Nuclear medicine improves diagnosis but brings dangers.
Nuclear medical imaging uses radioactive material to diagnose ailments. Technicians inject small amounts of radioactive material into patients' blood and make observations with special cameras. Such images allow technicians to spot certain biological abnormalities that can indicate a disease or other medical problem. Although generally safe, the nuclear medical technology comes with several problems.
Radiation Exposure
Radiographic imaging exposes a patient to a small amount of radioactive material as it passes through the body. According to the Radiological Society of North America, the dose is low enough to keep the risks small, and the scans have produced no observed long-term effects. But radiation builds up in a patient's body over a lifetime, meaning that patients who undergo many such scans face a higher risk of the negative health effects associated with radiation exposure, such as cancer, according to a WebMD report on a U.S. Food and Drug Administration meeting on medical radiation risks in March 2010.
Breast-Feeding and Pregnancy
The Radiological Society of North America advises women who are pregnant or breast-feeding to be cautious and discuss the risks with a physician before getting nuclear imaging. Radiation poses a risk of complications or damage to the child during pregnancy, and the radioactive materials used in nuclear medicine can pass through breast milk to the child.
Allegic Reactions
While allergic reactions to radiopharmaceuticals are rare and generally mild, certain patients do react poorly, according to the Radiological Society of North America. Because no tests are common for such reactions, patients should warn their doctors of negative reactions to previous radioactive exams.
Occupational Hazards
According to a 2008 article in the "Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology," nuclear medicine technologists, who administer radiographic exams, face occupational hazards from their exposure to radioactive material. Those hazards include eye cataracts, cancer and pregnancy complications. Proper safety procedures reduce the risks.
Waste Disposal
Nuclear medicine produces radioactive waste products, creating a disposal problem. Although technicians inject much of the radioactive material into patients, unusable material must be stored permanently somewhere people will not be exposed to it, so regular landfills are inappropriate. As of 2010, the United States has no permanent repository for radioactive material; instead, temporary facilities store nuclear waste.
Terrorism
According to a 2008 paper in "Nonproliferation Review" by scientist Cristina Hansell, medical facilities that store radioactive material for nuclear imaging present a target for terrorist groups. Terrorists could seize the material for use in a radiological attack, such as a dirty bomb that spreads radiation. Theoretically, terrorists also could explode a bomb inside a medical imaging facility to spread radioactive material through the area.
Tags: radioactive material, North America, Radiological Society, Radiological Society North, Society North
