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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The spokesperson for Tuen Mun Hospital (TMH) made the following announcement today (September 16):
At around 2pm on September 15, the Nuclear Medicine Department of TMH discovered that at around 11am on the same day, a relieving cleansing worker inappropriately handled a clinical waste plastic bag containing radioactive substance which has not yet decayed to the permitted disposal level. The plastic bag of clinical waste was delivered to the contract clinical waste collector for disposal at the Tsing Yi chemical waste treatment centre of the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) for incineration.
The radioactivity of the substance, TC-99m, is of a level of 55.5 MBq and the decay to the legally permitted level should complete by September 17. The dosage was similar to the amount commonly used for bone scans. The dose of radiation will only be comparable to a routine chest X-ray after a person is exposed to the waste continuously for 15 hours at a one-metre distance.
The Hospital has notified the Department of Health, the EPD and the Hospital Authority head office. The cleansing worker delivered the concerned waste from the department directly to the waste collection vehicle without passing any clinical or public areas. According to the assessment of nuclear medicine expert, the incident poses no public health concern. No patient nor radiology service have been affected by the incident. The two hospital staff members who have handled the waste received medical check-up today. Both are in good health condition. A medical examination is being arranged for the truck driver who delivered the clinical waste.
TMH will follow up and review the incident in relation to the handling of radioactive waste while immediate actions have been taken to enhance the storage and labelling of radioactive waste, as well as staff training and supervision.
Ends/Friday, September 16, 2011
Issued at HKT 22:37
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