title: The effectiveness of decontamination products in the nuclear medicine department.
abstract: This study assesses the effectiveness of using everyday cleaning agents for the radioactive decontamination of wet (99m)Tc-pertechnetate spills in the nuclear medicine department.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six cleaning agents (water, water and soap, alcohol, bleach, a commercial glass cleaner, and a commercial decontaminating agent) were analyzed for decontamination effectiveness for a wide range of surfaces (Formica, vinyl, vinyl-polyester, plastic, rubber, and polyester).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Within the experiment, the contamination was removed to radioactivity levels of less than 1% of the original contamination level.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate that for a range of surfaces, the investigated commercially available cleaning agents had little or no benefit over plain tap water when used to decontaminate (99m)Tc-pertechnetate spills.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences, College of Allied Health, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73117, USA.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ruhman
authors.forename: Vesper
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Grantham
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Martin
mesh_terms: D003666:Decontamination / Q000379:methods*; D009683:Nuclear Medicine; D011848:Radioactive Pollutants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D011848:Radioactive Pollutants