-care activities were assessed by means of a set protocol while traditional rehabilitation therapies were employed. Of the 53 admissions to hospital, there were eight inpatient deaths and 45 discharges from the Unit: 19 discharges to home and 26 discharges to institutional care. This represents a considerable improvement over the initial assessment that all patients would need nursing home accommodation or prolonged hospitalization. At the second follow-up examination, seven of the 19 patients who were discharged home originally, still resided at home. There were 15 patients in nursing care while 23 patients had died. Most patients had maintained their discharge levels of mobility and self-care, unless a further disability had supervened. The majority of carers and patients expressed gratitude for the opportunity that the patients had had to undergo therapy, with the possibility of an eventual return to their own homes, rather than to have proceeded directly to a nursing home.

Aged↗