RE: transportation event

["Daniel Kane" <dankane@MINDSPRING.COM>]

In my experience as a consultant to numerous nuclear pharmacies, I have

seen DOT type A certification for ammo cans (and for the Mallinckrodt

Medical-Tyco) attaché case. Both containers have certifications for 8 or

9 pigs that are normally used to hold Tc-99m dosages. To the best of my

recollection, the tests were done in the configuration used with screw

together lead pigs, high density foam inserts (to hold the pigs in

place) and syringes with colored water to simulate the

radiopharmaceutical. Both of these containers have been around for

decades and have been inspected by numerous agencies.



The Type A documents at hand state that they meet the Type A testing

(with photos of the tests) for liquids. Every nuclear pharmacy has more

or less the same documents demonstrating Type A compliance.



F-18 dosages are a different matter all together. There are one or two

commercial vendors of Type A containers for F-18. As well, these doses

are often precalibrated several T1/2s so it is not unusual at all to

ship a 50 mCi syringe for a 10 mCi patient. The typical weight of a

single F-18 dosage in a Type A (Yellow II or III) configuration is 70+

pounds.



I have never seen any DOT certification for an ammo can at the weight

necessary to ship F-18 as Yellow II (most nuclear pharmacies avoid

Yellow III shipments). Common sense will tell you that an ammo can not

hold 70 lbs of lead without breaking apart under the normal rigors of

highway transportation.



My guess is that the material was shipped from a nuclear pharmacy that

ships both F-18 and Tc-99m products and the shipper placed a heavy F-18

pig in the Tc-99m container. Further, it is obvious that the shipment

was not properly blocked and braced to prevent shifting during shipment.



Dan Kane

Associates in Medical Physics, LLC







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