The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is advising healthcare facilities that treat thyroid outpatients with iodine-131 (I-131) to recommend that those patients not stay at hotels immediately after treatment.
The agency's directive is in response to concerns that thyroid patients typically remain radioactive for a few days following treatment with I-131 and may unknowingly expose other people to radiation.
The NRC is also asking physicians to provide instructions on how to limit potential radiation exposures to the public following treatment.
NRC regulations allow I-131 patients to be released following treatment when the radiation dose to third parties is not likely to exceed 500 mrem. The guidelines assume the dose would apply primarily to a patient's family or other caregivers during the first few days the patient is at home after treatment.
