What's New?
.	December Journal
.	December Newsletter
.	Online Registration for HPS 2010 Midyear Meeting Now Available
.	NRC Academic Program Nuclear Education Grants, FY2010, Now Accepting Applications
.	EPA's STAR Graduate and GRO Undergraduate Fellowship Funding Now Accepting Applications

Upcoming Events
.	2010 HPS Midyear Topical Meeting Radiation Risk Communication to the Public 24-27 January 2010 Albuquerque, NM
.	2010 HPS Professional Development School Radiation Risk Communication: Issues and Solutions 27-29 January 2010 Albuquerque, NM

21 November 2009

Answer to Question #1961 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Category: Radiation Workers

The following question was answered by an expert in the appropriate field:

I am a radiologic technologist. My question is about radioactive iodine (¹³¹I). I have Graves' disease. Do you have any information on the whole-body dose from radioactive iodine (RAI) treatment and the dose to individual organs? I realize that this is dependent on the dose of RAI given to the patient. However any statistics using any dose would be appreciated.

Therapy for Graves' disease usually involves administration of 10-20 mCi (370-740 MBq) of radioactive iodine (¹³¹I) as sodium iodide. This is designed to give a rather high radiation dose to the thyroid (which will vary considerably, depending on thyroid uptake and mass at the time of the exam) and lower doses to other organs (about 15-30 rad [150-300 mGy] to urinary bladder and stomach, 2-5 rad [20-50 mGy] to gonads and marrow). A "whole body" dose is not usually discussed in this application, as the dose is nonuniform, and it is more appropriate to discuss individual organ doses. Michael G. Stabin, PhD, CHP Assistant Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences

Answer posted on 13 May 2002. The information and material posted on this Web site is intended as general reference information only. Specific facts and circumstances may alter the concepts and applications of materials and information described herein. The information provided is not a substitute for professional advice and should not be relied upon in the absence of such professional advice specific to whatever facts and circumstances are presented in any given situation. Answers are correct at the time they are posted on the Web site. Be advised that over time, some requirements could change, new data could be made available, or Internet links could change. For answers that have been posted for several months or longer, please check the current status of the posted information prior to using the responses for specific applications.