Iodine-131 in Sewage Sludge from a Small Water Pollution Control Plant Serving a Thyroid Cancer Treatment Facility

Abstract

Iodine-131 (half-life = 8.04 d) is the most widely used radionuclide in medicine for therapeutic purposes. It is excreted by patients and is discharged directly to sewer systems. Despite considerable dilution in waste water and the relatively short half-life of I, it is readily measured in sewage. This work presents I concentrations in sewage sludge from three water pollution control plants (WPCPs) on Long Island, NY. Iodine-131 concentrations ranged from 0.027 ± 0.002 to 148 ± 4 Bq g dry weight. The highest concentrations were measured in the Stony Brook WPCP, a relatively small plant (average flow = 6.8 × 10 L d) serving a regional thyroid cancer treatment facility in Stony Brook, NY. Preliminary radiation dose calculations suggested further evaluation of dose to treatment plant workers in the Stony Brook WPCP based on the recommendations of the Interagency Steering Committee on Radiation Standards.

Efficacy of a Graphene Oxide/Chitosan Sponge for Removal of Radioactive Iodine-131 from Aqueous Solutions

“…Elevated concentrations of iodine-131 have been observed in municipal wastewater treatment plants following the application of therapeutic doses [ 6 ]. Rose and Swanson [ 7 ] found iodine-131 in sewage sludge from three water pollution control plants, ranging from 0.027 ± 0.002 to 148 ± 4 Bq/g dry weight.…”