by
Lauren Dubinsky, Senior Reporter | October 01, 2018
From the October 2018 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
“A project we were asked to provide pricing for decided to save money by choosing a different method than we offered. It was the least expensive option that was presented them,” said Farrell. “They called us nearly 11 months later, having just completed their project because they had problems. The shielding they constructed did not work.”
The facility had to spend over $150,000 on shielding remediation in order to be safe and compliant, and the project took an additional eight months, according to Farrell.
According to Kevin Milne, president and CEO of MarShield, the best thing a radiation shielding client can do is bring as much logistical information as possible to the chosen shielding company. This preparation, even before the project begins, will help ensure a smoother job.
That means figuring out how much protection they need, what lead shielding equivalency they require, the dimensions and application of the room, the availability of off-loading, handling of the weight and demographics of the install.
Lead or no lead?
Even though people equate lead to shielding, shielding today does not necessarily have to be made of lead. This is a good thing, considering the Department of Health and Human Services, Environmental Protection Agency and the International Agency for Research on Cancer have determined that lead is “probably cancer-causing” in humans.
“Lead is a hazardous material so the cost of shipping it, installing it and ripping it out can get pretty expensive,” said Evearitt.
Several companies now offer non-lead-based materials for shielding. For Atom Physics projects, Evearitt uses Artemis Shielding’s patented, nontoxic lead placement, which is a tungsten-based material that is embedded into a rubbery substance.
“It’s more flexible and can be applied straight onto things,” he said. “With my company, we use that in particular when we don’t want to rip out a wall and have those construction costs. We get this Artemis Shielding material and slap it on the back of some paneling and then we can place that onto the wall.”
He added that it may cost a little more upfront to purchase this material, but in the long-run it will save money.
MarShield offers a non-lead alternative called T-Flex, which is made of a bismuth tungsten base. Milne said it’s ideal for applications that require custom moldable shapes such as small-bore pipes, elbows and valves, but it’s also available as blankets, ribbon wrap, pipe shields, floor tiles and magnetic tiles.
