[ RadSafe ] Traveling After Nuclear Medicine Procedure May Not Fly

[Stabin, Michael]

I may have mentioned this before on the list, I can't recall. I worked
recently with Lionel Zuckier of the New Jersey Medical School on a
miniproject to look at this. He evaluated the sensitivities of a number
of survey meters likely to be used in such applications for typical
radiopharmaceuticals (for obvious reasons we could not get specific
information about what instruments authorities are using in the field).
Looking at the effective clearance rates from the body, we estimated the
length of time that one would need to carry a letter. See this web site
if you are interested:

http://njms.umdnj.edu/departments/radiology/giegerintro.cfm 

It shows the data and even gives a form letter that people can use. You
can contact Lionel as well (zuckier at umdnj.edu) if you wish. We presented
this at the Society of Nuclear Medicine meeting this summer and are
working on a publication.

Mike

Michael G. Stabin, PhD, CHP
Assistant Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences 
Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences 
Vanderbilt University 
1161 21st Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37232-2675 
Phone (615) 343-0068
Fax   (615) 322-3764
Pager (615) 835-5153
e-mail     michael.g.stabin at vanderbilt.edu 
internet   www.doseinfo-radar.com

 
-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] On
Behalf Of donald_flahardy at fpl.com
Sent: Wednesday, July 27, 2005 3:35 PM
To: RADSAFE
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Traveling After Nuclear Medicine Procedure May
Not Fly


The length of time for which the patient would set off radiation
monitors needs to be understood by those in the medical profession.  I
have dealt with employees whose doctor told them not to worry, that the
Thallium would be long gone by the time they returned to work.  Their
doctor was correct with respect to the medical significance of what
would remain after a few days but did not appreciate the contribution of
Thallium 202 contained in the Thallium 201 administration (12 day
half-life vs 3 days for Tl 201), nor did the doctor have an appreciation
for the sensitivity of radiation detectors at our facility.  I typically
see the need for 3 - 4 weeks before a patient can pass through our
portal monitors without causing an alarm.  I know little about the
instrumentation used for Homeland security other than that these
instruments vary greatly in sensitivity.  If I become such a patient I
will assume the most sensitive devices are in use in order to avoid a
hassle.

Donald Flahardy, CHP
Sr. Health Physicist
FPL Energy Seabrook LLC
Seabrook, NH
(603) 773-7312 office
(603) 944-0000 cell
(603 771-2432 pager
donald_flahardy at fpl.com