RE: detecting medical isotopes at airport security

["Gerald Nicholls" <Gerald.Nicholls@dep.state.nj.us>]

We had a similar incident in New Jersey.  A patient in New York City

received a therapeutic dose of I-131 and, despite verbal instructions

from her physician, left his office and boarded a bus for Atlantic City

(a casino was her destination also).  Radiation from her was detected

crossing into New Jersey and the bus stopped by law enforcement until

the situation was discussed with her doctor. Fortunately, the police

officer knew to ask whether someone on the bus had seen a doctor that

morning.



Certainly the other passengers on the bus, the police officer, and her

doctor were inconvenienced.



Gerald Nicholls



>>> "Monica Oosting" <monica.oosting@zircatec.ca> 11/24/03 08:23AM >>>

Just last week I was talking to a friend of mine's mother.  She had

some

kind of nuclear medicine test done on her hip.  The next day she left

on a

bus trip to a casino in the states.  When crossing the border in

Windsor the

bus passed through a radiation detector and was stopped.  When the

officials

boarded the bus and asked if anyone had any type of radioisotope

testing she

said she did.  They took her off and asked everyone else to get off the

bus.

As soon as they started their scan of everyone the detectors picked her

out

right away.  The bus was passed through the detector without the people

on

board and went through no problem.  The people were then let back on

the bus

and went on their way.



I was under the impression that anyone who had these tests done were

told

that they would set off radiation monitors at airports, border

crossings and

at any nuclear facility.  Apparently not, she did not even think about

it

until she was asked by the officials.  This woman is a VON nurse so she

is

not oblivious to nuclear medicine.  She just didn't realize that there

would

be detectors at the border.



Anyway thought I would pass this along since the topic came up.



Monica

By the way, she did not come back with a winner.  Surprise, surprise!





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

From: owner-radsafe@list.Vanderbilt.Edu 

[mailto:owner-radsafe@list.Vanderbilt.Edu]On Behalf Of

knwachter@juno.com 

Sent: Friday, November 21, 2003 3:46 PM

To: radsafe@list.Vanderbilt.Edu 

Subject: detecting medical isotopes at airport security







Does anyone know of incidents where residual medical isotopes in a

traveller's body set off radiation monitors at an airport?  A

cardiologist

mentioned to me that he had heard of Tl-201 a day or two after a

cardiac

scan tripping alarms at some airports.  Just curious.



knwachter@juno.com 



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