How can radioactive iodine contaminate my home after treatment?

The presence of radioactive iodine (I131) can bring some real challenges around the home.  Iodine can be a very reactive element.  It has a strong charge, which allows it to cling tightly to many surfaces.  This can make it difficult to remove. If it attaches to dust particles, this may allow it to travel beyond the immediate area of contamination, such as the isolation room in your home. It is very important that thorough and effective cleanup be done to insure that contamination is not spread.  Other family members or guests - especially children and pets - may be more adversely affected than adults.  

You have undoubtedly been instructed by your healthcare provider to be in isolation for the first several days following your treatment.  This is very important because during that time, your body will rid itself of the excess Radioactive Iodine that your thyroid does not absorb. The Radioactive Iodine that leaves your body through urine, sweat, and saliva can cause serious contamination if not cleaned up properly.  

How do you clean what you can't see?

Hospitals use very sensitive nuclear counting equipment to test for contamination.  This allows them to "see" and therefore remove contamination.  Nuclear regulatory guidelines demand that they monitor and eliminate radioactive contamination to insure a safe working environment.  

Unfortunately, most people do not have the luxury of being able to afford this type of equipment to monitor their home and insure that contamination is eliminated.  

That leaves you with two options:

    a:  Clean as well as you can and hope for the best.

    b:  Use Bind-It which attracts and binds the iodine so it can be removed.

How do you know that your cleaning method is being effective?  

It is very important to insure that you have protected your spouse, your children, your friends and pets from exposure to contaminated surfaces. To do this, you need to use a product designed specifically to remove radioactive iodine.  Bind-It.  

Can’t I use bleach or regular household cleaners?

Some general purpose cleaners can actually cause the iodine to become airborne.  Then your cleanup efforts just had the opposite effect--spreading the contamination from a small area to a larger one - possibly even beyond your isolation area.  Bleach and acidic cleaners are both well known to cause radioactive iodine to volatilize.  Many household cleaners contain bleach.  From sanitary wipes to cleansers to drop-in toilet tank cleaners, bleach is everywhere. 

Why is Bind-It so effective?

Bind-It is designed to do one thing and one thing only - remove radioactive iodine.  Nothing is more effective than Bind-It for safely removing radioactive iodine from a wide range of surfaces. Think of a magnet sticking to a refrigerator door; this will give you an idea of how strong Bind-It’s attraction is.  Once bound in solution, the radioactivity can be wiped away- reducing the chances of second hand exposure to others.

Who is Laboratory Technologies, Inc.?

Since 1983, Laboratory Technologies, Inc. (LTI)  has been manufacturing instrumentation to “count” radioactive iodine and other isotopes.  From laboratory tests that use radioactive Iodine-125 for thyroid hormone tests (T3, T4, TSH, etc.), to instruments that insure nuclear medicine departments are contamination free - we know radioactive iodine.  

Is Bind-It a new product?

Almost 20 years ago, LTI saw a need for a better way to clean up contamination from radioactive iodine.  Other general purpose radioactive decontaminants on the market did not work for radioactive iodine.  So we developed Bind-It.  Recent inquiries from thyroid treatment patients led LTI to discover a need in the private sector. We discovered that thyroid patients undergoing radioactive iodine treatments are being left largely on their own to try to determine how to clean up contamination at home.  There is a real need and desire to protect their families from second hand exposure to the radioactive iodine they are treated with.  Based on what we discovered, we decided to make our Bind-It products available in smaller quantities that are better suited for home use.

Now, your family can get the same level of protection from second hand exposure that hospital workers get with Bind-It.