[ RadSafe ] Re: I131 patient during intercontinental flight

[Clayton J Bradt]

It might be easier to resolve this problem if we ignore that fact that the
patients' excretions are radioactive. Most readers on this list will agree
that after a fairly short time, the I-131 levels within the patient will be
low enough such that he/she poses no actual danger to others. So why not
suppose that these patients instead of excreting small amounts of I-131,
are rather excreting skunk scent. Not dangerous, but offensive to others.
What would be the ethically defensible protocol for releasing these
patients for mass transit?

If we can answer this, I think we have answered the original question
posed.


**************************************************

Message: 2
Date: Mon, 9 Feb 2009 10:21:52 +0200
From: "Moshe Levita" <mlevita at tasmc.health.gov.il>
Subject: [ RadSafe ] I131 patient during intercontinental flight
To: <radsafe at radlab.nl>
Message-ID: <002601c98a8f$764b1bc0$df83640a at tasmc.corp>
Content-Type: text/plain;            charset="windows-1255"

Dear Colleagues,



Many Iodine 131 patients arrives in Israel to be treated and then fly back
home.

The patient stays in the award until the residual dose is below certain
level.

(Residual activity is calculated by the measurement of dose rate at 1 m)



I wonder at what residual activity it will be reasonable to allow the
patient to fly back to his country.



 One have to take into considerations :



1.  Five hours flight of sitting beside another passenger (who might be a
child or pregnant women)

2.  Definite contamination of the airplane toilet, toilet cleaning, toilet
disposal etc.

3.  Possible triggering of airport radiation alarm monitors.







Any suggestion will be welcomed.



Moshe Levita

Chief Radiation Executive

Ministry of Health

Israel
*************************************************************


Clayton J. Bradt
Principal Radiophysicist
BERP
518-402-7550


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