Radioactive man cremated in Arizona
A man treated with a radioactive compound to fight his tumour died two days after treatment. The bright minds then cremated him, releasing Lutetium 177 into the environment. A month after the cremation, a Geiger detected radiation levels inside the cremation chamber, on the oven and over the bone crusher. Just over 50% of all American opt for cremation. A public health story looms:
This alarming case, reported in a new research letter this week, illustrates the collateral risks potentially posed by on average 18.6 million nuclear medicine procedures involving radiopharmaceuticals performed in the US every year.
While rules regulate how these drugs are administered to living patients, the picture can become less clear when those patients die, thanks to a patchwork of different laws and standards in each state – not to mention situations like the 69-year-old man, whose radioactive status simply slipped through the cracks.
“Radiopharmaceuticals present a unique and often overlooked postmortem safety challenge,” researchers from the Mayo Clinic explain in a case note.
“Cremating an exposed patient volatilises the radiopharmaceutical, which can then be inhaled by workers (or released into the adjacent community) and result in greater exposure than from a living patient.”
A scare story brews…
Image: William Price helped to legalize cremation and was himself cremated after his death in 1893.
Posted: 28th, February 2019 | In: Key Posts, News, Strange But True Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
