Radiation Detectors, Cat Poo, and you.

SubEtha · Dec 7, 2002

Radioactive patients set off subway alarms
12:55 05 December 02
newscientist.com news service

Americans undergoing radioactive medical treatments risk setting off anti-terrorism sensors in public places, and subsequent strip searches by police, warn doctors at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

A 34-year-old patient who had been treated with radioactive iodine for Graves disease, a thyroid disorder, returned to their clinic three weeks later complaining he had been strip-searched twice in Manhattan subway stations. Christopher buettner and Martin surks report the case in a letter to the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"Police had identified him as emitting radiation and had detained him for further questioning. This patient's experience indicates that radiation detection devices are being installed in public places in New York City and elsewhere," the doctors write.

buettner and surks contacted the Terrorism Task Force of the New York City Police Department to determine how to prevent other patients being detained.

A letter describing the isotope used and its dose, its biological half-life and the date and time of treatment, plus a 24-hour contact telephone number for the patient's physician should help, the police said.

But even in the best-case scenario, a patient will have to wait while the contents of the letter are verified, say the doctors. "They may choose not to use public transportation to avoid this inconvenience," they write.

Emma Young

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I like that last quote about "choosing" to not use public transportation to avoid the "inconvenience".

And on the lighter side....

From the Article "Oct 25, 2002 9:04 am US/Eastern
(AP) (WHITMAN, Mass. )
A man who ignored a veterinarian's order to flush his cat's radioactive waste down the toilet was hit with a $2,800 bill.

And Bill jenness said he's happy to pay it.

"I don't feel I was mistreated," jenness told The Patriot Ledger of quincy. "It's my cat, my responsibility and I did not abide by the directions I was given."

jenness' cat, mitzi, an 11-year-old shorthair, was treated with an injection of radioiodine after developing hyperthyroidism, which is common in cats her age.

The treatment makes the cat radioactive for weeks, so special care is required, including limiting snuggling time, keeping the cat away from children and pregnant women and using protective gloves when flushing the cat litter.

jenness said he decided to throw the litter in the trash after the waste hardened into abnormally large clumps.

"I was afraid of my septic system being clogged," he said.

mitzi's mess was discovered at an incinerator in Rochester when alarms detected radioactivity. Workers traced the waste to jenness after finding mail with his name on it nearby.

The radiation treatment by radiocat in waltham and cost of disposing the waste totaled about $5,000. jenness said it was worth it because mitzi is doing well.

radiocat's Web site says the amount of radiation from a radioiodine shot is probably less than the amount a person receives on a long plane flight or a day at the beach.

But Thomas burnett, a Whitman public works commissioner, said any radiation in trash is too much.

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aphexcoil · Dec 7, 2002

This just begs the question of precisely how much radioactive crap to they put into people and animals? Geesh.

SubEtha · Dec 7, 2002

For many cancers, chemo works really well. (saves/extends lives)
Granted, there will be better solutions in the future, but I wouldn't label it a bad thing.

We get radiation from all kinds of strange places, which when you add it up over the span of years probably equals a chemo treatment.

You get irradiated when you fly on an airplane, less when you're standing outside.
Most soil is radioactive, some places more than others. We often ingest small amounts of radioactive material in our food.
55% of all radiation exposure comes from radon, which is everywhere due to radioactive elements in the soil.
11% comes from your own body in the form of potassium-40, uranium and thorium.

aphexcoil · Dec 7, 2002

Speaking of radiation, ask the former Dr. Louis Slotin about "tickling the dragon's tail."

The title of the film refers to a dangerous, hands-on technique used by Slotin and his contemporaries to create the beginnings of a fission reaction by bringing two metal hemispheres of highly reactive, beryllium-coated plutonium close together.

The idea of the procedure - which was conducted bare handed, with nothing more than a screwdriver and the scientist's wits to judge the critical separation - was to bring the two halves as close together as possible without allowing them to touch.

Slotin had "tickled the dragon's tail" at least 40 times before. On that fateful, day, however, the dragon turned around and bit him.

The screwdriver slipped, the hemispheres came in contact, and a blue glow and a wave of heat swept through the room. Slotin acted instantly, probably instinctively, using his body to shield his co-workers from the radiation while he separated the hemispheres.

"By his actions, he was able to prevent the other men in the room from suffering permanent injury," said Winnipeg writer Martin Zeilig, who has been researching Slotin's story for more than a decade. "I think it's remarkable that he had the wherewithal and the presence of mind to do what he did.

"His comment to one of his co-workers was, 'You'll be OK, but I think I'm done for.' He knew right away what had happened to him."

Slotin died nine days later, with his family by his side. His body was flown back to Winnipeg in a lead coffin - under instructions from the U.S. military that it was not to be opened under any circumstances - and a funeral was held at the Slotin family's home. More than 3,000 people crowded onto Scotia Street for the outdoor service.
More...

http://www.lavitt.ca/louisslotin/movie.html

bobcathy1 · Dec 7, 2002

You have such a catchy title, you hooked me.
Now I know not to throw radioactive poop in the garbage.
Thank you for the heads up

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Radiation Detectors, Cat Poo, and you.

SubEtha

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