A study of technetium-99m wastage in selected private sector nuclear medicine imaging departments

Background South African nuclear medicine imaging departments have been fortunate in being able to receive an uninterrupted supply of molybdenum-99 (99Mo)/ technetium-99m (99mTc) generators. Nuclear medicine radiographers practising in private sector services in the northern Gauteng region indicated a possible problem with the quantities of wasted and unused 99mTc radiopharmaceuticals returned to the radiopharmaceutical supply laboratory. Daily radiopharmaceutical deliveries are a combination of ordered packages and standard packages. The purpose of the standard package is to accommodate emergency and after-hours nuclear medicine services. The purpose of the study was to interrogate the unconfirmed reports of 99mTc radiopharmaceutical wastage