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of the IR Manual to Nuclear War A Critique (November 2006) by Bruce Beach, RSO (Radiological Scientific Officer) of MEDICAL MANAGEMENT OF INTERNALLY RADIOCONTAMINATED PATIENTS (short name - Internal Radiocontamination Manual ie. IR Manual)
Table of Contents
II. Twelve Differences for Nuclear WW3 III. Physician Inexperience IV. Sources of Help for Radiological Incidents V. Advantage and Unique Feature of IR Manual VI. 'Natural' Sources
[I-131, Cs-137, Sr-90]
(Special case of I-131 and Ir-192)
(various scales of measure)]
(Cocktail)
INTERNALLY CONTAMINATED PATIENTS" C. "MEDICAL FOLLOW-UP OF EXTERNALLY IRRADIATED PATIENTS"
and recommended use are given in the IR Manual.] A. Ammonium chloride B. Calcium (oral) C. Calcium-DTPA D. Dimercaprol E. D-Penicillamine F. Potassium iodide G. Potassium phosphate H. Propylthiouracil I. Prussian blue J. Sodium alginate K. Sodium alginate L. Sodium phosphate M. Zinc-DTPA
The manual is the first truly new presentation on the treatment of radiologically contaminated patients that I have seen in years and I have read it with interest to see what bearing it might have upon treating the survivors of a nuclear holocaust (nuclear WW3), which is of course my primary interest.
The document does not itself address that eventuality but addresses radiological catastrophes that might affect hundreds to hundreds of thousands of individuals, rather than the millions, possibly billions, of radiologically involved individuals that will be involved in the scenario of nuclear WW3 that I anticipate. Nevertheless, its insights (or more often the limitations placed on its insights by the relatively limited theoretical catastrophes that it deals with) may help us to better anticipate what may be expected in the anticipated greater catastrophe and to design possible responses.
1. A nuclear WW3 holocaust
2. Response facilities in the vicinity
3. Utilities and services such as
4. Transportation systems would probably fail -
5. Lack of trained personnel for social control.
6. Outside help would not be available
7. Non-availability of supplies and drugs -
8. Serious limitations regarding availability
9. Total lack of personnel
None of the above factors applied
Three more factors
10. The large number of external gamma radiation burns that would occur from fallout -
11. The massive number of traumatic injuries
12. The total garbage mix of radionuclides
Indeed, it is the reverse of this latter factor that is the major focus and rationale of the IR Manual in determining exactly which radionuclides one is dealing with and prescribing specific remedies and treatments for the differing ones that might occur.
While these limitations of the IR Manual are severe, for our purpose, nevertheless it does present a number of insights that are beneficial.
[This was their (and the Department of "a manual that covers the important aspects of such management".
help in the event of a radiological incident." "For example, Los Angeles County has stockpiled drugs that help remove internalized radioactive material from the body. These drugs are called 'decorporation' drugs, and they may be accessed by physicians managing radiocontaminated patients in whom decorporation appears to be clinically appropriate. A number of these drugs are not generally stocked in hospital pharmacies, which is why they have been stockpiled for an emergency."
irradiated patients who were not radiocontaminated in the process." "While such management may be essential, other references have covered this topic quite well. One handy reference is
Military Medical Operations, Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Bethesda, MD, April, 2003."
or telephone (301)295-0316, or write to Military Medical Operations, AFRRI, 8901 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20889-5603."
[email protected]
"The unique feature is that research was performed to create a simple procedure to estimate internal photon-emitting radionuclide contamination in exposed persons, and that this procedure may be used anywhere. Humanized exposure rate constants were determined for a variety of radionuclides to facilitate the estimation of the degree of radiocontamination. This information may then be used to decide whether decorporation drug therapy is appropriate." "No other publication at present contains these procedures, as they were developed for this manual."
of Internal Radiocontamination
B. Ubiquitous Naturally-occurring
C. Other Naturally Occurring Radionuclides
D. Strontium (Sr)-90 "Contamination events can occur accidentally in laboratory and industrial settings, usually affecting small numbers of workers ..."
of Internal Radiocontamination
and Destroyed Nuclear Power Plants [I-131, Cs-137, Sr-90] "The radionuclides of [immediate] major concern in a nuclear weapons blast or a destroyed nuclear power plant are I-131 and Cs-137."
"Radiological dispersal devices (RDDs) are candidates for terrorist acts. RDDs include "After persons are externally decontaminated following an RDD event and their significant non-radiation injuries are addressed, it becomes necessary to evaluate them for internal contamination with radioactive material." [External radiation decontamination procedures will be found in the External Radiation Manual ]. "[Internal radiation contamination] evaluation will also be necessary for uninjured persons at some distance from the event who nevertheless are concerned about internal radiocontamination, in part from prevailing wind currents. The primary reason for this evaluation is to identify patients with significant internal radiocontamination who could benefit from the use of decorporation drugs, that is, drugs that aid in the removal of radiocontaminants from the body. Generally speaking, the sooner decorporation drug therapy is begun, the more effective it is." "Radiation absorbed dose resulting from exposure to the radionuclides that can potentially be employed for a RDD is due to both external and internal components. The external dose component is due to proximity to the sources and the internal dose component is due to intake by inhalation, ingestion, or through the skin. Only the internal dose component due to inhalation will be considered here. We are aware that the body retention of many of the radionuclides may vary as a function of age, gender, body weight, etc."
"It is unlikely that any patient will be radioactive enough to be any danger to medical personnel. The only exception would be a patient with radioactive shrapnel from a huge radioactive source. It is therefore wise to monitor these patients with an instrument that can detect high activities, such as an ion chamber." B. Peacetime Radiation Dose Standards "The maximum permissible dose to a radiation worker each year is 5 rem."
"In an emergency, doses of 50-75 rem may be accepted by individuals involved in lifesaving activities."
[Or higher. C. Low-level Contamination Spread "... radiation meters or not, it is very probable that the Emergency Department and other parts of the hospital will become contaminated, likely with low levels of radioactive material that are not a significant threat to anyone." "Removal of the patient's clothing usually takes care of most of the external contamination. Identify a shielded place in which bags of radioactive clothing may be temporarily stored. A large closet or small room, with additional concrete blocks as needed, would work well."
