The following information was provided by
Texas Department of State Health Services (the Department) via email:
On May 18, 2023, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (the licensee) reported to this Department that they had discovered a technician and package with contamination of around 12,000 dpm [disintegrations per minute]. The licensee's technician picked up the bag (package) with their bare hands. They then did a wipe test of the bag and found that it was contaminated. They also discovered that both their hands were contaminated. They washed repeatedly which reduced the contamination on their hands but did not eliminate it. The licensee believes that the remaining contamination has been absorbed into their skin and that it is no longer removable. The technician has gone home with instructions to continue wearing gloves. The technician is pregnant, and the licensee plans to perform a thyroid check tomorrow.
The bag had elevated readings at the handle, but the contamination seemed to mostly be at the top right of the bag where the zipper handle was located. The licensee has not found contamination in any other areas of their facility. The licensee used a well counter to try to determine the isotope and believes it is either 5 microcuries of technetium-99m or 2 microcuries of iodine-123. A comparison of activities of the following day will determine which isotope it is since there is a significant difference in half-lives. The container with the ordered 10 millicuries of iodine-123, which was inside the bag, was wiped and found to not be contaminated.
The nuclear pharmacy that supplied the bag and material inside the bag did wipe tests of the driver's hands, the steering wheel, pedals, the rack the bag would sit on, and the hand truck that the package would have been placed on. They did not find any radiation above background. They also performed wipes and surveys within their facility and again did not find any contamination.
The worker who prepared the material at the pharmacy in the morning only drew iodine-123 for this single package. All other iodine-123 packages were pre-prepared. The pharmacy sent around 45 packages out in the morning to many medical facilities. None have reported contamination. The truck only carries packages from this single pharmacy.
The Department has asked both facilities to continue to look for contamination and has recommended that the technician wear cotton gloves inside of the other gloves to hopefully get the hands to sweat the material out into the cotton.
Texas incident number: 10020.