Radioactive patients set off alarms at airports

Security alarms at airports are triggered by radio-isotope treatment

August 2006

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Hospital patients who have had treatment using radioactive isotopes within the past 95 days of travelling aboard an aircraft, should be aware they could set off the alarms at the security sceen stage. A study published in the British Medical Journal says that patients are not fully aware of the effect the treatment will have and are then forced to undergo full body searches. This is because they remain radioactive for up to 95 days after treatment.

Around 10,000 British people a year are treated with the use of Radio-isotopes which is used to treat hyperthyroidism and in diagnosis and treatment of cancers. The radioactive material is gradually expelled from the body over time and as airport security systems around the world have been made more sensitive, so the unsuspecting patients are triggering alarm bells.

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