Re: Plutonium-238-containing cardiac pacemakers -Reply

[Laurie Taylor <laurie-taylor@uiowa.edu>]

There was one case here in Iowa about 10 or so years ago.  If you wish to
contact me by private e-mail, I can put you in touch with someone who can
give you more detailed information.

Regards,
Laurie Taylor
The University of Iowa
laurie-taylor@uiowa.edu

At 10:07 PM 5/27/99 -0500, you wrote:
>I believe that there has been at least one case of the cremation of a
>"nuclear powered" pacemaker.  As I recall, the Pu was completely
>contained within the pacemaker. This result would have been expected on
>the basis of a test cremation performed during the NRC's licensing
>process.
>
>The cremation per se may not present the greatest challenge to the
>containment of the Pu.  It is common practice to run the remains (bones,
>teeth, ashes, pacemaker) through a grinder following the cremation.
>
>Needless to say, it behooves all concerned, including the crematorium,
>to keep track of the patients with implanted pacemakers.
>
>                               Jack Bell, bellstar@erols.com
>
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