[A commonly overlooked hazard E. IR Not Important in Nuclear Weapon Event [In the case of nuclear weapons]"... external radiation, radiation burns, and blast injuries will completely overshadow internal radiocontamination, which will be of relatively minor importance." [In case of nuclear war, it is anticipated that a great number of 'blast injuries' will result from glass shards - at some considerable distance from the blast, and there may be a lot of damage from thermal radiation. Radiation burns, per se, of the nature found with the bombs in Japan, is not expected to be prevalent because of the efficiency of the newer weapons and that very little immediate radiation will escape from the larger crater. External radiation burns from fallout, however, is another MAJOR matter. For that subject see the above recommend External Radiation Manual.] "Nuclear fission (differently from a dirty bomb - RDD) results in the formation of several hundred different radionuclides, many of which have short halflives. Long term internal radiocontamination with such radionuclides as Sr-90 and Cs-137 may be seen, but probably not at high levels."
cesium (Cs)-137, cobalt (Co)-60, iodine (I)-125, iodine (I)-131, iridium (Ir)-192, palladium (Pd)-103, phosphorus (P)-32, plutonium (Pu)-239, radium (Ra)-226, strontium (Sr)-90, tritium (H)-3, uranium (U)-234, 235, and 238, and yttrium (Y)-90."
B. Radmeters Do Not Identify Radionuclides "The radiation equipment used by HAZMAT teams and others to detect radiation does not identify the radionuclide(s) present. It just detects radioactivity. While this is all that is needed to know to begin external decontamination of patients, it is necessary to know which radionuclides are present [in case of an RDD] in order to estimate internal body burden and institute appropriate treatment, if needed. It will also be necessary to have such information for various public health activities, such as monitoring food and water."C. Spectrometers Identify Radionuclides "The easiest way to identify a radionuclide is by the characteristic energies of its photons and their relative frequencies. This is performed with a device called a spectrometer, coupled with a computer program that identifies radionuclides by their spectra.""Spectrometers may be stationary or portable. There are various kinds of radiation detection materials used in spectrometers, but it is enough to know that these devices are commonly possessed by radiation regulators, some industries, and many universities and teaching hospitals."
"It is therefore reasonable to expect that once radioactive material is detected, it will likely take a number of hours to perhaps a day to identify the radionuclide(s) in question. Useful portable spectrometers include the ICS-4000 (see "Sports stadiums and other locations with ample parking make good screening centers." [Parking will probably be irrelevant after a nuclear war because there will probably be very few vehicles moving anyway - possibly from the result of EMP (although there is a difference of opinion regarding that) but certainly from the lack of fuel and because of other factors.] "Screening equipment, such as Geiger-Muller (G-M) detectors, ion chambers, and portal monitors, and persons trained to use this equipment, must be available." [Which again, is all very improbable after a nuclear war because North America has not made such preparation a policy.]
E. Geiger-Muller (G-M) detectors,
"By 'flooding' we mean that they cannot function properly with the high countrate presented to them. Most will register "zero". They may thus indicate that no radiation is present, when in fact the opposite is true. When monitoring patients with a G-M detector, start the monitoring at a significant distance from the patient, and at the highest setting, e.g. "x 100", and then come closer. If the radiation readings fall as you get closer, have your health physicist bring an ion chamber that can give accurate readings at high radiation levels." "There is one other rare exception to the assumption that the radioactivity on or in the patient will not be a significant hazard to the medical personnel. If there is a criticality accident and a worker gets a very high neutron dose, the neutrons may activate non-radioactive atoms in the patient's body and create radioactive ones. With fatal doses from such an accident, the patient may be highly radioactive."
"For those hospitals which have them, calibrating them and planning to use them for screening people could be part of their RDD disaster plan." G. Pre-screening Decontamination "Due to the fact that there will inevitably be some delay before mass screening of uninjured persons is available, those uninjured persons in proximity to the radioactive material release event should go home, shower and wash their hair, wash their clothes in the washing machine, clean their shoes with a wet paper towel which should then be discarded, and then get screened. They may bring their newly-washed clothes and cleaned shoes along in a plastic bag to make sure that they are no longer significantly contaminated.""Removal of all clothing will generally remove about 90% of external contamination, and the treatment of injuries takes precedence over radiocontamination issues." "It is highly unlikely that residual radiation levels from the patient will constitute a hazard to medical personnel."
"Never rub the skin so as to cause an abrasion, because external radioactive material can now become absorbed and internalized." "If soap and water do not remove all the contamination, there is the possibility that the contamination is internal. As most internal contamination comes in through inhalation and swallowing, the main areas of radioactivity will be the chest and abdomen." B. External Decontamination Solutions "If residual radioactivity is on extremities or other areas that appear to represent external contamination, it is recommended that mass action decontamination solutions be used. These agents have been used to clean contaminated surfaces, and have been approved by the FDA for use on intact skin.""There are three different solutions to choose from, and the choice depends upon the radioactive element involved. If the radioactive material has not yet been identified, try all three and see which works." C. Source for Decontamination Solutions "A set of the three mass effect decontamination solutions (for halogens, actinides, and transition metals) is available, complete with instructions, from Dr. John Kuperus, a nuclear pharmacist in Tampa, FL. He may be reached at:
Radiation Decontamination Solutions, LLC 101A Dunbar Ave. Oldsmar, FL 33634 Telephone: (800)995-4363 ext. 267 FAX: (800)697-5250 101A Dunbar Ave. Oldsmar, FL 34677 813-854-5100 813-854-8120 fax [email protected]
[Information is also available
and from the RadDecon representative
[It is this latter - "Inhaled radioactive gases have varying amounts of absorption into the blood. Inhaled particulates that are not coughed out or swept out by cilia can be gradually solubilized to some extent, and then absorbed, or deposited eventually in the tracheobronchial lymph nodes, where they stay virtually indefinitely." "Radioactive material that is swallowed can be absorbed to some extent, depending upon what it is, and unabsorbed radioactive material is excreted in stool. Of material that is absorbed, some may be deposited in a variety of organs, and some may be excreted in urine." B. Embedded Shrapnel (and its treatment) "In addition, radioactive shrapnel from the destruction of a sealed source of radioactive material can become embedded in a wound.""The treatment of radioactive shrapnel is its surgical removal, as quickly as possible." "Precise localization with CT or gamma camera should be undertaken to minimize time spent in exploration. The shrapnel should only be touched with instruments, not fingers, and should be placed in a lead container (called a "pig") for shielding purposes."
"Some internalized radionuclides will be easily detected in persons with simple external Note: Dose rate measurements need to be background-subtracted. Background in Los Angeles averages about 0.02 mR/h and ranges from approximately 0.009 - 0.04 mR/h. Background should be measured on each instrument prior to use.
Pu-239, Ra-226, U-234, U-235, and U-238."
"All of these radionuclides are best detected outside the body as some of these photons are low energy and easily absorbed. Alpha particles are very biologically damaging, and the quantities permitted internally in radiation workers are very low." "Even if there is an externally detectable photon, the quantity one needs to measure is so low that nasal swabs and excreta are probably the best way to detect all of them."
