Liquid discharges from the use of radionuclides in medicine (diagnosis)

R. Barquero; M. M. Agulla; A. Ruiz

doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2007.12.009

Liquid discharges from the use of radionuclides in medicine (diagnosis)

R. Barquero, M. M. Agulla, A. Ruiz

Radiology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

The production and discharge of liquid radioactive wastes as excreta from patients undergoing Nuclear Medicine Diagnostic (NMD) in a hospital were studied. Instantaneous and accumulated activity, discharged from the hospital to the sewage system, has been estimated keeping in mind radionuclide decay. This study would enable estimation of the environmental impact due to NMD procedures. Annual accumulated activities of 2.2 GBq (¹³¹I), 1.847 GBq (^99mTc), 0.743 GBq (¹²³I), 0.337 GBq (⁶⁷Ga), 0.169 GBq (¹¹¹In) and 0.033 GBq (²⁰¹Tl) result from our model when applied to a European hospital. A comparison is made with calculations by other authors that do not consider the radionuclide decay and who overestimate by two orders of magnitude. Doses to critical people as sewage treatment workers are also significantly reduced. So, our results stress the importance of including the decay in the calculations.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1535-1538
Number of pages	4
Journal	Journal of Environmental Radioactivity
Volume	99
Issue number	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2007.12.009
State	Published - Oct 1 2008

Keywords

Accumulated activities
Diagnosis nuclear medicine
Radionuclides

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Environmental Science(all)

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10.1016/j.jenvrad.2007.12.009

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Barquero, R., Agulla, M. M., & Ruiz, A. (2008). Liquid discharges from the use of radionuclides in medicine (diagnosis). Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 99(10), 1535-1538. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2007.12.009

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abstract = "The production and discharge of liquid radioactive wastes as excreta from patients undergoing Nuclear Medicine Diagnostic (NMD) in a hospital were studied. Instantaneous and accumulated activity, discharged from the hospital to the sewage system, has been estimated keeping in mind radionuclide decay. This study would enable estimation of the environmental impact due to NMD procedures. Annual accumulated activities of 2.2 GBq (131I), 1.847 GBq (99mTc), 0.743 GBq (123I), 0.337 GBq (67Ga), 0.169 GBq (111In) and 0.033 GBq (201Tl) result from our model when applied to a European hospital. A comparison is made with calculations by other authors that do not consider the radionuclide decay and who overestimate by two orders of magnitude. Doses to critical people as sewage treatment workers are also significantly reduced. So, our results stress the importance of including the decay in the calculations.",

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