High energy contaminant: an Mo-99/Tc-99m fission generator

An incident is described in which a reading of 65 uCi was found during routine disposal of a Mo-99/Tc-99m fission generator column in a nuclear medicine department. The column was shipped to the manufacturer and was identified as niobium-95, a byproduct of the molybdenum fission process. According to the manufacturer's technical services department, the species did not enter into the eluate and therefore posed no radiation health problems to patients receiving the Tc-99m from the generator. The importance of strict quality control procedures for radioactive waste disposal in nuclear medicine is stressed. These should include monitoring with a survey meter, checking for residual activity in a dose calibrator, and strict record keeping