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I got RAI (18.75 mCi) on 1/17/07 and was cleared by my doctor to return to work today. Well, I work in a nuclear facility, so my procedure was to go to our Radiation Protection department for a reading and to get a letter to get through the portal monitors (for rad detection) at the end of the day. When they went to frisk me I was reading so high that the frisker couldn’t read me and they had to go out into the plant and get a frisker that could read a higher dose. I am reading high at 6 feet and even higher at contact point (my throat). Everyone wears a TLD in my office and I am creating extra dose to them just by being there. They wanted to move me to a location in another building so I would be by myself, but finally decided to move me to a cubicle that has empty cubicles around me so that I wouldn’t affect others around me with dose.
That’s the history – here’s the question – am I safe to be around other people? One of the RP’s said I can’t hurt anyone at work with the dose that I am emitting, but another said I should continue to wear gloves this week to feed my bird and also to stop back at the end of the week for another reading before I see my grandchildren. He said that my perspiration would be a source of dose and my body temperature has been swinging rapidly between burning up and freezing this past week. I prefer to lean on the side of caution, and of course paranoia has been a big part of my life this past year, but I don’t want to worry or be too overly cautious. Am I right to err towards caution? Do you think I should continue any of the other precautions I have been following this week, ie. staying away from the very young, elders, pregnant women, using disposable eating utensils, etc.
Also, I have been feeling queezy for the last couple of days, and my throat is sore and feels like the muscles are strained. I have been extremely sleepy. I believe these are all normal symptoms.
Thanks
The fact that the person responsible at your office — the RP, you called him/her — said that the dose you are emitting is not dangerous to others should be your guide. They are the knowledgeable ones about ambient radiation exposure. Most likely, the rationale behind separating you a bit is that it is important in the work that is done there to become aware, as soon as possible, of a radiation leak, and if there is a unique, and unusual extra source of radiation in the environment, however mild, the possibility exists that they could ignore a real danger for a bit longer, simply because they explained an elevated level away as having come from you. In other words, it is an extra precaution.
As for the perspiration issue, I would have you check with your doctor, but I think not from my reading on the subject. Yes, the first two or three days after RAI we do eliminate excess RAI via urine, perspiration and saliva. I131 is very soluble in water, and any that is not taken into the thyroid, within the first day or two is rapidly eliminated from the body. But your RAI was five days ago. I do not think we are still eliminating RAI after five days. As I suggested, check with your doctor on this, though.
To get back to the question of safety for others. If the amount of radiation that you are emitting were a true danger, you would be isolated in a hospital. You, in short, would be in huge health trouble, yourself. The dose of RAI that we get has not ever been shown to affect, adversely, the long-term health of the patients who receive it, much less the people who interact with us on a daily basis. We are given precautions simply to avoid subjecting others to an “unnecessary” exposure to radiation.
People who travel via airplane shortly after RAI have set off radiation detectors at airports. IF you have a business trip planned in the very near future, it might be wise to get a note from your doctor about the RAI.
I hope you are feeling better soon.
Bobbi — nGDF Online Facilitator -
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