the nuclear medicine "hot lab", handling over 1 giga-becquerel of radioactive technetium 99m.

[AnimaDraconis]

It never stops amazing me that so radioactive stuff is actually injected into human bodies. I mean, in the nuclear physics lab where I work, I am trained to consider materials as radioactive needing proper handling when the activity is 1.5 times above the background.

[frog7227]

I bought a $.25 portable smoke detector and got 0.9 microcurie or 33.3 kbq of am-241 score! Also is the thin disc the americium? And how many usv/hr is that on the gamma-scout?

[bionerd23]

@frog7227

yes, the thin tiny disc is the americium. cannot determine real uSv/h with gamma scout, as LET and radiation weighting factor are too different from gamma radiation. gamma scout only displays proper equivalent dose for gamma and x-radiation; very precise readings only in the ~650 keV range (near energy of calibration nuclide Cs-137).

[AScannerClearly]

I can't wait until they start making Energy Drinks with this Tc-99m in them! ^_^ (lol I can dream.)

[alin0steglinski0]

@AScannerClearly BRING ON THE TECHNITIUM DRINKS

[piranha031091]

@AScannerClearly Well, they already made radium drinks in the 1900s...

[ytmachx]

What shielding or protection did you use during the making of this video? Did you need any?

[bionerd23]

@ytmachx

i didnt use shielding, and i mentioned in another comment to sestamibi99 why. :)

protection? well. distance. and, working quickly, and using gloves, so spills on my hands would be easier to decontaminate.

[geonerd]

Moooo!

[antiprotons]

Wow! This is quite an amazing and High quality video. I knew how they did it, but i had never seen it done. Please continue to post your quality science videos! YouTube does not have enough real science.

[AWIERD1]

Great video! Keep doing what you do.

[sestamibi99]

Thanks for making this video. It would be interesting to see the exposure to the technologist using this method and exposure using additional shielding of an L-shield.

[bionerd23]

@sestamibi99

depends on the thickness of the lead shield. with a normal x-ray apron, which is made to shield STRAY radiation (low energy stray x-rays from focused beam), the 140 keV Tc-99m gamma quantums will be only slowed down before they hit you... leading to even more interactions in your body rather than passing through you. so, best would be a SERIOUSLY thick and heavy lead shield. practical is using no shield, and the WORST exposure, you'd actually get with a THIN lead shield...

[itchypopliteal]

@bionerd23 i remember my classmate having the same questions to the instructor during out review, and if i remember correctly, he tried to make the same point. I'm just happy i get to read your reply. it's like finally seeing that answer in text. thank you. :D

[Skandalos]

Die Patienten und deren Ausscheidungen werden hoffentlich anschließend in Bleibehälter eingeschweißt und im Salzbergwerk eingelagert?!

[bionerd23]

@Skandalos

wozu? nach 6 stunden ist die haelfte der aktivitaet weg... nach 12 stunden ist dann nur noch 1/4 uebrig, usw. - bis man den kram zum salzbergwerk gefahren hat, ist er schon nicht mehr messbar radioaktiv. :)

die patienten gehen - wenn sie keine schwere erkrankung haben - nach hause... und benutzen ganz normal ihre toilette.

ausser ich, ich hab meinen urin lieber fuer experimente benutzt. der link zur dokumentation davon ist in der beschreibung zu diesem video...

[Skandalos]

@bionerd23 war auch nicht sooo super ernst gemeint :)

Trotzdem: heißt das, daß dieses Zeugs ausschließlich in nicht-strahlende Isotope zerfällt?

[bionerd23]

@Skandalos

der grundzustand von technetium - Tc99 - ist ebenfalls radioaktiv, ein betastrahler. allerdings hat der eine halbwertszeit von zweihunderttausend jahren - bei einer ausgangsaktivitaet im GBq-bereich und einer halbwertszeit von 6 stunden hast du am ende nichts messbares mehr, da zerfallen dann tatsaechlich ein paar einzelne atome pro sekunde. jede BANANE ist radioaktiver und verstrahlt den menschen mehr, als eine millonen patienten, die ins klo pissen. google: banana equivalent dose.

[bionerd23]

@Skandalos

noch was: der vergleich passt ganz gut, da kalium-40 ebenfalls ein betastrahler ist. und: nach dem beta-zerfall von Tc-99 entsteht Ru-99, und DAS ist dann stabil, d.h. nicht-strahlend.

und noch was lustiges... die gesamtaktivitaet eines standard-erwachsenen (70 kg), der niemals einer kuenstlichen kontamination (chernobyl, etc.) ausgesetzt war, sondern nur z.b. bananen gegessen hat, betraegt.... 8000 becquerel, achttausend radioaktive zerfaelle jede sekunde in jedem menschen.

[joelb79]

What is the gamma scout's efficiency at tc-99? Some probes are 1% eff, and the dose rates are completely wrong given they are calibrated for CS-137 and the efficiency of the probe is 30-40% usually there. I think the dose rate was far off on your GS.

[bionerd23]

@joelb79

a geiger mueller tube in general only registers about 1-5% of striking gamma and x-radiation (>100 keV).

the GS is indeed calibrated with Cs-137, but for gamma energies >30 keV and with open shields, the dose rate should still give you a rough idea. but you're right, it's possible that e.g. a displayed dose of 300 uSv/h would be an actual dose of 250 uSv/h, for example.

[bionerd23]

and - for measuring the source up close - the dose rate is definitely far off, as anything above 1000 uSv/h produces an overflow of the tube (dead time too large for # of incoming discharges), so the dose rate was likely much higher than displayed there. that's why you usually dont measure sources from that close, but rather measure from e.g. 30 centimeters and calculate your way into the up-close doses using the inverse square law.

[helehole]

the metal rod is most likely led hehe

[bionerd23]

@helehole

definitely NOT lead, as that'd get into the eluate, and the eluate gets injected into patients. lead is toxic, so this would cause harm to the patients.

alright, alright, i looked it up. the Mo-99 is bond to a column of aluminum.

[helehole]

@bionerd23 oh 0,o well, thanks for the research and response :)

[bamboo4tameshigiri]

Excellent video. I actually learned something today.