Re: I-131 PATIENT WORKING AT NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

["JIM AUSTIN" <austinjd@songs.sce.com>]

        From my experience it is definitely possible to get your techs 
cross contaminated. This will present a unique problem in that if they 
are found to be contaminated upon exit from your Radiologically 
Controlled Area, although you can identify the I-131 by whole body 
count, how can you prove that it actually came from the secretary and 
not from your waste stream? Once I had a worker alarm the personnel 
monitor at my facility, and upon investigation I found contamination 
readings of 10,000 counts per minute on the skin of his shin, but the 
pant leg was not contaminated. Upon further interrogation, the worker 
stated that his wife had been released from the hospital a few days ago 
after having a thyroid scan. We performed a whole body count and I-131 
was the only isotope identified. 

        In the event that your techs were found to be contaminated with 
I-131, you could present an argument that since I-131 is the only 
isotope identified, that it must have come from contact with the 
patient because if it was a fission product there would be other 
isotopes identified as well, and not solely iodine.

        I would simply have the patient ensure that she washes her 
hands well after trips to the restroom, and refrain from hugging anyone 
for about a month, or until she can clear a personnel monitor.

Standard Disclaimer...
Austinjd@songs.sce.com


Next week, a worker will be inside the security controlled area, but 
outside the radiologically controlled area, at our nuclear power plant.
     
GIVEN:
1.   She will be return to work 2.5 days after receiving an I-131 thyroid 
treatment.
2.   She is the secretary of the contractor radiation protection 
technicians, who take breaks and meals in the trailer where she works. 
She hands them paychecks and other paperwork, and frequently hugs them.
3.   The RP techs, of course, will be going in and out of the rad controlled 
areas all day, frequently being monitored for very low levels of 
contamination.
     
QUESTIONS:
1.  Should we assume that she is released with 30 mCi of I-131 in her 
body?
2.  Will there be a significant (N.B.: we are in a nuclear power plant), 
cross contamination problem with the RP techs?
3.  What will be the mechanism of contamination (e.g., sweating), and 
what contamination levels can be expected?
4.  For what period of time can we expect the contamination problem? 
5.  What mitigating actions can we take to minimize the problem?
     
THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP. {keep up the good work, Sandy Perle} 
Andy Olsen   OLSENC@MYAPC.COM  207/882-5654