NCRP report No.160 states that medical exposure increased to nearly half of the total radiation exposure of the U.S. population from all sources in 2006 (NCRP 2009). Part of this increase in exposure is due to the rise in nuclear medicine procedures. With this observed growth in medical radionuclide usage, there is an increase in the radionuclide being released into wastewater after the medical procedures. The question then arises: what is the behavior of medical radionuclides and their impurities in the wastewater process? It is important to note that, often, medical radionuclides are not exactly 100% radionuclide pure, but they meet a certain standard of purity. Of particular interest are the longer lived impurities associated with these medical radionuclides. The longer lived impurities have a higher chance of reaching the environment. The goal of this study is to identify the behavior of medical radionuclides and their impurities associated with some of the more common radiopharmaceuticals, including Tc-99m and I-131, and locate and quantify levels of these impurities in municipal wastewater and develop a model that can be used to estimate potential dose and risk to the public. / Graduation date: 2012 / Access restricted to the OSU Community at author's request from May 24, 2012 - May 24, 2014