Radioisotope treatment can trigger airport alarms

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A case report illustrates how someone being treated with radioisotopes may be sufficiently radioactive for several weeks to set off radiation detectors at airports.

"Patients receiving radioactive isotopes should be warned that they may trigger radiation alarms," say Dr. Kalyan Kumar Gangopadhyay and colleagues from City Hospital in Birmingham, UK.

The report in the British Medical Journal describes a 46-year-old man with an overactive thyroid problem. Drug therapy was initially successful in treating his symptoms, but he eventually needed treatment with radioactive iodine to reduce thyroid activity.

The hospital department providing the treatment gave the man a card outlining the precautions to be taken following his treatment. However, the card made no mention of the possibility of setting off radiation detectors.

Six weeks later, the patient made a trip to the US, where he activated security alarms at the airport in Orlando, Florida. He was detained, strip-searched, and sniffer dogs were called to investigate. After a prolonged interrogation, the patient was eventually released after producing the card given to him by the hospital.

Depending on the type of radioisotope used, patients may be capable of triggering a radiation alarm for up to 95 days, the report indicates.

"Doctors show a worrying lack of awareness about such potential problems," the researchers note.

They note that with more sensitive radiation detectors being installed at airports worldwide, there is a good chance that alarms caused by radioisotope-treated patients will increase.

SOURCE: British Medical Journal, August 5, 2006.