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Bush__The_Essential_Physics_for_Medical_Imaging - Biomedical ...

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Phosphorus-32 is used <strong>for</strong> the radio nuclide therapy of polycythemia vera,malignant effusion, and other diseases. strontium-89 chloride is used to treatintractable pain from metastatic bone disease. <strong>The</strong> primary radiation safety precaution<strong>for</strong> these radio nuclide therapies is contamination control. For example, thewound and bandages at the site of an intraabdominal instillation ofP-32 should bechecked regularly <strong>for</strong> leakage. <strong>The</strong> blood and urine will be contaminated and universalprecautions should be observed. Exposure rates from patients treated withpure beta emitters like P-32 are not significant. Likewise the exposure rate frompatients treated with sr-89 are insignificant compared to the risk of contamination.Radioactive material use regulations require "cradle to grave" control of all radiationsources. A license from a state or federal regulatoty agency is required to possess and useradioactive materials in medicine. <strong>The</strong> license will specifY a number of program elements,including the operational details of the radiation safety program. <strong>The</strong> license willspecifY the individual responsible <strong>for</strong> assuring compliance with all radiation safety regulations(called the "radiation safety officer"), as well as procedures and record-keepingrequirements <strong>for</strong> radioactive material receipt, transportation, use, and disposal. Largerinstitutions will have a health physics department and a Radiation Safety Committeethat oversees the radiation safety program. <strong>The</strong> Radiation Safety Committee comprisesthe radiation safety officer and representatives from departments with substantial radiationand radioactive material use (e.g., nuclear medicine, diagnostic radiology, radiationoncology, and nursing) as well as representation from hospital administration.Minimizing radioactive waste is an increasingly important element of radioactivematerial use. Fortunately, most radionuclides used in nuclear medicine have shorthalf-lives that allow them to be held until they have decayed. As a rule, radioactivematerial is held <strong>for</strong> at least 10 half-lives and then surveyed with an appropriate radi-

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