RE: Article: How I set off the subway radiation meter

[Jack_Earley@RL.GOV]

Let's see--a journalist caught in her occupation's own web. So what's the

problem again?



Jack Earley

Radiological Engineer





-----Original Message-----

From: William V Lipton [mailto:liptonw@DTEENERGY.COM]

Sent: Friday, February 01, 2002 5:03 AM

To: Jacobus, John (OD/ORS)

Cc: RadSafe

Subject: Re: Article: How I set off the subway radiation meter





Presently 10 CFR 35.75(b) requires written instructions to released nuc med

patients only if the expected dose is likely to exceed 0.1 rem.  I assume

that this patient was under the regulatory threshold.



IMHO, this requirement should apply to ALL nuc med patients, due to the

situation described, here.



The opinions expressed are strictly mine.

It's not about dose, it's about trust.

Let's look at the real problem, for a change.



Bill Lipton

liptonw@dteenergy.com



"Jacobus, John (OD/ORS)" wrote:



> I know some of you have seen this story, but I those who have not might be

> interested.  How many things can you find wrong in this story?

>

> -- John

> John Jacobus, MS

> Certified Health Physicist

> 3050 Traymore Lane

> Bowie, MD  20715-2024

>

> E-mail:  jenday1@email.msn.com (H)

>

> How I set off the subway radiation meter

>

> By Laura E. Chatfield

> Published 1/28/2002 5:49 PM

>

> WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- I thought I had a tough morning, but little

did

> I know that I would soon be testing the safety of Washington's Metro

system

> -- and the state of my nerves.

>

> Plopping down on a seat all to myself in an almost empty train, I opened

the

> Washington Post and settled down to my usual afternoon commute.

>

> We stopped at Reagan National Airport, Crystal City and Pentagon City.

> Somewhere in between, an annoying beeping began and gradually increased in

> frequency. Engrossed in an article, I briefly wondered what that

irritating

> sound was.

>

> As the beep moved closer to me, it also quickened, until I felt, more than

> saw, a presence next to me. Looking up, I was startled by a policeman

> dressed in dark blue from head to toe with a shiny brass badge on his

chest

> -- staring at me. He was holding a palm-size meter up to my arm. A bright

> red number 9 glowed at me.

>

> "Ma'am, have you had any radiation treatments lately?" he asked.

>

> "Yes, I had a bone scan today," I replied, numb with my mouth agape.

>

> I flashed back to the morning and the prick of a needle as the

> Technetium-99m radioisotopes flowed into my arm to prepare me for a test

> that would check whether cancer had metastasized to my bones.

>

> "Don't worry," the hospital technician had said. "You are getting no more

> radiation than if you were standing in front of a microwave."

>

> Gullible me. I believed him.

>

> The part about few immediate and no long-term side effects rang true. But

> now the policeman was still staring at me intently with the gleam of

> suspicion in his eyes.

>

> "You set off the radiation alarm in the train," he said.

>

> Radiation alarm?

>

> "My God, how much of that stuff did they inject into me?" I choked,

> horrified.

>

> "No. Don't worry it's not a dangerous level, just enough to set off the

> alarm," he reassured me - still staring for what seemed like minutes. "But

I

> like to let people know ..."

>

> Yeah, right.

>

> He moved away, and I pretended to read the paper. What were my fellow

> passengers thinking? That I was carrying some sort of terrorist device?

That

> I emitted dangerous radioactivity? Some sci-fi TV program had suddenly

> become real.

>

> I don't know if anyone moved away from me. I was trying too hard to bury

my

> head in the paper.

>

> The train pulled up to the Pentagon stop, and the stern officer of the law

> moved to the door. Stepping through, he stood on the platform. Still

> staring.

>

> Reaching the newsroom, I borrowed my boss's phone to call the hospital. He

> definitely moved away from me as he heard the story.

>

> When I finally reached someone in radiology-nuclear medicine to ask how

much

> of that "stuff" they had injected into my vein, I was told not to worry.

It

> was the normal amount -- 20 to 25 millicuries.

>

> How long would it stay in my system? A day or two, he said. It has a

> half-life of about 6 hours and only about half is immediately absorbed by

> the bones, the rest excreted in urine. Drinking lots of water would help

get

> rid of the rest.

>

> He asked if I wanted a note.

>

> "What?"

>

> If bone scans are given to members of the Secret Service, they are

provided

> with notes because they set off the radiation alarms at the White House,

he

> said.

>

> "But this is the first time anyone has said that they set off a radiation

> alarm on the Metro."

>

> Great.

>

> I had been caught in the post-Sept. 11 net. I had read reports that the

> Metro was testing state-of-the-art security devices to prevent radiation,

> biological, chemical or bomb attacks in the cars and stations.

>

> Of course, a call to the Secret Service produced what I expected -- no

> official confirmation of similar instances with their officers at the

White

> House.

>

> As the day wore on, paranoia kicked in. Did the Metro now have biometric

> facial scanning set up so that I'm in some sort of database as a possible

> suspect in the Homeland battle against terrorism?

>

> How was I going to get home tonight? I was sure to spark another alarm.

And

> if I announced at the gate that I would set off an alarm because of a bone

> scan, would they believe me? No, that would probably provoke an even worse

> response.

>

> I debated what to do as the evening wore on. I finally reached a decision.

>

> Knowing I would be telling the world about my experience in writing and

> therefore should try the Metro again that night and brave the stares, this

> intrepid reporter, and suspected terrorist, took a cab home instead.

>

> Copyright © 2002 United Press International

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