that are currently in place. In view of the concerns over the use of dirty
bombs by miscreants, the Homeland Security has established checkpoints
at various strategic locations such as airports, tunnels, mass transit, bridges,
border crossing points, historical monuments, landmarks, and the like, to
monitor the transport of dirty bombs containing radioactivity by using radi-
ation detectors.
One pitfall of this measure is that patients who received radioactive
materials for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes may trigger the monitors
while passing through these checkpoints and undergo undue hassle with
authorities to provide proof that the radioactivity was really from medical
uses. These incidents have been reported all over the country. The NRC has
suggested providing patients having radioactivity a card to carry with infor-
mation such as the name of the patient, type of radionuclide administered,
date of examination, and a contact phone number for verification of the
information given on the card. Many hospitals are adopting this policy and
instruct the patients to carry the card for the period discussed below.
A question arises as to how long the patient who has undergone nuclear
studies should carry the card. It depends on the half-life of the radionuclide,
types of radiations the radionuclide emits, and the biological elimination of
the radiotracer from the body. Zuckier (2004) in a paper presented at The
Radiological Society of North America annual meeting in Chicago sug-
gested the following periods for different radionuclides for the patients to
carry the card.
(^18) F 1 day
99mTc and (^123) I 3 days
(^111) In 14–17 days
(^67) Ga and (^201) Tl 30 days
(^131) I 95 days
Radiation Phobia
The public in general is unduly fearful of radiation because of several
factors. One important factor is the graphic images of the devastating effects
of the atomic bombs detonated in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, and to
a lesser extent, the images of the Chernobyl reactor accident in 1986. The
most noticeable effects of these incidents are death of living species and
destruction of property at the site of the explosion and its immediate vicin-
ity. Because of these images, many people associate radiation exposure with
adverse health effects and death. These images are firmly embedded in the
minds of the public causing perpetual fear of radiation. However, these inci-
dents are very uncommon.
Another flashpoint in creating radiation phobia in the public’s mind is
the knowledge of assumption that any level of ionizing radiation is dan-
Radiation Phobia 263