[ RadSafe ] Nasal Swabs?

[Wright, Will (DHS-PSB)]

my original note is attached because i was not sure it went to all. most likely the swab was integrated into routine assessments as part of a broken up exposure and dose response assessment associated with known releases and exposures that resulted in risk assessments. under regulatory risk assessment procedures, it is generally and broadly accepted that exposure has occurred based on deposition assessments or when available air monitoring assuming that breathing zones were breached(not difficult to determine)or other intake routes have been accessed. in the message from jginniver the procedure below would be the likely recourse when retrospective assessments are needed in the event the scene is a "moving" one and deposition determinations not "practical". knowing the nose count is of no greater value than knowing the swab count from a forehead or other facial area, or relevant other surfaces depending on aspects of the deposition parameter. it could be of some interest when engaging in risk communication with the implication that actual intake is known or can perhaps be better assessed. if these are true aerosols, one could face difficulty putting nasal swabs up against modeled intake from good parametric data. if these are not true aerosols surface deposition and release estimates will be of enormous value. looking at some of the swabing assessments and models for anthrax might be of interest.

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl]On
Behalf Of JGinniver at aol.com
Sent: Friday, September 16, 2005 10:55 AM
To: GRMarshall at philotechnics.com
Cc: radsafe at radlab.nl
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Nasal Swabs?


At the facility that I work at in the UK, we require all personnel to  
provide 'noseblows' if we believe that their has been the potential for  individuals 
to have inhaled activity as a consequence of an incident or  accident.  
However in a couple of high alpha facilities we are undertaking  routine analysis 
of noseblows from individuals who have been wearing respiratory  protective 
equipment.  We do not use these to estimate dose uptake, they  are simple used as 
one of a number of indicators that further bioassay is  required.  
 
Their are potential problems with using noseblow results for bioassy e.g.  
the individuals may be 'mouth breathers' rather than 'nose breathers'.  The  
activity may consist of a few discrete particles rather than finely divided dust  
and so a particle may be lodged in the nose and not breathed, or may have 
been  breathed and not gone anywhere near the nose.  Note: This is one of the  
long running arguments surrounding Personal Air Sampling. There exists the  
possibility of cross-contamination of the noseblow due to poor contamination  
control or 'sampling procedure'.
 
Our samples are not counted in drawer unit but are processed by our  
Chemistry Laboratories and are usually counted overnight so results are  available the 
following day and any results above the action level can be  highlighted to 
plant management before the worker undertakes any further  work.
 
Regards,
    Julian
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