Index | Site Map | FAQ | Facility Info | Reading Rm | New | Help | Glossary | Contact Us |
Home > Electronic Reading Room > Document Collections > News Releases
> 2002 > III-02-055 |
|||
|
|||
No. III-02-055 | October 4, 2002 | |
CONTACT: | Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 |
E-mail: OPA3.RegionIII@nrc.gov |
NRC CONDUCTS
SPECIAL INSPECTION OF POSSIBLE RADIATION EXPOSURES |
||
The Nuclear Regulatory Commissions
staff is conducting a special inspection into possible radiation doses above
NRC limits which occurred while family members visited a patient receiving a
nuclear medicine treatment at St. Joseph Mercy Health System in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The medical facility reported to the NRC that a patient received a therapeutic dose of radioactive iodine-131on July 1. The patient’s condition subsequently worsened, and she died on July 7. There is no indication that her death was associated with the iodine-131 treatment. Members of the patient’s family visited during the treatment period and were in prolonged, close contact with the patient. The hospital reported that one family member may have received a radiation dose in the range of 3,000 to 5,600 millirems, based on conservative assumptions. The NRC limit for radiation doses to a member of the public is 100 millirems per year. (A millirem is a standard measure of radiation dose.) Radiation exposures in the range reported would not produce any immediate
health effects; the NRC limit for workers in occupations associated with radiation
is 5,000 millirems per year. The hospital placed shielding around the patient to reduce the radiation level and counseled the family members on the need to minimize their time and proximity to the patient. Due to the family members’ desire to be near the patient, many of the family members apparently did not adhere to the controls established and the directions provided by the licensee to minimize radiation exposure. The hospital initially reported the situation to the NRC on August 15 and submitted its final report to the agency on October 1. Following its review of the reports, the NRC dispatched two radiation specialists to perform a special inspection to review the circumstances surrounding the possible overexposures and to perform independent calculations of the possible radiation doses received by the family members. |
||
NRC news releases are available through a free listserv subscription at the following Web address: http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC Home Page at www.nrc.gov also offers a Subscribe to News link in the News & Information menu. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web Site. |
Privacy Policy |
Site Disclaimer |