Re: FW: question concerning stress tests

[John Jacobus <crispy_bird@YAHOO.COM>]

Well, at least they told you some radiation was

involved.  It is not uncommon for the technologist to

tell the patient that they will be injected with a

"dye" and then have their picture taken with a

"camera."  The word radiation never escapes their

lips.



This is an old, and continuing, problem.



--- "Careway, Harold A. (GE Energy)"

<Harold.Careway@gene.GE.com> wrote:



> Phil sent:

>  

> Exposures from nuclear stress tests can be

> considerable, at least to those

> of us who have to explain and justify every last

> millirem to regulators and

> activists.  

>  

> Several years ago I had a stress test and made some

> post treatment

> measurements with a Bicron MicroR meter. 

>  

> Injections of 30 mCi of Tc-99m and 4 mCi of Tl-201

> result in a cumulative

> dose of ~600 mrem.  Seven (7) hours after treatment,

> the exposure rate was

> 17 mR/hr in contact with the stomach and 20

> microR/hr (twice background) at

> 30 feet.  Exposure rate at stomach level after 2

> days was ~2 mR/hr, and

> after 7 days was ~0.5 mR/hr.   After 3 weeks,

> exposure rates were

> indistinquishable from background.  

>  

> Yes, at those levels, a lot of patients are going to

> be setting of the

> increasing number of post 9/11 radiation monitors in

> airports, borders, etc.

>  

> See

> http://www.philrutherford.com/Stress_Test_2003.pdf

> <http://www.philrutherford.com/Stress_Test_2003.pdf>

>  for charts of exposure

> vs. distance and time.

>  

> Interestingly enough, when I asked the nuclear

> technician who administered

> the radiopharmaceuticals, how much exposure I would

> receive, he said "Oh,

> about the same as a chest X-ray (~10 mrem)."  I do

> not know whether that was

> simple ignorance or deliberate misinformation.

>  

> Phil

>  

>

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

> -----

>  

> I had the same experience when I went for my

> Cardolite test - the technician

> was able to tell me the activity dose I was

> receiving (30 mCi of Tc-99m) but

> not my whole body or effective dose in mR or mSv. 

> It was like he never

> heard of such a thing and really made me angry.  

> Latter I estimated that

> between the two doses I received (1PM in the

> afternoon and a second dose at

> 8AM the next morning) I picked up somewhere between

> 1600-1800 mR integrated.

> 

>  

> I continued to register above background on my Xetex

> 308A until three days

> after the procedure and the first day I could set

> the detector off from 15

> feet outside my office, what fun.

>  

>  

> Hal Careway

>  

>  

> 





=====

+++++++++++++++++++

"It doesn't matter whether you're riding an elephant or a donkey if you're going in the wrong direction."

Jesse Jackson





-- John

John Jacobus, MS

Certified Health Physicist

e-mail:  crispy_bird@yahoo.com





		

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