"Patients should have 24 hr urine collections shortly after exposure and then at 10 and 100 days post exposure." Dosimetry methods are based on the concepts of ICRP 48 and ICRP 67. Fractional uptake to blood from GI tract is assumed to be 5 x 10-4, as recommended in ICRP publications 67 and 78. The basic ICRP 48 model for distribution and retention of americium in the body is described as follows. For dissolved (ionic form) americium reaching the transfer compartment (i.e., the bloodstream), 50% of the activity distributes to the bone with a clearance half-time of 50 years and 30% to the liver with a clearance half-time of 9 years. Activity deposited in bone is assumed to be deposited uniformly over bone surfaces of both cortical and trabecular bone. A small fraction is permanently retained in the gonads (0.035% for testes and 0.011% for ovaries). The remaining 20% is assumed to go directly to excretion or short-term holdup in other body tissues. "Pu-239 emits low percentage or low energy photons that are very difficult to detect inside the patient. Nasal swabs and excreta are the best ways to detect it. Nasal swabs may revert to background as early as 30-60 minutes post exposure. If patients are mouth breathers, the swabs will never be positive. Twenty-four hour urine samples should be collected after complete external decontamination to avoid collecting misleading evidence of internal contamination. Urine samples should be obtained shortly after exposure and again at 10 and 100 days post exposure.""Plutonium is actually found as a mixture of radioisotopes. The small quantity of Pu-241 present decays to Am-241, which has a 60 kev photon which may be detected externally. However, it is necessary to know the fractional isotopic composition of the Pu-239 in order to use the counts of the 60 kev photons to back calculate the quantity of Pu-239 present internally. Such analyses need to be performed in highly specialized laboratories such as the DOE labs in Hanford, WA or the Livermore Laboratory in CA." [While the specific isotopes covered in the IR Manual are generally not applicable to nuclear weapons and the aftermath of a nuclear war, the requirement for "highly specialized laboratories" again shows the improbability of being able to implement, in the aftermath of nuclear WW3, the type of responses recommended in the IR Manual.] "Ra-226 emits low percentage or low energy photons that are difficult to detect inside the patient. Nasal swabs and excreta are the best ways to detect it." "U-234, U-235, and U-238 have such long halflives that they may be detected chemically more easily than radiologically. In any case, nasal swabs and excreta are the best ways to detect them. Due to environmental uranium in soil, plants, water, and animals, about 0.6 microgram/day is expected in the urine of ordinary adults. This is the median at Hanford, WA. Levels up to 0.2 microgram/day are considered environmental in origin. ... Spot urine samples taken several days after exposure and at about 10 and 100 days post exposure will be useful for chemical analyses. Chemical toxicity to the kidneys is more important than radiation effects. Direct in vivo chest counting with a planar Ge detector will often work but such equipment is hard to find."
mm in tissue (the higher the energy, the farther they travel), and these are thus absorbed in the body and seldom detected externally. They are easily absorbed by tissue, metal, glass, and plastic. If a G-M counter detects radioactivity, cover the detector with its cap (or turn the probe upside down if there is no cap or cover) and see if there is any more radioactivity detected. If not, the beta particles and bremsstrahlung have been absorbed by the cover or cap or the metal casing around the detector, and that basically tells you that you likely are dealing with a pure beta emitter." "The pure beta emitters that are a likely concern with RDDs are
Y-90, H-3 (tritium), and P-32."
"Ion chamber readings or whole body counting in a gamma camera or whole body counter calibrated for bremsstrahlung may also be done to estimate internal radioactive burden." "P-32 has a halflife of only two weeks, and is not a very serious RDD threat. A urine sample soon after exposure and others at approximately 7 and 14 days would be helpful.""Bremsstrahlung counting by an ion chamber, gamma camera or a whole body counter may also be used." "Tritium has an extremely weak beta, requires a liquid scintillation counter for detection (a G-M counter will not work), and is also not a very serious RDD threat. Therefore, if you suspect internal contamination with a pure beta emitter, a good bet is Sr-90/Y-90.""However if tritium is suspected, a urine sample should be collected at least 2 hours after exposure and again at 10 days post exposure. As tritium is normally occurring in nature, it may be helpful to use a urine sample of a non-exposed family member to estimate "background"."
(Am-241, Cs-137, Co-60, Pd-103) (Special case of iodine (I)-131 and iridium (Ir)-192) "Photon emitters emit at characteristic energies and may be identified by their energy spectrum, as long as the energies are high enough to pass through the body without significant absorption and the probability of emission per disintegration is high enough to be practical. They may also emit alpha or beta particles." "Of the radionuclides of concern,
Cs-137, Co-60,
"Pd-103 has very low energy photon emission and is unlikely to be externally detected." [The K iodides are a special case at iodine (I)-125 and iodine (I)-131]
" The Department of Energy (DOE) has two laboratories which operate 24/7 and perform advanced spectral analysis on the spectrum you e-mail them. The ICX-400 spectrum can be converted to a computer file and e-mailed. In order to access the DOE Triage Program for Radionuclide Identification, telephone (202)586-8100 and ask for the Emergency Response Officer (ERO) in charge of Triage information. E-mail the spectrum to both [email protected] and [email protected]." Your Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) or Medical Physicist can probably take care of this. (All hospitals using radiation-producing machines and/or radioactive material have RSOs. Hospitals with Radiation Oncology services usually have a Medical Physicist.)
Use of the Annual Limit on Intake (ALI)"
"'Significant' is provisionally defined herein as being greater than the maximum quantity of internal radiocontamination permitted for radiation workers per year (the "annual limit on intake", or ALI)." "... is determined by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and appears in 10 CFR Part 20 ... in [the] document for the radionuclides of concern." "This is a hugely conservative approach with many approximations and inaccuracies," "... in a mass casualty setting, 'significant' may be taken to mean ten times [or even much more] that level, especially if resources are scarce."
B. False basis of calculating ALI "ALI ... are calculated based upon a theoretical increased risk of cancer starting from an oversimplification suggesting that any amount of radiation can cause cancer, and the less radiation one receives, the lower the probability of such a cancer occurring.""In fact, low doses of radiation have not been convincingly associated with increased cancer" "... there is even an hormetic response in numerous situations (that is, low radiation doses result in a protective effect and result in less cancer than in persons absorbing no extra radiation dose at all)." C. Risks of Decorporation Drugs "While some decorporation drugs have few, if any, side effects, others have definite risks.""There is therefore the need to weigh the risks of the drugs, which are known, against the supposed risks of the radiation, which, at low doses, may have no actual risk at all."
GAMMA (OR OTHER PHOTON) EMITTERS" "Every photon-emitting radionuclide emits a characteristic quantity of radiation over a given time at a given radioactivity level as measured at a given distance from the source of the radioactivity. The source is generally assumed to be an unshielded point source. The characteristic quantity of radiation may be measured or calculated knowing the energy of the emissions and the yield of those emissions per radioactive decay."
