Re: Hospital I-131 waste and NRC regulations

[BLHamrick@aol.com]

In a message dated 97-04-03 16:15:18 EST, Stephen McGuire wrote:

<< However, if radioactive material is contained in the body of a patient who
is
 released under the provisions of Section 35.75, which governs patient
release, the
 radioactive material is no longer licensed or under the responsibility of
the
 licensee.  Thus, diapers from the home of  a released patient may be
disposed of as
 ordinary trash.
  >>

Unfortunately, because many, if not all, landfills now have radiation
detection devices to screen waste coming into their facility, this means
local authorities end up spending hours digging through piles of residential
or nursing home waste at these landfills only to find  I-131 (or even Tc-99m)
contaminated diapers, which have set off the alarm.  This results in a lot of
wasted man-hours, and it seems the solid waste people and the radiation
protection folks need to come to some kind of agreement in this regard.
 Suggestions?

Barbara L. Hamrick
Los Angeles County - Radiation Management
BLHamrick@aol.com