Unlawful Flint use of portable X-ray scanners began in 2019, not 2020

[MichMan]

LANSING — A New York law firm may have used unregistered portable X-ray scanners on Flint residents for one year longer than state officials were told, records show.

A sworn affidavit from a Flint resident, along with emails showing when the Napoli Shkolnik law firm sought to lease the devices, suggest the use of scanners, which are tools in the scrap metal and mining industries but are not designed for use on human beings, began around September 2019. That is about 18 months before either of the two devices was registered with the state of Michigan, as required by law.

A representative of the law firm, whose name was redacted, told the state in March it had been using the devices for only about six months, since August or September of 2020, before registering them in February, according to a state summary of a phone call the Free Press obtained under Michigan's Freedom of Information Act.

Failing to register a radiation machine is a misdemeanor under the Public Health Code that can bring a $10,000 fine and up to 180 days in jail, with each day that a violation continues considered a separate violation. But the state brought no criminal or civil charges against the law firm, records show.

The scanners were applied to the tibias of thousands of Flint residents, including many children and at least one pregnant woman, to measure how much lead had accumulated in their bones. Lawyers and some medical experts have said radiation levels are low and use of the portable scanners is safe.

But the manufacturer of the scanners, Thermo Fisher Scientific, ultimately ordered Napoli Shkolnik to stop using them.

The company said in a May letter to the law firm that it had in rare cases authorized use of the scanners on humans for research purposes, but that had only happened under the supervision of an Institutional Review Board, which was not in place for the scans that took place in Flint.


In addition to revelations about the radiation doses involved, the MIOSHA records obtained by the Free Press show the law firm's scanning operation in Flint had no system for monitoring radiation exposures for scanner operators, no physician licensed in Michigan supervising operations, no mechanism to ensure the scanners would shut off after about three minutes to prevent possible overexposure, and no written notice to Flint residents of the radiation they would be exposed to and any related risks, Reynolds said in the motion filed by his California attorney, Jahmy Graham.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2021/09/12/unlawful-flint-use-xray-scanners-began-one-year-earlier/8275952002/

[abqtommy]

1. Thanks for this op. It's the first time I've heard/read about this.

[mitch96]

2. I'm curious about what kind of "xray scanner" they are talking about...

A portable xray machine like the ones used in hospitals put out very little radiation to get a diagnostic image. If it's a portable CT scanner that could be a very large dose...
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[LearnedHand]

3. Plus, WTF?

Who goes to a lawyer when they need X-rays? I mean, WTAF?

[MichMan]

5. Personal injury lawyers promising big payouts to desperate clients by using dubious illegal devices

[MichMan]

4. One designed to be used in industrial applications and specifically not authorized for people

[mitch96]

7. "used in industrial applications" I toyed with the idea of being an industrial non destructive

testing person. When I found out what the amount of radiation they were using and the safety involved I didn't walk I RAN from that field... Too many RAD'S and poor shielding.. Yes it was xraying metal but the dose to the operator was out of sight...
I can't imagine using this on people...
Toast anyone??? Years ago my Mom got radiation therapy for an ulcer on her leg. She mentioned that the doctor gave her an "erythema dose".. In medical lingo erythema is redding of the skin.. AKA they gave here enough radiation to make her skin red
and then stop...
A scientific wild ass GUESS... Her leg was discolored for life... They do it better now...
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[EYESORE 9001]

6. It sounds like one of these, with which I am very familiar

Analyze samples quickly and accurately with results available in seconds rather than the hours or days it can take for a traditional testing laboratory. When you need an analyzer for metal alloy analysis, the Thermo Scientific™ Niton™ XL3p+ XRF Analyzer provides nondestructive elemental analysis of virtually all metal alloys for scrap metal recycling, casting and fabrication, manufacturing and positive material identification.

https://www.thermofisher.com/order/catalog/product/10131167?SID=srch-srp-10131167#/10131167?SID=srch-srp-10131167

It’s not a toy, as it emits x-rays and can cause damage in the short term and long term.

[mitch96]

8. " emits x-rays and can cause damage " Actuallly it's an isotope source not x.ray

Alpha and gamma emitter of Americium-241 but who is counting
Still I would not want to play with it.. My motto is no radiation is good radiation..
Your only protection is lead, distance and time... Least amount of exposure for the least amount of time... Even our life giving sun can kill... YMMV
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