Alarms in US airports set off by radioactive therapy
Friday 04 August 2006
A man who flew to Florida for a holiday with his family and friends had a nasty shock at Orlando airport. He triggered an alarm, was taken aside, strip-searched and checked by sniffer dogs while his companions watched in horror.
After extensive questioning, when he realised the security guards suspected him of carrying a radioactive bomb, the 46-year-old man remembered his medical treatment for an overactive thyroid gland six weeks earlier.
He was able to produce a medical card showing he had been treated with radioactive iodine, an infusion of which is used to kill the overactive cells in the thyroid. He was released.
Reporting the case in the British Medical Journal, doctors say 10,000 patients a year are treated with radioactive iodine in the UK alone and as airport security alarms become more sensitive the likelihood of false alarms will increase.
The man in Orlando, who has not been named, had passed through a UK airport without setting off alarms, indicating the differing sensitivity of alarms used in the two countries.
Dr Kalyan Gangopadhyay, of City Hospital, Birmingham, the lead author of the report, said the case demonstrated how long radioactive iodine can remain in the body.
"In Europe and America there will be hundreds of thousands of people having this treatment. Airport security alarms are being made more sensitive worldwide so we will get more of these incidents."
Dr Gangopadhyay said the man had been very distressed. "He said it was embarrassing. He would not have made the journey if he had had an inkling of the harassment he was likely to face. We could only apologise to him for the lack of information given."
Earlier incidents have been recorded in the medical literature of patients treated with radioactive isotopes setting off security alarms. In the 1980s two visitors on a public tour of the White House set off an alarm and were held until the cause was discovered.
In 2004, a 55-year-old pilot triggered an alarm at Moscow airport and was detained until the cause was found. Four days later he set off the alarm again.
The City Hospital in Birmingham is issuing cards to all patients treated with radioactive iodine with a warning that airport alarms may be triggered for up to 12 weeks.
Life & Style blogs
Wandsworth tops aspiring young professionals hotspot list
Other popular areas include Didsbury, Clifton in Bristol, central Cambridge and West Bridgford
Christian GPs and the morning after pill: Much needed clarification
Doctors are allowed to have personal beliefs, just as long as these beliefs do not interfere with th...
Justin Webb on the medical advances in tackling heart disease
BBC journalist Justin Webb talks about his experiences of the advances in preventing heart attacks a...
- 1 'He was lucky he didn't die' - George Michael fell out of speeding car onto M1 motorway, according to eye witness
- 2 Gay couple beaten in park urge MPs to moderate language on gay marriage
- 3 After woman sells virginity for $780,000, here are the results of our prostitution survey
- 4 Far-right French historian, 78-year-old Dominique Venner, commits suicide in Notre Dame in protest against gay marriage
- 5 'It was just like the movie Twister': Man survives Oklahoma tornado by taking refuge in horse stall
Get your summer started with British Military Fitness
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
Visit York
Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
iJobs General
Senior IP Associate / Partner - Manchester
Excellent Salary Package - £60K to £120K: Austen Lloyd: We have an exciting op...
Java Developer
£200 - £250 per day: Progressive Recruitment: Java Developer - Urgent Requirem...
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE ARCHITECT, SAP
£70000 - £95000 per annum + Bonus, flexible working hours, remote work: Progre...
SAP BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE SENIOR CONSULTANT
£50000 - £56000 per annum + Benefits package, flexible working hours: Progress...
How to say ‘I’m a sellout’
Why clubs are keen to take a stand




Comments