incontinent patient dosed with ~100 mCi of I-131

[Douglas Simpkin <dsimpkin@execpc.com>]

Folks:

Ignorant question time!

Our nuclear medicine physicians are talking about treating an incontinent 
patient with ~100 mCi of I-131. Even if we hold her (and her diapers) in 
the hospital for a few days, she'll still be generating I-131 waste once 
she gets home.

How would others handling this?
1. Ignore waste she generates at home, and hope the landfill doesn't monitor.
2. Have her collect her own waste for decay in her basement?
3. Have her collect her own waste, and we then pick up the trash for 
decay-in-storage here. What are the DOT repercussions of me having a 
trunk-full of hot Depends?

Any comments?
Thanks,
Doug
Douglas J. Simpkin, Ph.D., D.A.B.R.
St. Luke's Medical Center
2900 West Oklahoma Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53215
phone: (414)649-6457
fax: (414)649-5118
email: dsimpkin@execpc.com

************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html