Man fined for radioactive cat waste

“Man fined over radioactive cat waste


By Associated Press, 10/25/2002

HITMAN - A man who ignored a veterinarian's order to flush his cat's radioactive waste down the toilet was hit with a $2,800 bill. And Bill Jenness said he's happy to pay it.



''I don't feel I was mistreated,'' Jenness told The Patriot Ledger of Quincy. ''It's my cat, my responsibility, and I did not abide by the directions I was given.''

Jenness's cat, Mitzi, an 11-year-old shorthair, was treated with an injection of radioiodine after developing hyperthyroidism.

The treatment makes the cat radioactive for weeks, so special care is required, including limiting snuggling time, keeping the cat away from children and pregnant women, and using protective gloves when flushing the cat litter.

Jenness said he decided to throw the litter in the trash after the waste had hardened into abnormally large clumps.

''I was afraid of my septic system being clogged,'' he said.

Mitzi's mess was discovered at an incinerator in Rochester when alarms detected radioactivity. Workers traced the waste to Jenness after finding mail with his name on it nearby.

The radiation treatment by Radiocat in Waltham and cost of disposing of the waste totaled about $5,000. Jenness said it was worth it because Mitzi is doing well.

Radiocat's Web site says radiation from a radioiodine shot is probably less than a person receives on a long plane flight.

But Thomas Burnett, a Whitman public works commissioner, said any radiation in trash is too much.

This story ran on page B2 of the Boston Globe on 10/25/2002.

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/298/metro/Man_fined_over_radioactive_cat_waste+.shtml”

“Now that is cool!

8)”

“I bet the cat would look cool, glowing in the window on Halloween!”

“MrHyde's now-deceased brother, Dr. Jekyll, had this problem and the same treatment a few years before he died. Indeed, he had to stay at the Vet's office for 2 weeks, until his radioactivity level dropped enough for us to take him home. Then, I had to keep all of his waste for two or three weeks, long enough for the radioactivity to dissipate. The half life of the isotope (is that the correct terminology?) is relatively short, so it would ordinarily fall below detectable levels within that time. It was amazing how quickly he recovered after the treatment! He was very healthy for the couple of years after that until he developed a tumor in his neck that killed him.”

“Meow :-(”

“Let's say he DOES flush it. The radioacive cat crap floats in the sewer to the treatment plant, gets filtered out of the water in the treatment process and becomes another part of the sludge.

The sludge then gets treated with IR and heat to kill microbes. The sludge is then shipped to subsidized farms where it is renamed "biosolids" and spread on fields which produce cops you eat raw.

Bon appetit!”

“Look at the size o' those tomatoes!”

“It's already happening on a large scale every day in hospitals that use nuclear medicine. They inject patients with radioactive substances, then run them through a scanner that images the organs, bones, or circulatory system.

That was how they pinpointed my blood clot.

And all my waste went kawoosh, down the drain to the municipal sewage treatment plant. Bon appetit is right!”

“Err that was "crops you eat raw"

Leave the police alone.”

“Yup and radioactive stuff is a tiny part of the problem. Heavy metals like arsenic and mercury are bigger problems.

Not to mention all the human antibiotics and the like.”

“See? I knew I was right when I told my Mum spinach tasted like #&%!$.”