Taking a chance on medical lead??

[jason280]

I have a lead on 150 of these tubes, which weigh around 1.2lbs each. They look to be pure lead, painted on the outside with caps. They are used to transport Xenon Xe 133 gas, which is used in nuclear med studies. Only issue is, I have no idea how safe they are. Anyone have luck with using radiological/medical lead, or should I pass?

Will handling them grow me a 3rd testicle??

[TexasGrunt]

You'll be fine. The third testicle grows under your chin, you'll barely notice it.

[M-Tecs]

They are tested before they are released. I would jump on them. Been using medical lead (when I can get them) since the mid-70's

[jason280]

They are tested before they are released. I would jump on them. Been using medical lead (when I can get them) since the mid-70's

They haven't technically been released, they are still in the radiology dept of the hospital....they have no idea what to do with them, so I am trying to work out a deal for them now.

What would be a fair price for pure lead like this?

[RogerDat]

When you see people selling "ISO lead" this is what they are selling. Lead from containers used to transport isotopes. Paint may be a bit stinky but in all the versions that people have had tested it was good lead for casting. Most having a bit of antimony, some being closer to plain. There is a link someplace around to iso lead where a guy has pictures and XRF reports on the different container shapes.

Price at what a scrap yard would pay for them, plus 5 cents a pound. Good deal for both and easy to establish. Call scrap yard ask what they will pay for soft lead. Add 5 cents a pound and bring a scale to work.

[Shiloh]

Grab 'em. Nuclear medicine here no longer dispenses them. Contractual with some recycler. Possibly re-used and the tech didn't know.

Shiloh

[Soundguy]

Xenon Xe 133 decays by beta and gamma emissions with a half-life of 5.245 days. Looks like those tubes held glass vials of 95% CO2, and 5% xe133.

[MUSTANG]

Good source of Lead. You might want to contact HAMMERLANE on this site via PM and see how the Isotope Containers he is getting are released by Hospitals/Clinics that he sources from. There will be some sort of audit trail for the Hospital/Clinic that is using the containers; required by Federal Law/Federal Regulation. The Radiological technician, Health Physicists, etc.. at the Hospital/Clinic should be aware - have references when the containers can be released.

Looking at XE 133; it is fairly benign in the Nuclear sense with a half life of 5.245 days. That means every 5.245 days 1/2 of the radioactivity is gone. Guidance says the medical technicians are not to use the product after 5 to 7 days beyond it's calibration date. This means that the Hospital/Clinic is probably getting a new XE 133 source each week to use for that weeks patients. (Good Thing for future Lead Acquisitions).

The 5.245 half life means that on day 5 it has 51.8% of original radioactivity, day 10 is 26.8%, Day 15 is down to ~ 13.5 % Day 20 is down to ~ 6.8%, Day 25 is down to ~ 3.5% and so on. By day 45 it is pretty dead. The residual contamination on the lead container will be significantly less than each of the stated values.

Once again; best means of addressing getting the containers released is the Radiological Technician, Health Physicist, or ... in the Radiological Department that has custody and responsibility for keeping track of the paper work on the lead containers ( and the Glass/Plastic containers inside of each that actually holds the XE 133 radioactive gas used in testing. As stated previously; a discussion via PM with HAMMERLANE should be of benefit as he is doing similar with Isotope Containers.

[P Flados]

Just a point of interest for those not familiar with this type of stuff.

Medical isotopes do not usually have the kind of radiation (type or intensity) that would do much of anything to metals.

At work (a nuclear power station) we do have sheilding applications a little more demanding. Some of our lead shielding gets hit pretty hard for long intervals and yet remains non-radioactive.

Any lead (even scrap) would be good for shielding. However, in many applications pure lead is used for radiation shielding because it does not contain other metals more prone to "induced radioactivity" (for example, gold and cobalt become highly radioactive when exposed to neutron radiation).

For sheilding containers used for medical isotopes, the risk of radiation due to "induced radioactivity" is pretty much just not going to happen. Of more concern would be containers that were damaged or mishandled in some way such that the isotope was spilled on the surface and remains as a residue (known as contamination). Any lead "left over" after being used properly has negligible risk of contamination.

My only problem with this source is that I have not found a supply.

[Cold Trigger Finger]

Great thread . I learned alot that I didn't know.

[jem102]

You'll be fine. The third testicle grows under your chin, you'll barely notice it.

LMAO Now that's funny...

[runfiverun]

I would charge THEM to haul their waste away.
the way hospitals work.
if you charge them a monthly FEE for disposal they will be more than happy to give them [and a check] to you.

[Elkins45]

I honestly would be more concerned by the fumes given off by the paint when you melt them than I would by the isotopes they once contained. Post #9 esplains it very well.

[quilbilly]

Grab them and run. Medical and isotope sheeting is the best lead I know of. I pay a premium (recently 80cents per pound versus 50 cents per pound for dirtier scrap) for it at the scrap yard because it is so clean and pure. I do my own alloy which is why I like it so much. When I get isotope sheeting there is almost no dross or fumes from impurities. Lead doesn't evaporate at normal melting temperatures so just wash your hands after handling. I almost hate to use it for anything but making boolits but have to use it for making custom fishing jigs in my business too. It does make excellent bendable jigs unlike wheel weights.

[Kraschenbirn]

I used to get isotope 'pigs', ten or a dozen at a time, from a neighbor who was doing post-doc work in microbiology at University of Illinois. His only advice on handling: "Well, I wouldn't store all those under my bed for any length of time."

Bill

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Xenon Xe 133 decays by beta and gamma emissions with a half-life of 5.245 days. Looks like those tubes held glass vials of 95% CO2, and 5% xe133.

Not to mention being a gas. You are going to stay in even numbers of everything that ought to be even.

[Hardcast416taylor]

No problem with this type of lead since it doesn`t retain rediation nor any other characterstic it may have been used for. Hospitals usually move recently used containers like this to a `safe` vault so the nuclear half life will pass - usually 6 months to a year. A buddy of mine worked maintence at a local hospital and once a year they cleaned out the vault. It was free to any hospital staff and anything left was sold as scrap lead. Amazing how many casters there are that work at a hospital for there was never any left over. My friend kept me supplied with the very large shielding pieces that weigh up in the 30+ lb. ranges. I still have over 700 lb. of various sizes of these shieldings out in my casting barn, I used an old bath scale to get that number.Robert