Iodine capsules and radiophobia

[JMUCKERHEIDE@delphi.com]

10%??  of therapeutic doses??!!  "not all will vaporize"??  (presumably
inhaled? or just open it in the mouth?)  really??  :-)  And here I had no idea 
the practice of nuclear medicine was this bad! 

     I guess 10-4 is a little low, huh?  :-)

Doses to the technician way beyond diagnostic levels right to therapeutic
levels? Wow. Terrifying. 

I guess there is a purpose to "rad protection" :-)  I never knew how dangerous 
these practices could be!?  (made to sound!)  Pretty frightening. "Fear
producing!" 

Maybe we should we just kill nuclear medicine now rather than a "slow death",
along with the rest of nuclear science and technology on the altar of more rad 
protection? 

Regards, Jim Muckerheide
jmuckerheide@delphi.com
==========================

> I recall reading about ten yr ago that up to 10 percent of the I-131
> activity in a gelatin capsule can pass the capsule and appear as surface
> contamination.  I don't remember the source, but the proportion struck me
> as pretty substantial, especially when the dosage to one pt may be 200-300
> mCi.  Not all of this will vaporize, but I do not believe it is rampant
> radiophobia to be concerned of internal contamination in this situation.
> Especially when the technologist is administering doses to many patients.
> 
> On another point I will be more blunt.  The assertion that patients are not
> harmed by therapeutic dosages of radioiodine is pattently absurd.  These
> treatments produce NONstochastic effects on thyroid function.  That's why
> they are administered!
> 
> As we discuss paradigm shifts in low-dose radiation response let us keep
> some perspective.  Large doses of radiation (tens of rems) or high body
> burdens of RAM (tens to hundreds of millicuries) are clearly hazardous.
> The questions are in millirem and microcurie ranges.
> 
> Dave Scherer
> scherer@uiuc.edu