Re: Bloodborne Pathogen Standar

[fegallag@uci.edu (Frank E. Gallagher, III)]

>I recommended to one of my clients that uses approximately 250 uCi of P-32 as a
>DNA probe, that they should setup a simple in-house urinalysis bioassay
program,
>using their LSC, as part of their routine Health Physics procedures.  

The University of California, Irvine recently adopted comprehensive bioassay
procedures for a variety of radionuclides and forms, based on the NUREG-1400
methods and Brodsky's value of E-6 as the fraction of activity handled that
might be inhaled.  Workers are not likely to have intakes by oral
ingestion--the few cases I have heard about have been self-inflicted or
criminal acts by colleagues.

For P-32, a nonvolatile liquid, we came up with the following minimum
quantities to be handled on a weekly basis which would indicate the need for
bioassay:

     -- Occasional, confirmatory bioassays to verify that radiation safety
practices are adequate = 20 Ci for adults (quarterly sampling) and 2 Ci for
declared pregnant women and minors (monthly sampling).

     -- Routine bioassays to measure doses that are likely to exceed 10% of
the internal dose limits = 200 Ci for adults and 20 Ci for declared pregnant
women and minors (with frequent enough sampling to prevent missed dose, but
we have obviously not found the need to calculate how often that should be).

Hope this helps.
   

*******************************************************************
Frank E. Gallagher, III, CHP            
Manager, Radiation Protection           
  and Radiation Safety Officer
Environmental Health & Safety Office    Phone:  (714) 824-6904
University of California                Fax:    (714) 824-8539
Irvine, CA   92717-2725                 E-mail: fegallag@uci.edu
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