Selection of Rooms used for I-131 Therapies

["Danny R. Anglin" <anglind@ctrvax.Vanderbilt.Edu>]

At our hospital, we have used rooms designed for infectious patients for
I-131 therapies.  These rooms have negative air pressure and there is an
ante room entrance.  Due to an epidemic of potentially infectious patients,
particularly tuberculosis patients, we have agreed with the administration
that we must locate new rooms for radioiodine therapies.  I have talked to a
few of my counterparts at some other medical centers and was surprised at
the differences between institutions of what is considered acceptable for
rooms. I would like to get a sense of how most medical institutions address
the following points concerning room specifications:

    1.  Ventilation

         Do you feel that negative pressure is necessary.  If not, why.

     2.  Radiation levels in corridors

         How do you assure that radiation levels in unrestricted areas are
less than 2 mR in any hour.   Do you take into consideration that these
patients are ambulatory and therefore could be near any wall.


Please send your response to my e-mail address below and I will summarize
the response to the list. 


Danny Anglin, Senior Institutional Safety Officer
Vanderbilt University
Department of Institutional Safety
U-0202 Med. Ctr. North
Nashville, TN 37232-2665

anglind@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu
Phone:  (615)-322-2057
FAX:  (615)-343-0477