(various scales of measure)]
"For all photons and beta particles, no correction for degree of harmfulness is needed." "For alpha particles, the correction factor commonly used is 20. Because there is virtually no radiation repair of densely packed alpha particle damage, one rad of alpha radiation is equal to 20 rem."A5. [Gamma Radiation and Beta Particles] "For photons and beta particles, one rad equals one rem. One roentgen (R) is approximately one rad due to how the units were defined. One R of a photon or beta emitter is approximately one rad or one rem, and the units are often assumed to be interchangeable for health physics purposes." "In most of the rest of the world, the gray(Gy) and sievert (Sv) are used. One Gy = 100 rad, and 1 Sv = 100 rem." "The commonly used unit of radioactivity in the USA is the curie, abbreviated Ci. One thousandth of a Ci is one mCi, and one millionth of a Ci is one �Ci. A Ci is 3.7x1010 disintegrations/sec." "Most of the rest of the world uses a more modern unit, the becquerel (Bq). One Bq is one disintegration/sec. This is such a tiny amount that the unit corresponding to a million (mega) Bq is often used, the MBq. One MBq = 27 �Ci and 1 mCi = 37 MBq."
B. HEC [Humanized Exposure Constants] "In the event of a radiological incident, one would like to measure the radiation dose rate at a measured distance from a person, and do the same sort of calculation to find out how many �Ci are in the person."[A large part of the IR Manual is comprised of tables and measures of HEC for various nuclides - but they are not included in this critique and anyone interested in those details needs to refer to the IR Manual itself.] "For this we need humanized gamma ray constants (or humanized exposure constants) for people of different sizes. These values cannot be looked up anywhere, as they do not exist. Until now. The research performed for (the IR Manual) includes these calculations. They will permit the estimation of internal radioactivity in a person by measuring the radiation dose rate from the person with a calibrated ion chamber. An ion chamber is a common instrument in any hospital that performs nuclear medicine therapy. However, we need one that will read very low levels of radiation. Ion chambers can read in R/hr, mR/hr, and �R/hr. The nuclear medicine department equipment will probably read mainly in mR/hr. For most of the radionuclides and activities with which we are interested, one would need a �R meter." "All dose rates at one ALI at two days are below one mR/hr except for 1-131, which is about 1.5 mR/hr." "If your hospital has a gamma camera calibrated for the radionuclide involved in the incident, along with correction factors for human tissue absorption, then that will be more accurate than the following ion chamber procedure. However, at the time of the writing of this (the IR) manual, this does not seem to have been done anywhere. If your hospital has a calibrated whole body counter that would probably be the most accurate method of all to use. However, it is highly unlikely to have one. If it has a calibrated portal monitor, this would also be reasonably accurate to use. "The humanized exposure constants were calculated using the predicted biodistribution of each radionuclide of interest in the body two days after the radiological event. If the relative biodistribution in the individual remains the same or nearly the same for times after two days, the humanized exposure constants are still good, even if there has been excretion."
"A mass correction factor has been added to accommodate people of all sizes. The mass "The humanized exposure constants are only good if the measurements are made 1 cm from the skin at the level of the xiphoid process, or in the case of the two radionuclides of iodine, 1 cm from the skin of the neck." "A very useful value has been calculated, which is the dose rate (mR/hr) from a 70 kg person containing one ALI two days after the radiological event. For this value to be fairly accurate at times earlier or later than two days, the relative biodistribution in the body should not have changed significantly, there may not have been any significant excretion, and there may not be any significant loss of activity due to natural radioactive decay. If one is making measurements at times other than two days, and it is not known that the two-day value is accurate, divide the measured mR/hr reading on the ion chamber by the humanized exposure constant and that will yield �Ci of internal contamination." "While it might be very useful to generate tables of these dose rate values for a person containing one ALI at other times in addition to two days, the generation of such tables was beyond the scope of this effort. However, it is possible to do this, and may be done in the future." "The value of two days was selected for this (the IR) manual as that was seen as the earliest that mass screening could take place, assuming a detailed plan was in existence and that radiation professionals had been recruited, trained in the emergency procedures, and sworn in as volunteers." [All of which is a fantasy regarding RDDs for most of North American and certainly a total fantasy regarding nuclear WW3, which as I point out largely makes the whole the matter an exercise in futility.] "In order to accurately assess the internal dose component, after radionuclide identification, it is necessary to estimate the activity of the radionuclide in the body. For this purpose, 'humanized' gamma ray constants are required that reflect not only the biodistribution of the radionuclide in the body but also account for attenuation. Such constants have never been tabulated and are essential, along with suitable exposure measurements (using for example, calibrated ionization chamber survey meters, whole body counters, portal monitors, or gamma cameras), to estimate the internal radiocontamination activity for a particular radionuclide. We are calling these "humanized exposure constants" because they apply to gamma rays, x-rays, and bremsstrahlung." "The determination of humanized exposure constants involves the following two steps:
and (2) creation of anthropomorphic mathematical models and Monte Carlo radiation transport simulations to determine the humanized constants for various radionuclides."
"Methods and Models of the Hanford Internal Dosimetry Program. January 31, 2003 available online at:"
SPECIFIC RADIONUCLIDE Alphabetical List of Radioelement and Decorporation Treatment Summary
(Cocktail) "There is no all-purpose decorporation drug 'cocktail' to take that will protect against all internal radiocontamination possibilities."
