Medical RSO's- Syringe Prob

["Mike Bohan" <mike.bohan@yale.edu>]

Hi All,

Recently, our hospital changed syringe suppliers as part of a VHA contract
which apparently requires that participating hospitals must buy ~95% of their
syringe use through a single supplier.  My Chief Nuclear Medicine Tech.
informed me that these new syringes frequently leak, have their needle caps
fall off, leak past the plunger and sometimes the plunger can be too easily
separated from the barrel of the syringe.  Needless to say, these issues pose
significant radiation safety problems, which may or may not be problems for
non-radioactive applications.  

I won't mention the name of the manufacturer, but if you have had similar
problems, I would appreciate if you would let me know of your experiences by
private e-mail.  

This issue was discussed today at our Radiation Safety Committee and our
management representative asked if this problem was experienced at other
institutions.  Apparently, this contract applies to most, if not all, VHA
institutions.

Thanks in advance!
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Michael J. Bohan, RSO   |  e-mail: mike.bohan@yale.edu
Yale-New Haven Hospital |    Tele: (203) 785-2950
Radiological Physics    |     FAX: (203) 737-4252
20 York St. - WWW 204   |    As usual, everything I say may be plausibly
New Haven, CT    06504  |    denied at my employer's convenience ...
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