RE: Peanut butter or other skin decon methods in place of water and soap

["George J. Vargo" <vargo@physicist.net>]

Paul,



Having been involved in writing several different personnel decontamination

procedures, it is important to understand both the chemical and physical

characteristics of the potential contaminant and design procedures that are

effective in removing the offending agent as well as maintaining the skin

barrier intact.



For example, chelating agents such as EDTA are wonderful for removing

transition metals (e.g., Co, Mn), but are completely ineffective for

halogens such as I.  Cs can be complexed and removed with agents such as

Prussian Blue (aka "Radiogardase").  If you have any chemical and physical

data on the nature of your potential contaminants, contact me off-line and

we can discuss.



George J. Vargo, Ph.D., CHP

vargo@physicist.net

610-925-1954

610-925-5545 (fax)





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

From: owner-radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu

[mailto:owner-radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu] On Behalf Of Pmink@bnfl-ettp.com

Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2003 2:17 PM

To: radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu

Subject: Peanut butter or other skin decon methods in place of water and

soap





Fellow RadSafers -



I've heard from some of our RCTs about using peanut butter as a decon 

method for skin contamination, particularly for Tc-99 removal.  Why does 

peanut butter work so well, other than it's sticky?  What other 

alternatives to using lukewarm water and mild soap have y'all used 

successfully?



Thanks -



Paul J. Mink



SAIC Radiological Engineer

BNFL-ETTP RADCON

K-1550-T

Office (865) 576-2123

Fax     (865) 241-0452

Alpha pager 1-800-622-6576

 -To send alpha page goto http://www.arch.com/message/.  Enter 10 digit 

pager number (80062226576), click "Continue" and enter text (200 

characters max).

Smile...it makes people wonder what you're up to.

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

You are currently subscribed to the Radsafe mailing list. To unsubscribe,

send an e-mail to Majordomo@list.vanderbilt.edu  Put the text "unsubscribe

radsafe" (no quote marks) in the body of the e-mail, with no subject line.

You can view the Radsafe archives at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/radsafe/







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

You are currently subscribed to the Radsafe mailing list. To unsubscribe,

send an e-mail to Majordomo@list.vanderbilt.edu  Put the text "unsubscribe

radsafe" (no quote marks) in the body of the e-mail, with no subject line.

You can view the Radsafe archives at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/radsafe/