Facilities overview
Most of the physical infrastructure for an Ac-225 program overlaps with general nuclear medicine and RLT practice. Alpha-specific requirements are concentrated in contamination control, waste decay storage, and daughter-gamma shielding — not in dramatic structural changes. A center already delivering RLT can usually adapt its existing footprint with targeted modifications rather than new construction.
Minimum requirements
At minimum, an Ac-225 program needs designated, surveyed, and access-controlled space across four functional zones:
Receipt & preparation
- Hot lab with non-porous surfaces and HEPA-ventilated containment
- Shielded source storage with documented inventory
- Dose calibrator with validated Ac-225 setting
Administration & recovery
- Single-occupancy administration room with shielded chair/bed
- Post-administration hold area sized for typical patient throughput
- Designated patient restroom with non-porous surfaces
Waste & utilities
- Decay-in-storage area sized for the full Ac-225 chain hold time
- Dedicated waste containers labeled by stream (sharps, dry, liquid)
- Sanitary sewer release pathway documented per 10 CFR §20.2003
- Hot lab, administration room, and post-administration hold areas
- Lead-shielded vial and syringe holders sized for daughter gammas
- HEPA-ventilated containment for unit-dose handling
- Restricted-area access controls and signage per 10 CFR §20.1902
- Surface contamination controls take priority over thick wall shielding
- Waste decay storage sized for the full Ac-225 decay chain, not the 9.9-day parent
- Restroom and patient-flow contamination protocols are stricter
- Alpha-capable survey instruments (ZnS) at every survey station, not just G-M probes
It can help to walk the patient journey on paper before walking it in the building. Where does the dose enter, where is it drawn, where is it pushed, where does the patient void, where does waste decay, where does it leave? Most facility design gaps show up at those handoffs, not inside any one room.
- 10 CFR §20.1902 — Posting requirements.
- 10 CFR §20.2003 — Disposal by release into sanitary sewerage.
- NCRP Report No. 155 — Management of Radionuclide Therapy Patients.