Measurement of the Induced Radionuclides in Production of Radiopharmaceuticals for Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

The radioactive by-products contained in an entire series of target foil, [18O]H2O and synthesis apparatus were identified and quantified. From the perspective of waste management, 60Co induced in Havar foil should be taken into consideration. Because the exempt activity of 60Co in BSS is 0.1 MBq, the used Havar foil should be managed more than for 20 years. The radionuclides in the [18F]-FDG synthesis apparatus are negligible. Equivalent doses at skin and to tissues were estimated assuming a point source at a distance of 30 cm in air. The annual equivalent doses at skin and equivalent dose at deep tissues of such an operating staff will be 56 and 8.3 μSv, respectively, as two times the remove of the target foil and five hundreds times the synthesis of the [18F]-FDG. When proper radiation protection is provided, the exposure from the cyclotron management and the [18F]-FDG synthesis process will not cause meaningful radiological risk to the operating staff. The activity concentration of 3H, 180kBq-cm−3, detected in the target water, is 3,000 times the legal limit of effluent for 3H. The operators should take care of the treatment of the target water when they make a distillation for reuse and a disposal.