"Am-241 has a physical half-life of 432.2 years and decays by � emission (it emits several photons which can be detected, most notably a gamma ray with an energy of 59.54 keV)." "The annual limit on intake (ALI) for 241Am due to inhalation is 0.22 kBq (0.006 �Ci) pursuant to Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)" "Americium deposited in the pulmonary parenchyma after inhalation of the oxide is mostly cleared with a half-time of 10-20 days (80%), but the clearance half-time of the remaining material has been estimated to vary between a few tens of days to almost 1000 days. These differences may reflect the degree of solubility of the Am-241 in lung fluids which, in turn, is a reflection of the composition of the oxide. According to ICRP 30, a clearance half-time of 28 days was estimated in a worker who had inhaled Am-241 in the oxide form." [Recommended treatment:] "oral Prussian blue.""Cs-137 has a physical half-life of 30 years and decays by �- emission. Dosimetry methods used for radiocesium are based on the concepts of ICRP 30. From the blood, the activity is distributed uniformly in the body with no organ or tissues exhibiting a higher concentration." "The annual limit on intake (ALI) for 137Cs due to inhalation is 7.4 MBq (200 �Ci) pursuant to Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)" "Cesium-137 is assumed to be completely and rapidly absorbed into the systemic circulation from both the respiratory and GI tracts. Some of the cesium is excreted into the intestine, reabsorbed from the gut into the blood, then goes to the liver, where some of it is excreted via bile into the intestine, reabsorbed from the gut into the blood, then to the liver, where some is excreted again into the gut (enterohepatic circulation)." "The body retention of 137Cs is described as consisting of two components. Using the ICRP 30 model (two component biokinetic model with 10% of the initial intake exhibiting a clearance half-time of 2 days and 90% exhibiting a longer half-time of 110 days)" "(The ICRP 30 systemic model is also used in the more recent ICRP publications 68 and 78. Publication 78 notes that the biological clearance half-time from the transfer compartment to the systemic compartment is 0.25 days and that females may exhibit significantly shorter retention half-times in the long-term compartment than males.) For systemic excretion, according to ICRP 54, it is assumed that 80% of the 137Cs intake is excreted in the urine and 20% in feces since the main pathway of 137Cs excretion is known to be through glomerular filtration in the kidneys." "There are sufficient data to identify an alternate function to the above systemic retention function. Based on the average measured data as given by the IAEA (Dosimetric and Medical Aspects of the Radiological Accident in Goi�nia in 1987, IAEA-TECDOC-1009) and the FDA label in 137Cs-contaminated adults as a result of the Goi�nia incident (short halftime component of 2 days and longer mean half-time component of 80 days), the (resulting) biokinetic model is used (in the IR Manual) to estimate the whole body retention, R(t), of cesium:" [Recommended treatment:] "there is no good decorporation agent recognized for radionuclides of cobalt. Penicillamine could be tried, but it did not work in mice. Cobaltous DTPA reduced radioactive cobalt concentration by about 1/3 in mice, but it has never been tried in humans and it is not presently available.""The annual limits on intake (ALI) for 60Co due to inhalation are 7.4 MBq (200 �Ci) and 1.11 MBq (30 �Ci) for Class W and Y, respectively." "I-125 has a low energy photon emission which is poorly detected except if it is in the thyroid. Due to the thin tissue layer between the thyroid and an external detector, enough of the photons get through to permit detection and possible identification. However, with low activities present it may well be missed.""Procedure for Iodine-125" "There are no mass correction factors for radionuclides of iodine. After two days, almost all the radioiodine in the body is in the thyroid. Ion chamber measurements are made one cm from the surface of the neck." "Workers who are cleaning up the environmental contamination and getting re-exposed should have KI administered before engaging in cleanup activities." "I-125 has a physical half-life of 60.14 days and decays by electron capture (it emits several x-rays which can be detected, most notably at energies of 27.20 keV, 27.47 keV, and 31.0 keV)." "The annual limit on intake (ALI) for 125I due to inhalation is 2.22 MBq (60 �Ci)." [Recommended treatment:] "Potassium Iodide (KI) for Radioactive Iodine Internal Contamination.""KI within about first 4 hours. Consider PTU." "If [KI or its equivalent] isn't used within four to six hours, it will have significantly decreased effectiveness, and that effectiveness will approach zero after about 12-24 hours." "Procedure for Iodine-131" "Your hospital has stockpiled only 20 doses of KI. What should you do with the KI? Without waiting for any ion chamber measurements, consider giving each newborn in the hospital nursery one dose of 16.25 mg KI. For the first two weeks of life, newborns have about a 75% thyroid uptake of internal iodine, as opposed to an uptake afterwards of about 15%, which is an average adult uptake as well." "There are no mass correction factors for radionuclides of iodine. After two days, almost all the radioiodine in the body is in the thyroid. Ion chamber measurements are made one cm from the surface of the neck." "I-131 is a photon emitters which may be identified by its spectrum." "The annual limit on intake (ALI) for 131I due to inhalation is 1.85 MBq (50 �Ci) pursuant to Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requirements." "I-131 has a physical half-life of 8.04 days and decays by �- emission. The biokinetic model described in ICRP 30 is used to estimate the whole body retention." "The gastrointestinal uptake (f1) factor for all forms of iodine is 1.0. Of the iodine entering the systemic compartment, a fraction, 0.3, is assumed to be translocated to the thyroid, while the remainder (0.7) is assumed to go directly to excretion. Iodine in the thyroid is assumed to be retained with a biological half-life of 80 days." "We believe that the Monte Carlo results for the radioiodines are not realistic since the phantom thyroid could not be centered at a distance closer than 2.5 cm from the anterior surface of the neck. Thus, we will use the Monte Carlo results for all radionuclides in the following sections of this report (the IR Manual) except for the radioiodines, where we will use the approximate results as generated by the methods discussed" "The dose rate measurement should be made at the level of the xiphoid process at a distance of 1 cm from the contaminated individual for all considered radionuclides with the exception of the radioiodines. For both 125I and 131I, the dose rate measurement should be made at the level of the thyroid gland at a distance of 1 cm since essentially all activity remaining at day 2 will be located in the thyroid." [Recommended treatment:] "Unfortunately, there is no known decorporation therapy for iridium. Oral penicillamine might work, but no one knows.""Ir-192 is a photon emitters which may be identified by its spectrum." "The annual limits on intake (ALI) for 192Ir due to inhalation are 11.1 MBq (300 �Ci), 14.8 MBq (400 �Ci), and 7.4 MBq (200 �Ci) for Class D, W, and Y, respectively." "Procedure for Iridium-192" "Ir-192 has a physical half-life of 73.831 days and decays by electron capture and �- emission. The biokinetic model described in ICRP 30 is used to estimate the whole body retention, R(t), of iridium:" "It is assumed that of the iridium leaving the transfer compartment fractions 0.2, 0.04 and 0.02 are translocated to liver, kidney and spleen, respectively. A further fraction, 0.54, is assumed to be uniformly distributed throughout all other organs and tissues of the body. The remaining fraction of iridium leaving the transfer compartment is assumed to go directly to excreta. Of iridium deposited in any organ or tissue of the body fractions 0.2 and 0.8 are assumed to be retained with biological half-lives of 8 and 200 