Liquid discharges from the use of radionuclides in medicine (diagnosis)

Barquero, R.; Agulla, M.; Ruiz, A.

doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2007.12.009

Cited by 21 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…In all these cases, the emission of radioactivity into the environment originated in inappropriate or negligent disposal of radioactive substances into MSW or with scrap metal intended for recycling. Inadequate disposal of radioactive substances into municipal sewerage systems has been reported also to originate detectable radioactive contamination of receiving aquatic systems in several European countries Malta et al 2013;Titley et al, 2000;Barquero et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can the incineration of Municipal Solid Waste pose occupational and environmental radiation hazards?

Carvalho

2017

IJOOES

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An evaluation of the incineration process of municipal solid waste is made for identifying potential radiation hazards. Sources of radiation considered are the radioactive materials wrongly eliminated into municipal waste (e.g., industrial and medical waste containing radioactive sources, such as cesium-137 and technetium-99m) and also radionuclides of natural origin (e.g., radium-226, polonium-210) contained in common materials disposed as domestic waste. Through burning, radionuclides from both origins may be released as gases and radioactive particles into the atmosphere and build up in the facility and in the environment nearby. Results from model calculations indicated that naturally-occurring radionuclides released into the atmosphere likely originate a small enhancement to the natural radiation background. However, in the case of man-made radioactive sources mixed with the municipal solid waste the radioactive emissions may attain and eventually exceed the radiation dose limit for members of the public. These results support the recommendation that for natural radionuclides present in incinerated waste a careful evaluation of the risk of exposure to ionizing radiation, actually in accord to the European Directive 2013/59/EURATOM establishing the basic safety standards for radiation protection, must be performed and model calculations validated with radioactivity measurements. Regarding the potential release of radionuclides from man-made radioactive sources it is recommended the installation of portals equipped with radiation detectors to check municipal solid waste on admission in the facilities and prevent such radiological accident.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can the incineration of Municipal Solid Waste pose occupational and environmental radiation hazards?

Carvalho

2017

IJOOES

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“…Its range of activity was Clínico 1 < Clínico 2 < Ruiz de Alda (Table 2). Neither 67 Ga nor 111 In were found in the samples taken at Ruiz de Alda, but the activity of 131 I was higher than in any other sample analysed (Barquero et al, 2008b;Chapel et al, 2002). We determined the evolution of discharged activity throughout the day for both hospitals in order to establish the radioactive discharge at the control point and its radiological consequences.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…The interest and concern of the scientific community about the behaviour of this radionuclide in the environment can be clearly seen by the number of studies published on the evaluation of the amounts released from Spanish (Chapel et al, 2002;Barquero et al, 2008a and2008b) and Swiss hospitals (Sundell-Bergman et al, 2008) and the estimate of the dose received by workers in processing plants (Willegaignon et al, 2006;Sundell-Bergman et al, 2008). Moreover, 131 I has been frequently detected in municipal sludge, sewage and wastewater effluent, and even in the water resulting from treatment plants (Moss, 1973;Sodd et al, 1975;Prichard et al, 1981;Miller et al, 1996;Dalmasso et al, 1997;Martin and Fenner, 1997;Nakamura et al, 2005;Punt et al, 2007;Zhao et al, 2007;Smith et al, 2008;Helmut et al, 2009;Jiménez et al, 2011;Chang et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discharges of nuclear medicine radioisotopes in Spanish hospitals

Krawczyk¹,

Piñero-García²,

Ferro-Garcı́a³

2013

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity

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“…In line with international radiation protection considerations [2,9], this radioactivity is generally being discharged with normal sewage. In Canberra, Australia, the discharge and transport of the isotope through the sewage system has never been studied before.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection and tracing of the medical radioisotope¹³¹I in the Canberra environment

Gilfillan

Timmers

2012

EPJ Web of Conferences

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Abstract. The transport and radioecology of the therapeutical radioisotope 131 I has been studied in Canberra, Australia. The isotope has been detected in water samples and its activity quantified via characteristic J-ray photo peaks. A comparison of measurements on samples from upstream and downstream of the Canberra waste water treatment plant shows that 131 I is discharged from the plant outflow into the local Molonglo river. This is consistent with observations in other urban environments. A time-correlation between the measured activities in the outflow and the therapeutical treatment cycle at the hospital identifies the medical treatment as the source of the isotope. Enhanced activity levels of 131 I have been measured for fish samples. This may permit conclusions on 131 I uptake by the biosphere. Due to the well-defined and intermittent input of 131 I into the sewage, the Canberra situation is ideally suited for radioecological studies. Furthermore, the 131 I activity may be applied in tracer studies of sewage transport to and through the treatment plant and as an indicator of outflow dilution following discharge to the environment.

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Liquid discharges from the use of radionuclides in medicine (diagnosis)

Cited by 21 publications

References 2 publications

Can the incineration of Municipal Solid Waste pose occupational and environmental radiation hazards?

Can the incineration of Municipal Solid Waste pose occupational and environmental radiation hazards?

Discharges of nuclear medicine radioisotopes in Spanish hospitals

Detection and tracing of the medical radioisotope¹³¹I in the Canberra environment

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Liquid discharges from the use of radionuclides in medicine (diagnosis)

Cited by 21 publications

References 2 publications

Can the incineration of Municipal Solid Waste pose occupational and environmental radiation hazards?

Can the incineration of Municipal Solid Waste pose occupational and environmental radiation hazards?

Discharges of nuclear medicine radioisotopes in Spanish hospitals

Detection and tracing of the medical radioisotope131I in the Canberra environment

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Product

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Detection and tracing of the medical radioisotope¹³¹I in the Canberra environment