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Re[2]: Alarms at Borders
We get a huge amount of radioactive materials every day. Number one alarm
is kitty litter (who'd a thunk it). Things like check sources, medical
radiopharmaceuticals etc, if properly manifested are no problem. If you are
carrying a CDV with an attached check source it could possibly set off an
alarm. The simple answer is to declare it as you are crossing. You may get
questioned, but the Officers are trained and usually can clear something
like this pretty quickly. There was a detention at Boston Airport of a Rad
trainer who was carrying exempt sources in luggage, but there were so many
sources that the external readings exceeeded LQ shipment quantities. He was
detained and fined. (this was not an international flight, TSA and FAA were
the agencies involved, not CBP) Keep it legitimate, declare it and be open
with the Officers and you should have no problem.
____________________Reply Separator____________________
Subject: Re: Alarms at Borders
Author: "Richard L. Hess" <lists@richardhess.com>
Date: 1/12/2005 5:52 PM
What are the legal limits at the border? Would the check source
on an old
Civil Defense CDV-700 Geiger Counter set off such an alarm? Is
there any
problem with bringing that across the border?
The radium check sources have substantially reduced output due
to the
relatively short half-life, while the uranium check sources are
essentially
at their initial radioactivity.
There isn't much indication on the CDV-700 at a distance of one
foot, but
right against the source it clicks like crazy with the shield
open.
Thanks!
Richard
At 02:31 PM 1/12/2005 -0500, Mccormick, Luke I wrote:
>Please spread the word. Our Operating Directive states that
each radiation
>detection at a border will be investigated and resolved. Most
all Customs
>Officers wear pagers and we use a huge number of passive
radiation
>detectors in the form of portal monitors, cargo scanning
devices, etc.
>Everyone who sets off an alarm crossing the border is sent to
secondary
>until the Officers have determined if they are ligitimate.
>Many, but not all nuclear medicine departments are providing
patients with
>letters explaining that the patients have received a
radiopharmaceutical
>and if we have questions to call the
doctor/clinic/hospital.For those
>carrying the documents we simpy verify that the office is
ligitimate and
>call to verify that the person was a patient there. We can
identify many of
>the radiopharmaceuticals by thier spectrum on site. These
people pass
>through pretty quickly. The people who don't have the
documentation are
>asked for the doctor/clinic name and we do the same thing but
most do not
>know the phone number of the clinic so they may be detained
for quite a
>while until we get everything straightened out. If you are a
patient or
>work at a nuc. med. facility, please make sure that the
paperwork is given
>to the patients and travel restrictions may cause them some
delays.
>Luke McCormick
>
>____________________Reply Separator____________________
>Subject: RE: question concerning stress tests
>Author: owner-radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu
>Date: 1/12/2005 12:28 PM
>
>
>
>
>
> Hal & Phil,
>
> Patients ARE setting off alarms NOW. Happens a lot at
the
> NY/Canadian border, day trippers coming back. I heard
one
> instance on the Mexican California border near San
Diego. So
> far it seems the detectors are set up at borders and
customs
> stations in airports.
>
>
> Any opinions in this e-mail are solely those of the
author, and
> are not represented as those of the VA Eastern
Colorado HCS,
> the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, or the US Government.
>
> Peter G. Vernig, Radiation Safety Officer, MS-115, VA
Eastern
> Colorado Health Care System, 1055 Clermont St.
Denver, CO
> 80220, peter.vernig@med.va.gov, Phone= 303.399.8020
x2447; Fax
> = 303.393.5026, alternate fax, 303.393.5248
>
> "...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is
lovely,
> whatever is admirable, if anything is found to be
excellent or
> praiseworthy, let your mind dwell on these things."
>
> Paul of Tarsus
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu
> [mailto:owner-radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu]On Behalf Of
Careway,
> Harold A. (GE Energy)
> Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2005 9:30 AM
> To: Radsafe (E-mail)
> Subject: FW: question concerning stress tests
>
>
> 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
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
>
>
>
>.
>
>
>
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