days, respectively." [Recommended treatment:] "there is no known decorporation drug for palladium, even if action was indicated, all one could do is try oral penicillamine.""Procedure for Palladium-103" "Pd-103 has a physical half-life of 16.991 days and decays by electron capture (it emits xrays that may be detectable with energies of approximately 20 keV). The biokinetic model described in ICRP 30 is used to estimate the whole body retention, R(t), of palladium:" "The retention of palladium in the body is assumed to be approximated by a single exponential with a biological half-life of 15 days. Of the palladium leaving the transfer compartment, it is assumed that 0.3 goes directly to excretion, 0.45 is translocated to the liver, 0.15 is translocated to the kidneys, 0.07 is translocated to mineral bone (Pd-103 is assumed to be uniformly distributed throughout the volume of mineral bone) and 0.03 is uniformly distributed throughout all other organs and tissues of the body. Palladium translocated to any organ or tissue is assumed to be retained there with a biological halflife of 15 days." "The annual limits on intake (ALI) for 103Pd due to inhalation are 222 MBq (6000 �Ci), 148 MBq (4000 �Ci), and 148 MBq (4000 �Ci) Class D, W and Y, respectively." [Recommended treatment:] "oral Na phosphate or K phosphate."Procedure for Phosphorus-32 "P-32 has a physical half-life of 14.26 days and decays by �- emission (its bremsstrahlung photons may be detectable); specific bremsstrahlung constant, �P-32 = 4.05 x 10-3 R cm2 /mCi h in soft tissue and 1.08 x 10-2 R cm2/mCi h in bone (Zanzonico et al. JNM 1999; 40:1024-1028)." "The annual limits on intake (ALI) for 32P due to inhalation are 33.3 MBq (900 �Ci) and 14.8 MBq (400 �Ci) Class D and W, respectively." "The biokinetic model described in ICRP 30 is used to estimate the whole body retention, R(t), of phosphorus:" "... associated with blood plasma, intracellular fluids, soft tissues and mineral bone, respectively. Phosphorus entering the transfer compartment is assumed to be retained there with a half-life of 0.5 days. Of this, 0.15 is assumed to go directly to excretion, 0.15 to intracellular fluids where it is retained with a half-life of 2 days, 0.40 to soft tissue where it is assumed to be retained with a half-life of 19 days and 0.30 to mineral bone where it is assumed to be permanently retained. P-32 going either to intracellular fluids or to soft tissues is assumed to be uniformly distributed throughout all organs and tissues of the body excluding mineral bone, where it is assumed to be retained on the bone surfaces." [Recommended treatment:] "parenteral Ca-DTPA, Zn-DTPA.""Non-photon-emitting radionuclide that cannot be detected within the body by an external detector" "The annual limit on intake (ALI) for 239Pu due to inhalation is 0.22 kBq (0.006 �Ci) and 0.74 kBq (0.02 �Ci) for inhalation class W and Y, respectively" "Pu-239 has a physical half-life of 24,110 years and decays by � emission. For dissolved (ionic form) plutonium reaching the transfer compartment (i.e., the bloodstream), the ICRP 30 model distributes 45% to the bone surfaces from which it clears with a biological half-time of 50 years and 45% to the liver with a biological clearance half-time of 20 years. The activity deposition in bone is assumed to be uniformly distributed over the bone surfaces of both cortical and trabecular bone. A small radioactivity fraction is permanently retained in the gonads (0.035% for testes and 0.011% for ovaries). The remaining 10% is assumed to go directly to excretion; for purposes of dosimetry this component is considered to be an insignificant contributor to effective dose equivalent and is generally ignored." [Recommended treatment:] "oral calcium to reduce gastrointestinal absorption and increase urinary excretion. Alginates are also useful to reduce gastrointestinal absorption.""Non-photon-emitting radionuclide that cannot be detected within the body by an external detector" "The annual limit on intake (ALI) for 226Ra due to inhalation is 22.2 kBq (0.6 �Ci)" "Ra-226 has a physical half-life of 1600 years and decays by � emission. Since radium is an alkaline earth element, it can be assumed that the biokinetic model is the same as for strontium." [Recommended treatment:] "intravenous calcium gluconate, oral ammonium chloride for acidification."Alginates are useful to reduce gastrointestinal absorption. "Procedure for Strontium-90" "In working through the case of Sr-90, it is important to realize that Sr-90 decays into Y-90, that Y-90 is radioactive and much easier to detect than Sr-90, that Y-90 has a much shorter halflife (64 hrs) than Sr-90 (28 yrs), and that Sr-90 and Y-90 activities reach equilibrium after about two weeks starting with pure Sr-90. This means that if you start with a 1000 Ci source of Sr-90, after about two weeks the source will also contain about 1000 Ci of Y-90, and that this equilibrium will remain the same as the Sr-90 decays." "After 28 years, for example, the source will contain 500 Ci of Sr-90 and 500 Ci of Y-90. Notice that the humanized exposure constant for Y-90 is about ten times higher than that of Sr-90. This means that if one has an equal mixture of the two radionuclides, almost all of what one measures will be due to the Y-90." "The annual limit on intake (ALI) for 90Sr due to inhalation is 0.74 MBq (20 �Ci) pursuant to Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requirements." "One more point about ALIs needs to be made. The ALI is calculated assuming that it is the only source of radiation to the individual. If there is more than one radionuclide present, then the ALI is lowered proportionally. In this case there are two radionuclides present in approximately equal activities, so the ALI of each is reduced by half." "Sr-90 has a physical half-life of 29.12 years and decays by �- emission (its bremsstrahlung photons may be detectable); specific bremsstrahlung constant, �Sr-90 = 1.05 x 10-3 R cm2 /mCi h in soft tissue and 3.0 x 10-3 R cm2/mCi h in bone (determined using method of Zanzonico et al. JNM 1999; 40:1024-1028). The biokinetic model used for the distribution, retention, and excretion of stable strontium is the ICRP alkaline earth model. It is assumed that stable strontium is uniformly distributed throughout the bone volume, where it is retained and internally recycled according to a series of exponential terms. The alkaline earth excretion model assumes that the fraction of excreted uptake occurring by the urinary pathway and by the fecal pathway is 0.8 and 0.2, respectively." "Urine sample analysis is the easiest and most common bioassay method. Direct in vivo detection is possible by bremsstrahlung counting (indications are that a retained quantity in the skeleton of about 100 nCi might be detectable by head counting; however, there is no calibration for this measurement). The absorption coefficient (f1) used for the GI tract absorption of readily transportable (inhalation class D) forms of strontium is 0.3 (for class Y, the ICRP 30 value of 0.01 should be used)." [Recommended treatment:] "force water to promote diuresis.""Non-photon-emitting radionuclide that cannot be detected within the body by an external detector" "H-3 has a physical half-life of 12.33 years and decays by �- emission. The metabolic model for tritium is described in ICRP 30. Tritiated water is assumed to be uniformly distributed among all soft tissues at any time following intake. Its retention, R(t), is described as a single exponential with an effective clearance half-time of 10 days:" "The annual limit on intake (ALI) for 3H due to inhalation is 2.96 GBq (80 mCi)" A15. uranium (U)-234, 235, and 238 [Recommended treatment:] "Ca-DTPA and Zn-DTPA within 4 hours only. Na bicarbonate to alkalinize urine.""Non-photon-emitting radionuclides that cannot be detected within the body by an external detector" "The annual limits on intake (ALI) for 234U due to inhalation are 37 kBq (1 �Ci for bone surfaces), 25.9 kBq (0.7 �Ci), and 1.48 kBq (0.04 �Ci) Class D, W and Y, respectively. The annual limits on intake (ALI) for 235U due to inhalation are 37 kBq (1 �Ci for bone surfaces), 29.6 kBq (0.8 �Ci), and 1.48 kBq (0.04 �Ci) Class D, W and Y, respectively." "The