The question of radiation exposure to the hand from handling 99mTc.

Summary At some levels of nuclear medicine laboratory testing of patients, peak hand radiation exposure to the technicians may exceed regulatory levels by a modest amount. Monitoring of hand radiation exposure may be desirable, depending on certain conditions peculiar to each laboratory. Whole-body and finger ring film badges are not necessarily representative of peak hand radiation exposure from 99mTc and may lead to a sense of security which is not justified. There is a steep radiation dose gradient of approximately 20 to 1 from peak to minimum hand radiation values for 99mTc. A value of 10 mrem/mCi-min is suggested for calculating peak hand radiation exposure levels to 99mTc.