ML21007A252
| ML21007A252 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 01/22/2021 |
| From: | Kevin Williams NRC/NMSS/DMSST |
| To: | |
| Daibes F | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML21007A253:ML21007A252 | List: |
| References | |
| STC-21-001 | |
| Download: ML21007A252 (3) | |
Text
January 22, 2021 ALL AGREEMENT STATES AND CONNECTICUT NOTIFICATION OF PUBLICATION OF PATIENT RELEASE VIDEO STAYING SAFE WHILE GETTING BETTER, PROTECTING YOURSELF AND YOUR LOVED ONES WHILE TAKING RADIOACTIVE DRUGS (STC-21-001)
Purpose:
To inform all Agreement States that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC),
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, has published a patient release video, Staying Safe While Getting Better, Protecting Yourself and Your Loved Ones While Taking Radioactive Drugs. Please consider sharing this information with your licensees.
Background:
In January 2018, the NRC staff completed an evaluation of its regulatory requirements for patient release and concluded that the (1) current patient release regulations are protective of public health and safety, (2) the release criteria appropriately balances public safety with patient access to medical treatment, and that (3) regulatory changes to the release criteria are not warranted. The results of the evaluation are discussed in a SECY-18-0015, Staff Evaluation of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commissions Program Regulating Patient Release after Radioisotope Therapy, dated January 29, 2018 (ML17279B139), SECY-18-0015.
From the 2018 evaluation, the NRC staff determined that a comprehensive update to its patient release guidance would improve the patient release program. Staff recommended to update Regulatory Guide (RG) 8.39 Release of Patients Administered Radioactive Material. The NRC staff issued revision 1 of RG 8.39 in April 2020. The major change in revision 1 expands the content of instructions to include subsections on pretreatment discussions, patient precautions and instructions to minimize exposure, and patient acknowledgement of the instructions.
Discussion: Operating experience has demonstrated that radiation exposure from released patients can be safely controlled through the provision of appropriate instructions by the license as required by Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 35.75 Release of Individuals Containing Unsealed Byproduct Material or Implants Containing Byproduct Material, and adherence to those instructions by the patient and/or caregiver. To support patients roles in adhering to instructions, the NRC staff developed a brochure to help educate patients about radiation safety precautions that they need to follow before, during, and after treatment with radioactive drugs. The brochure was published in 2019 and can be found on the NRCs medical toolkit (ML19121A242), Patient Release Brochure. Since a number of patients may use social media for information about their treatments with radioactive drugs, the NRC staff developed a patient release video, Staying Safe While Getting Better, Protecting Yourself and Your Loved Ones While Taking Radioactive Drugs that is posted on YouTube at (https://youtu.be/1cbWFKqpLW0). Similar to the brochure, the video provides best practices on patient instructions to maintain exposures as low as is reasonably achievable from released patients. The NRC staff is also informing national medical organizations, professional societies, Center for Disease Control, regulatory partners, and licensees regarding the availability of the video to help educate patients about radiation safety precautions to follow before, during and after treatment.
STC-21-001 2 If you have any questions on this correspondence, please contact me at 301-415-3340 or the individual named below:
POINT OF CONTACT: Said Daibes Figueroa E-MAIL: Said.Daibes@nrc.gov TELEPHONE: (301) 415-6863 Signed by Williams, Kevin on 01/22/21 Kevin Williams, Director Division of Materials Safety, Security, State, and Tribal Programs Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
STC-21-001 3
SUBJECT:
NOTIFICATION OF PUBLICATION OF PATIENT RELEASE VIDEO STAYING SAFE WHILE GETTING BETTER, PROTECTING YOURSELF AND YOUR LOVED ONES WHILE TAKING RADIOACTIVE DRUGS STC-21-001 DATED: JANUARY 22, 2021 DISTRIBUTION:
Public ADAMS Accession Number: ML21007A252 *via email OFFICE MSST/MSEB MSST/MSEB MSST/MSEB MSST/D NAME SDaibes LDimmick CEinberg KWilliams DATE 01/07/2021 01/07/2021 01/21/2021 01/22/2021 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY