Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Radiation Exposure from Iodine 131
Goals and Objectives

Goals

The goals of the ATSDR series of Case Studies in Environmental Medicine (CSEM) are:

• to increase the health professional's knowledge of hazardous substances in the environment and
• to aid in the evaluation of potentially exposed patients.

Objectives

After completion of this educational activity, the reader should be able to:

• describe the major sources of I-131 in the environment,
• identify the major routes of human exposure,
• describe the population group most at risk for health effects from past exposure to I-131 and why,
• describe the four factors contributing to the internal dose of I-131 contamination,
• assess a patient's environmental or occupational exposure to I-131,
• describe the diagnostic evaluation of a thyroid nodule in an individual exposed to I-131,
• list two important actions to take if an environmental release of I-131 occurs,
• discuss indications for prophylactic use of potassium iodine (KI) after an I-131 exposure, and
• list three sources of information one could access if an I-131 release occurs.

Accreditation

Continuing Medical Education (CME)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. CDC designates this educational activity for a maximum of 2.25 hours in category 1 credit toward the American Medical Association (AMA) Physician's Recognition Award. Each physician should claim only those hours of credit that he/she actually spent in the educational activity.

Continuing Nursing Education (CNE)

This activity for 2.5 contact hours is provided by CDC, which is accredited as a provider of continuing education in nursing by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.

Continuing Education Units (CEU)

CDC has been approved as an Authorized Provider of continuing education and training programs by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training and awards 0.2 Continuing Education Units (CEUs).

Continuing Health Education Specialist (CHES)

CDC is a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. This program is a designated event for the CHES to receive 2.0 category 1 contact hours in health education.

Expiration: November 24, 2008

The response form must be completed and returned, either electronically or by fax or by mail, for eligibility to receive continuing education credit.

Continuing education credit is available free of charge.

Instructions for completing CSEM online

1. Read this CSEM, Radiation Exposure from Iodine 131; all answers are in the text.
2. Link to the ATSDR Continuing Education General Information page (www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/conteduc.html).
3. Once you access this page, select the Continuing Education Opportunities link.
4. Once you accessed the MMWR/ATSDR site online system, select the electronic file and/or register and test for a particular ATSDR course.
   1. Under the heading “Register and Take Exam,” click on the test type desired.
   2. If you have registered in this system before, please use the same login name and password. This will ensure an accurate transcript.
   3. If you have not previously registered in this system, please provide the registration information requested. This allows accurate tracking for credit purposes. Please review the CDC Privacy Notice.
   4. Once you have logged in/registered, select the test and take the posttest.
5. Answer the questions presented. To receive continuing education credit, you must answer all of the questions. Some questions have more than one answer. Questions with more than one answer will instruct you to “indicate all that are true.”
6. Complete the course evaluation and posttest no later than November 24, 2005.
7. You will be able to immediately print your continuing education certificate from your personal transcript.

Instructions for completing CSEM on paper

1. Read this CSEM, Radiation Exposure from Iodine 131; all answers are in the text.
2. Complete the evaluation questionnaire and posttest, including your name, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address, if available.
3. Circle your answers to the questions. To receive your continuing education credit, you must answer all of the questions.
4. Sign and date the posttest.
5. Return the evaluation questionnaire and posttest, no later than June 1, 2005, to CDC by one of the following methods:

   Continuing Education Coordinator, CSEM Program
   Address	FedEx Street Address
   ATSDR, Division of Toxicology and Environmental Medicine 1600 Clifton Road, NE (MS F-32) Atlanta, GA 30333 Tel. (770) 488-3490 Fax: (770) 488-4178 E-mail: atsdrdtemce@cdc.gov	ATSDR, Division of Toxicology and Environmental Medicine 4770 Buford Hwy, NE (Mail Stop F-32) Atlanta, GA 30341-3717 Tel. (770) 488-3490

6. You will receive an award certificate within 90 days of submitting your credit forms. No fees are charged for participating in this continuing education activity.

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