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

[Pmink@bnfl-ettp.com]

Many thanks to everyone who replied on- and off-line.  Just to answer a 

few questions that popped up:



Yes, BNFL's procedure calls for lukewarm water and soap, up to and 

including mild scrubbing, not to abrade the skin.  We're in the process of 

revising our personnel decon procedure, so I was planning on adding in 

some additional guidance for our RCTs to go by, although it sounds like it 

would be better to leave the procedure open-ended for the RADCON 

Mgr/designee to specify other decon techniques. 



I heard about the Tc-peanut butter story initially from one of the RCTs 

who worked at Portsmouth, I think, as a junior.  He mentioned that they 

had a floor area that was contaminated with Tc and another RCT got a 

masslin mop, slathered on some peanut butter (smooth, not crunchy), wiped 

the floor area, and then wiped up the peanut butter.  The Jr RCT did the 

follow-up survey and found absolutely nothing above background (it was 

initially several thousand dpm/100 cm^2 beta).  He said Tc was attracted 

to protein, but another RCT (also formerly of the same facility) said it 

was due to the oil content, thus my question of why it actually works.



We have considered the peanut allergy issue and are trying to line up some 

other possible decon solutions, such as oatmeal paste, etc.



As for how to keep the techs from licking their fingers after decon ops, 

well, I guess we'd have to threaten to take their pens away and call them 

deconners ;-)  (no disrespect meant in any shape, form, or fashion to 

decon personnel reading this!).



One final question - is it the consensus of RadSafe that peanut butter 

works due to its abrasiveness, organic oil content, or protein affinity, 

or is it a combination of any/all of these factors?



Thanks -



Paul J. Mink



SAIC Radiological Engineer

BNFL-ETTP RADCON

K-1550-T

Office (865) 576-2123

Fax     (865) 241-0452

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Paul Mink

05/28/2003 02:17 PM



 

        To:     radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu

        cc:     (bcc: Paul Mink/Bnfl-Ettp)

        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.





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