To: WSFAlist at keithlynch.net Date: Fri, 6 Dec 2002 07:01:45 -0500 Subject: [WSFA] Fw: radioactive subway riders From: ronkean at juno.com Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net> http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v288n21/ffull/jlt1204-3.html JAMA Vol. 288 No. 21, December 4, 2002 Police Detainment of a Patient Following Treatment With Radioactive Iodine To the Editor: We recently treated a 34-year-old man for Graves disease with 20 mCi of iodine 131. Twenty-four hours after treatment, his radioactive iodine uptake was 63%. Three weeks after treatment, he returned to our clinic complaining that he had been strip-searched twice at Manhattan subway stations. Police had identified him as emitting radiation and had detained him for further questioning. He returned to the clinic and requested a letter stating that he had recently been treated with radioactive iodine. This patient's experience indicates that radiation detection devices are being installed in public places in New York City and perhaps elsewhere. Patients who have been treated with radioactive iodine or other isotopes may be identified and interrogated by the police because of the radiation they emit. . ________________________________________________________________ Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today Only $9.95 per month! Visit www.juno.com