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Re: incontinent patient dosed with ~100 mCi of I-131

At 06:34 AM 6/20/00 -0500, you wrote:
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>I'd be grateful if you could let me know the regulatory basis for this
statement.
>
>The opinions expressed are strictly mine.
>It's not about dose, it's about trust.
>
>Bill Lipton
>liptonw@dteenergy.com
>
>...
>
>carol marcus wrote:
>
>> Dear Radsafers:
>
>...
>
>>
>>
>> Remember that the diapers with I-131 are unregulated material.  DOT does not
>> apply,
>
>...
>
>> Ciao, Carol
>>
>>
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><!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en">
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>I'd be grateful if you could let me know the regulatory basis for this
>statement.
><p>The opinions expressed are strictly mine.
><br>It's not about dose, it's about trust.
><p>Bill Lipton
><br>liptonw@dteenergy.com
><p>...
><p>carol marcus wrote:
><blockquote TYPE=CITE>Dear Radsafers:</blockquote>
>
><p><br>...
><blockquote TYPE=CITE>&nbsp;
><p>Remember that the diapers with I-131 are unregulated material.&nbsp;
>DOT does not
><br>apply,</blockquote>
>
><p><br>...
><blockquote TYPE=CITE>Ciao, Carol
><br>&nbsp;
><br><a href="http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html";></a>&nbsp;</blockquote>
></html>
>
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Dear Radsafers:

Once the patient is released from confinement, the radioactive material is
unregulated.  The patient does not need a "license", and while counseled to
take certain precautions, cannot be forced to do so.  The patient can carry
contaminated diapers in their car without a DOT license, and can carry
themselves in their car without a DOT license as well.  They can throw
contaminated kleenexes in any garbage can or waste basket they like.  Once
the material is deregulated, it is no longer labeled "radioactive", and I
believe that it is illogical to assume that if it touches that hands of
someone on a license that it is suddenly reregulated.  This point was raised
with some radiation control program directors a couple of years ago, who
agreed that once patients are released from confinement, their contaminated
articles are permanently deregulated in terms of NRC or Agreement State
radiation requirements.

I have always treated it as such, with no directive from anyone otherwise
(e.g. a radiation regulator or my RSO).  The point is that no member of the
public can get more than 500 mrem from the patient or his/her diapers
because if someone reasonably could, the physician should have kept the
patient in the hospital in the first place.  Why make a big deal about an
insignificant hazard?  

If you can show that a physician is letting someone out of the hospital in a
situation where it is reasonable to expect a member of the public to get
more than 500 mrem, I would (1) like to see your analysis and (2) suggest
that you should get that physician off the license.

Ciao, Carol

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