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Re: PI with I-131 Treatment and Immediate Return to Work
I've been trying to stay out of this, but I have to drop in on it now.
In article Al Tschaeche <antatnsu@pacbell.net> writes:
>My experience with my wife who had theraputic treatment for a
>hyperthyroid problem is: I received no significant dose from her
>I-131. I did receive some dose, but it was not significant. I did not
>mind kissing her although it meant that I absorbed about 10000 dpm of
>I-131. Using the telephone after she did gave me about 1000 dpm. Using
>the same fork and knife gave me about 500 dpm. None of that activity
>produced any significant dose to me. I consider it bad radiation
>protection to do anything about such low doses as these.
The dose to any one person coming in contact with the PI may indeed be
miniscule, but the staff of the labs that the PI visits should boot her out
without hesitation. I inspect labs here at OSU for regulatory compliance.
Each inspection includes surveys for both non-removable and removable
contamination. If I go into a posted lab and find areas substantially above
background with my meter, I'm going to make the lab folks clean things up.
Similarly, if I get smear wipe results of 10,000 dpm, the lab folks are going
to get an immediate phone call and a letter telling them to determine the
cause of the contamination and clean the stuff up.
The PI may not be giving anyone a significant dose, but she certainly could be
causing them a lot of hassle and extra work. She should be knowledgeable
enough about the situation and considerate enough of the lab staff to isolate
herself from direct contact with people and equipment in the posted labs. If
gloves and a lab coat will suffice, that's great. If it takes staying out of
the labs for a few days or a few weeks, so be it. I know that if someone came
into our labs (which we survey weekly) and left I-131 hand prints everywhere,
I'd smack 'em silly and tell 'em to come back when they're not going to crap
up my area.
Eric Denison
Radiation Safety Technician
denison.8@osu.edu