title: Calculation of airborne radioactivity in a Technegas lung ventilation unit.
abstract: Airborne contamination by 99Tcm has been monitored in the Nuclear Medicine Department in our hospital to assess the risk of internal contamination to occupational workers exposed to Technegas studies. An air sampler fitted with a membrane filter was used. The optimum time for air absorption for obtaining the maximum activity in the filter was calculated. Maximum activity in the membrane filter ensures minimum uncertainty, which is especially important when low-level activities are being measured. The optimum time depends on air absorption velocity, room volume and filter efficiency for isotope collection. It tends to 1/lambda (lambda = disintegration constant for 99Tcm) for large volume and low velocity. Room activity with the air pump switched on was related to filter activity, and its variation with time was studied. Free activity in air for each study was approximately 7 x 10(-4) the activity used, and the effective half-life of the isotope in the room was 13.9 min (decay and diffusion). For a typical study (630 MBq), the effective dose to staff was 0.01 microSv when in the room for 10 min.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Física y Protección Radiológica, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves, Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: López Medina
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Miñano
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Terrón
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Bullejos
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Guerrero
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Arroyo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ramírez
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Llamas
mesh_terms: D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006108:Graphite; D006801:Humans; D008834:Microclimate; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D013670:Sodium Pertechnetate Tc 99m; D013667:Technetium / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive; C056708:Technegas; D013667:Technetium; D006108:Graphite; D013670:Sodium Pertechnetate Tc 99m