annual limits on intake (ALI) for 238U due to inhalation are 37 kBq (1 �Ci for bone surfaces), 29.6 kBq (0.8 �Ci), and 1.48 kBq (0.04 �Ci) Class D, W and Y, respectively." "U-234 has a physical half-life of 2.455x105 years and decays by � emission; U-235 has a physical half-life of 7.038x108 years and decays by � emission; and U-238 has a physical half-life of 4.468x109 years and decays by � emission. For material entering the systemic circulation, fractions 0.2 and 0.023 are assumed to go to mineral bone and be retained there with half-lives of 20 and 5000 days, respectively; fractions 0.12 and 0.00052 are assumed to go to the kidneys and to be retained with half-lives of 6 and 1500 days, respectively; and fractions 0.12 and 0.00052 are assumed to go to all other tissues of the body. The remaining fraction of the uranium entering the systemic circulation, 0.54, is assumed to go directly to excretion." [Recommended treatment:] "parenteral Ca-DTPA, Zn-DTPA.""Procedure for Yttrium-90" "While almost any source of Sr-90 will contain Y-90 in equilibrium, it is possible to remove the Y-90 and therefore have essentially pure Y-90. It is not used as a sealed source, but, for example, in radiopharmaceutical therapy attached to monoclonal antibodies." Y-90 has a physical half-life of 64 hours and decays by �- emission (its bremsstrahlung photons may be detectable); specific bremsstrahlung constant, �Y-90 = 5.64 x 10-3 R cm2/mCi h in soft tissue and 1.50 x 10-2 R cm2/mCi h in bone (Zanzonico et al. JNM 1999; 40:1024-1028). The biokinetic model described in ICRP 30 is used to estimate the whole body retention, R(t), of yttrium:" "Of the yttrium leaving the transfer compartment 0.25 goes directly to excreta, 0.5 is translocated to the skeleton, 0.15 is translocated to the liver and 0.1 is uniformly distributed throughout all other organs and tissues of the body. It is also assumed that yttrium not going from the transfer compartment directly to excretion is retained indefinitely in the body."
INTERNALLY CONTAMINATED PATIENTS" "For patients who were shown to have internal contamination levels below the ALI, no medical follow-up is appropriate. These patients have very low levels for which there is no evidence of adverse effects. They need reassurance, possibly repeated reassurance, but no further studies or work-up. While many may hysterically demand studies to detect cancers, the radiation levels associated with such studies, such as CT scans, x-ray contrast studies, and some nuclear medicine procedures, may well exceed the radiation dose received in the initial radiation incident." "Those who received decorporation drugs should have repeat measurements to determine whether or not treatment needs to be continued. These measurements may also help to establish biological halflife or halflives, which could later be used in making dosimetry estimates."
"Patients who received contamination levels above the ALI, and those to whom decorporation drugs were administered, need fairly accurate measurements of internal radioactivity levels and then calculated dosimetry estimates. The measurements may be "In Los Angeles County, the only appropriate whole body counter is at UCLA. There is another at the V.A. Wadsworth, but it is not certain how useful it would be. Once the internal contamination activity is known, and details of the kinetics are worked out from multiple counts at different times or multiple urine samples at different times, the data may be used to calculate radiation absorbed dose. These calculations are specialized, and would probably not be able to be done by professionals in community hospitals. However, they may be done by selected individuals in large teaching hospitals, by medical physics consultants, or by individuals employed by the DOE. Once the radiation absorbed dose estimates are in, a radiation biologist should be able to predict effects. Depending upon these predictions, further medical tests or measurements over time may be warranted." "Emergency Departments may become the collectors of urine samples, blood samples, and the like, and careful labeling and dating of the samples must be performed, even if the analyses are done elsewhere. Labels should contain the patient's name and identifying number (hospital ID number, Social Security number, driver's license state and number, etc.), type of sample, date of collection, date of exposure, and the name and address of the hospital. Labels should be printed up ahead of time with the headings and the hospital's name and address. Presumably the hospital will have contact information for the patient, and discussion of the dosimetry information and risk of adverse events should be done with the patient by the physician in the Emergency Department or other designated physician after that information is made available from outside laboratories, consultants, and/or other experts." "Emergency Departments may also have to direct patients to mental health and other specialists for post traumatic stress disorder or hysterical fear of radiation. Hopefully such services will be available." "In the event that some patients absorbed high doses of radiation, high enough to manifest the acute radiation syndrome, the Emergency Medicine physician should refer the patient to a Hematologist-Oncologist, as this is the specialty most capable of treating the acute bone marrow syndrome. An excellent review of the treatment of the radiation-induced acute bone marrow syndrome (and other acute radiation syndromes and effects) is Waselenko JK, MacVittie TJ, Blakely WF, et al.: Medical management of the acute radiation syndrome: recommendations of the strategic national stockpile radiation working group."
C. "MEDICAL FOLLOW-UP OF "For example, a large sealed source may be abandoned or maliciously placed in a public area in an unshielded situation. While no radioactivity may escape, radiation, mainly gamma rays or other photon radiations, may get through the source covering and irradiate persons. Such irradiated persons are, of course, not radioactive. Their radiation absorbed doses must be estimated using clinical symptoms and hematological panels." "For example, if the onset of vomiting is less than 12 hours after exposure, the corresponding radiation absorbed dose is 200-2000 rads. The lethal dose for 50% of the young, healthy adult population at 60 days is approximately 325 rads, while for children, the elderly, and the chronically ill it is lower, down to about 200 rads." [The above is a good rule of thumb for triage.] "If a blood smear shows depletion of peripheral blood lymphocytes less than 1.5 weeks after irradiation, the corresponding radiation absorbed dose is about 200-800 rads." [Recommended treatment:] "Cytogenetic bioassay is the best method for determining radiation absorbed dose, but it is only done in a few laboratories in the country. One such place is the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Bethesda, MD 20889-5603, http://www.afrri.usuhs.mil. "The federal government is making provisions for the establishment of five or six laboratories nationwide which can accept these tasks. Assuming that provisions are made for using this or another facility for cytogenetic bioassay, the samples should be collected as follows: 10 ml of peripheral blood is drawn from the irradiated patient into a lithiumheparin or EDTA tube at about 24 hours or later after the exposure incident. The blood sample should immediately be kept at 4?�C and be transported at this temperature to the cytogenetic laboratory. In a mass casualty situation, this is probably not feasible unless a system to accomplish this has been set up ahead of time." "If patients have received a combination of external irradiation and internal contamination, then both cytogenetic bioassay and determination of internal activity, kinetics, and dosimetry must be performed to establish total radiation absorbed dose." "Patients who may have absorbed large doses (over 200 rads) on the basis of time to vomiting, peripheral lymphocyte depletion, or radiation survey measurements made at the scene should be referred to a Hematologist-Oncologist for management of the effects of possible bone marrow depletion."
