Fire scenario in a nuclear medicine department: an impact assessment

• Published in: European physical journal plus 2024-10, Vol.139 (10), p.914, Article 914
• Main Authors: D’Arienzo, Marco, Contessa, Gian Marco, D’Avanzo, Maria Antonietta, Mattozzi, Massimo, Coniglio, Angela, Sandri, Sandro, Giovannetti, Domenico, d’Oro, Edoardo Cavalieri, Campanella, Francesco
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accidents; Applied and Technical Physics; Atomic; Building codes; Complex Systems; Compliance; Condensed Matter Physics; Consequences and Recovery; Controllability; Departments; Emergency preparedness; Emergency response; Fire damage; Fire prevention; Fire protection; Flammable materials; Focus Point on CBRNE Events: Prevention; Gases; Heat; Hospitals; Mathematical and Computational Physics; Medical equipment; Mitigation; Molecular; Nuclear medicine; Optical and Plasma Physics; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Radioactive materials; Radioactive wastes; Radioisotopes; Regular Article; Risk assessment; Theoretical
• ISSN: 2190-5444; 2190-5444
• DOI: 10.1140/epjp/s13360-024-05680-4

Nuclear medicine uses radioactive compounds, called radiopharmaceuticals, for diagnosis, staging of disease, therapy and monitoring the response of a disease process. An accident involving both fire and radioactive materials has the potential to develop into a critical situation with dual risks: fire damage and the potential release of radioactive materials. The objective of this work is twofold. Firstly, it attempts to model the fire progression in a nuclear medicine facility using the well-established natural temperature–time curves proposed by the Eurocode. The second objective is to investigate how radioactive materials spread in the atmosphere after the fire, with the primary aim of evaluating the possible effects of airborne radionuclides on nearby residents and first responders who come to the scene of the accident. From the analysis conducted, key findings emerge: (I) the risk of fire in a nuclear medicine department can be considered to be low/moderate and a fire accident would likely result in a controllable and manageable scenario. (II) Additional risks that directly affect the radioactive material could arise in addition to the fire event. As a result of the high concentration of radioactive material, the radiopharmacy and the radioactive storage room are the locations that pose the highest risk. (III) According to the results of this research, the highest temperatures that could be reached during a fire, combined with effective and timely fire control, would result in a limited release of radioactive substances into the environment, with a modest impact on workers and nearby residents.