Re: Iodine capsules and radiophobia

[fearp@VAX.CS.HSCSYR.EDU (Peter Fear)]

I thought that the 10% was probably a little high. We found less than 0.1%
from NaI solutions that are used at our facility and these are at neutral pH
- the worst possible situation. We get the iodine in a septum vial and then
vent it using needles thru TEDA charcoal filters and 200 mCi doses usually
have less than 20 microcuries. We have never used capsules so I can't say
how much they release but I am sure that it is much, much less.

Pete

>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
>> .....
>> burdens of RAM (tens to hundreds of millicuries) are clearly hazardous.
>> The questions are in millirem and microcurie ranges.
>> 
>> Dave Scherer
>> scherer@uiuc.edu
>

Peter Fear
SUNY Health Science Center
750 E. Adams St.
Syracuse, NY 13210

fearp@vax.cs.hscsyr.edu
(315)464-6510