[Prussian blue works by combining with thallium and radiocesium in the intestines. The combination is then removed from the body through stool elimination..
By removing thallim or Cs-137, damage to the body
organs and tissues is lessened.
PEOPLE SHOULD NOT TAKE PRUSSIAN BLUE ARTIST'S DYE IN AN ATTEMPT TO TREAT THEMSELVES. THIS TYPE OF BLUE IS NOT MADE FOR THE PURPOSE OF REMOVING Ca-137 FROM THE BODY.
Prussian blue was first produced as a blue dye in
1704, and has been used by artists and manufacturers since that time. The dye got its name from its use as a dye for Prussian military uniforms.
Since the 1960's Prussian blue has been used to treat individuals who have been internally contaminated with radioactive Cesium isotopes...
mainly Cs-137, and non-radioactive thallium, which was up until recently used in rat poison. It may be prescribed for individuals any time after for persons internally contaminated with the substances.
ACTION:
Prussian blue traps radioactive cesium and thallium in the intestines, and keeps them from being reabsorbed by the body. The radioactive materials then move through the intestinal tract and all eliminated from the body...passed through bowel movements. Prussian blue reduces the biological half life of Cesium to about 28 days.
TOXICITY:
Prussian blue is safe for most adults, including
pregnant women, and children (2 yrs), and older. Women who are breastfeeding their babies should NOT do so if they are contaminated with Cesium isotopes. Individuals who have had constipation, blockages in the intestines, or major stomach problems should be sure to tell their physician before taking Prussian blue. Before taking Prussian blue, patients should also tell their doctor of all medications they are currently taking, prescription drugs as well as Over the Counter medications. More detailed information is available through the US Food and Drug Administration.
You may call Centers for Disease Control for
information about Prussian blue at a Public Response Line 1-800-311-3435, or visit http://www.cdc.gov/ for information.
PACKAGING:
Prussian blue is packaged under the name
"Radiogardase", and there are other names for it now on the market. Radiogardase is the brand name.
It comes in 500 mg. capsules. The company that
manufactures Radiogardase is HEYL
Chemish-pharmazeutische Fabrik GmbH & Co. KG.
The information here was compiled by a private individual and I have tried to acquire Prussian blue from a recommended source but have so far been unsuccessful and it may be that it is only available with prescription.] [Quite often I have received emails from people telling me about some drug or health food that will protect one from radiation. Kelp and Kelp based compounds has been one popular one. Most usually, indeed I think in my experience I can say always, those people reporting them to me, or those promoting the - drugs, compounds, health foods, whatever - have very little comprehension about the nature of radiation and how it works (or worse yet, simply have some monetary interest in promoting it). Even highly concentrated drugs, as should be evident to anyone who has read this critique, are usually applicable to a single radionuclide and will offer no protection against intense gamma radiation. They are absolutely not an alternative to a fallout shelter.] K. Sodium bicarbonate "Used to alkalinize the urine after uranium intake, which protects the kidneys from uranium deposition. Oral or intravenous, take as needed to maintain alkaline urine. The intravenous formulation is 8.9%, 100 or 200 cc vials." "See potassium phosphate. Also used for radioactive phosphate decorporation." "See Calcium-DTPA."
Let us review and summarize those reasons - aside from the "twelve differences between nuclear war and a terrorist attack" as dealt with in Section II of this critique. Firstly, a RDD (Radiation Dispersal Device) would more than likely be dispersing a specific radionuclide, and not the 'garbage mix' that would come out of a nuclear explosion. While there may be some external gamma radiation associated with a RDD, the primary concern in the IR Manual is in dealing with internally absorbed alpha and beta particles, whereas conversely, the major radiation concern in case of a nuclear weapon is that of external gamma radiation resulting from fallout. Secondly, the long-term effects of a RDD are probably going to be quite limited in scope whereas the widespread usage of nuclear weapons could cause a major long-term concern with cesium (Cs)-137 and strontium (Sr)-90. This latter long-term concern, and its solutions, is a subject that I deal with in other webpages and elsewhere. Thirdly, the IR Manual demonstrates throughout, the impossibility of providing mass medical response in case of such a massive catastrophe such as a nuclear war. The manual repeatedly points out the rarity of special diagnostic and analytical equipment it what is a highly technological locality, and the necessity even there to call upon even more rarefied resources on a national level. The IR Manual recognizes the lack of available expertise, and indeed that was a major motivation in its creation. Moreover, the degree of preparation that sustained the manual's development, is reflected in the local stocking of some limited supplies of decorporation drugs such as is probably a rarity reflected in few of the states in the US. Even given such preparation as exists for the locale in which the manual was developed, it is notable in the manual how often, regarding the sixteen relevant nuclides, it notes that either (a) no treatment is known or (b) that the treatment may well be a worse hazard than the contamination itself. Given all that - then what should we conclude? We should conclude that a RDD terrorist attack is highly insignificant compared to a nuclear weapon - and certainly the wide use of nuclear weapons such as in nuclear WW3. This is not to say that the use of a RDD would not be highly effective in generating fear and causing social and economic disruption - but simply that we need to hold it in perspective. If in our perspective we then jump to the conclusion that nuclear war is unsurvivable then I find that perspective also irrelevant because my intention here is to address the future survivors of the nuclear war. What those survivors will need to understand is that even if they had the resources (which they won't) to deal with internal contamination by radionuclides, that will not be a significant problem. That is not speaking just relatively, but rather essentially, because of the distinction between the nature of the two types of weapons involved. To a large degree the medical problems associated with a nuclear war will be self-limiting, although having a very large and inclusive limit. The lack of facilities to deal with catastrophic situations will mean that many, many, many people will simply die from what would not have otherwise been catastrophic injuries such as broken glass shards, (that will in turn bring on fatal infections), or radiation burns from fallout that could have been treated with intensive fluids and such, or the pandemics that will arise from the breakdown of the public health infrastructure. Even then, those problems may prove minor as compared to problems of exposure, starvation, social panic, the widespread release of socio-psychopaths upon society, and many other ills. But eventually, an equilibrium will begin to appear (as more and more people die), between the surviving treatment facilities, personnel and resources, and the far fewer survivors there will be from a nuclear war. Much later still, with the reconstruction of society, new facilities, personnel and resources will be available. The purpose of this critique, as with my other papers, websites and material, is to help ameliorate the intermediate situation in the recovery period, and to create the base and framework for that later reconstruction. To that end I have felt it necessary to demonstrate prior comprehension of what may well become misdirected conventional wisdom that others will try to implement in practice and policy. |