핵의학과 일반 의료폐기물에서의 방사능 오염에 관한 고찰

A Study on Medical Waste Contaminated by Radioactivity in Nuclear Medicine Department

서울 아산병원 핵의학과에서는 방사성폐기함을 다수 비치하여 방사성폐기물을 수집하고 있으나 이러한 방사성폐기물이 일반 의료폐기함에서 발견되는 경우가 있다. 이에 본 연구에서는 의료폐기물에서 측정되는 방사성폐기물의 발생 원인을 파악하여 방사선관리구역으로부터 배출되는 물품 표면의 방사성물질의 오염도가 허용표면오염도의 10분의 1을 초과하지 않거나 교육과학기술부에서 고시하는 액체폐기물이 방사성 자체 폐기한도를 초과하지 않도록 하기 위한 대책을 제시하고자 하였다. 우선 먼저 survey meter를 이용하여 본원 핵의학과 17개 구역의 방사능 측정값과 배후방사능 측정값을 비교한 결과 법적인 허용치를 초과하지는 않았지만, 이 중 11개 구역에서 의료 폐기함과 배후방사능이 통계적으로 유의한 차이를 보여 실제 방사능이 존재함을 알 수 있었다. 이에 좀 더 정확한 방사능을 측정하고자 감마카운터를 이용하여 각각의 의료폐기함으로부터 알코올솜, poly glove, 방사의약실에서 배출되는 생리식염수에서 각각 30개씩 표본 추출하여 측정한 결과, 높은 수준의 방사능이 측정되었으며, 일부는 법적 허용치를 초과했다. 따라서 의료폐기함으로 폐기되는 알코올솜과 poly glove는 각 영상실과 방사의약실에 구비된 방사성폐기함에 폐기하고, 방사의약실에서 발생되는 생리식염수는 액체폐기물로써 RI정화조에 폐기하거나 또는 방사성 자체 폐기절차에 따라 일정기간 보관하여 충분히 감쇄시킨 후 폐기해야 할 것이라 사료된다.

Purpose: In the Nuclear Medicine department of Asan Medical Center, radioactive waste has been disposed of by using several disposal boxes designed for nuclear waste. However, some quantity of radioactivity has been detected occasionally due to some radiologists' carelessness not only from radioactive waste, but also from medical waste such as uncontrolled radioactive waste related to patients, poly gloves or saline solution bottles from radiopharmaceuticals laboratory. Thus, this study is going to suggest a solution to maintain the medical wastes made from controlled areas that can be below maximum permissible surface dose limits by finding the cause of radioactive contamination. Materials and methods: This study was taken place in 17 different places-2 medical wastebaskets in the waiting room, 2 medical wastebaskets in the PET room, 5 medical wastebaskets in the in vitro laboratory and 6 medical wastebaskets in the radiopharmaceuticals laboratory of the East building, 2 medical wastebaskets in the waiting room of the New building of Nuclear Medicine Department in Asan Medical Center from April to August 2010. Mean radioactivity and its standard deviation of each place have been found by measuring surface contamination of medical wastebaskets and backgrounds twice a week, totaling 30 times. An independent t-test of SPSS (Ver. 12.0) statistic program has been used for statistical analysis. Swabs, saline solution bottles and poly gloves collected from each place also measured 30 times, respectively. Results: This study analyzed medical waste and the backgrounds of each place by using survey meter detectors that significant differences of five places did not exist, but existed statistically in twelve places (p<0.05). Also, swabs, saline solution bottles and poly gloves collected from each radioactive waste partly exceed the legal dose limit as a result of measuring by a gamma counter. Conclusion: Backgrounds and the surface doses of radioactive disposal box in all 17 places measured by the survey meter did not exceed the legal dose limit; however, it obviously showed that there were prominent differences in 12 places. Assuming that the cause of the differences was swabs, saline solution bottles and gloves, we examined them by gamma counter, and the results showed remarkably high doses of radioactivity. Consequently, swabs and poly gloves which are normally disposed in the general medical waste box should be disposed in the radioactive waste box furnished by radiopharmaceuticals laboratory. Also, saline solution discharged from radioactive pharmaceutical places is considered as radioactive liquid waste so that it should be disposed of by the septic tank specifically designed for radioactive liquid.