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In an October 2000 Newsline commentary in the Journal of Nuclear
Medicine, Dr. Jeffry Siegel writes about his intensive hunt for the origin of
the 30 mCi release limit for radioactive patients after nuclear medicine
therapy. In "Tracking the Origin of the NRC 30-mCi Rule", he gives a reverse
chronology of literature and other sources which might have provided the logical
basis for this rule, but ends with no conclusive evidence for any
single explanation. This is indeed remarkable, given the significance of this
rule in the daily life of radiation safety and nuclear medicine specialists over
the last several decades.
The article is well worth reading on its own. Dr. Siegel is almost as
reticent to share his opinions as Dr. Carol Marcus (a frequent
contributor to the list), with statements like "Apparently the NRC took 27 y to
recognize what the NCRP knew and published in 1970...", "...others are simply
using...inappropriate and scientifically invalid values...", and "Perhaps the
most instructive - and troubling - aspect of the history of this rule is the
relative quiescence with which it appears to have been accepted by clinicians
and researchers for a half century", among others. Beyond
this, however, at the end, Dr. Siegel and the journal make an appeal to any
reader who might be able to shed some light on the mystery of the origin of this
rule. You may recall that this list was polled (I don't know with what margin of
error!) a couple of months back for input, but no breakthrough evidence
was reported. I encourage readers to get a copy of this article (J Nucl Med
41(10):10N-16N, 2000), for enjoyable reading, enlightenment, and perhaps
participation in the tracking of this elusive derivation. The journal plans a
followup article summarizing any new findings. You can also contact Dr. Siegel
directly at siegelja@aol.com
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) 322-3190 Fax (615) 322-3764 e-mail michael.g.stabin@vanderbilt.edu "Quantum Mechanics: The dreams stuff is made
of"
- Steven Wright |