Wastes radioactive, bagging

Fig. 2.11. Bagging radioactive wastes. (Adapted from G. N. Walton Ed., Glove Boxes and Shielded Cells, Butterworth, London, 1958.)...

Contaminated cultures which are also radioactive may be autoclaved (dishes should be placed in disposal bags) and then treated as radioactive waste. 

Biohazard handling. All sample handling and disposal procedures should be performed in compliance with the guidelines of the institutional Environmental Health and Safety Office. Gloves should be worn when handling the samples. Discard tips, pipettes, and tubes into a radioactive waste bag, or an autoclavable biohazard bag. 

Combustible and non-combustible solid radioactive waste is often collected separately. Waste containing only short-lived radionuclides is usually stored until the activity has vanished. Solid waste containing long-lived radionuclides is collected in polyethylene bags, which are closed by welding, filled in dnuns and taken to a central collecting station for radioactive waste. 

Lower explosive limit—The lowest concentration of a substance that will produce a fire or fiash when an ignition source is present, expressed as a percent of vapor or gas in the air by volume. Low-level waste—Radioactively contaminated industrial or research waste such as paper, rags, plastic bags, medical waste, and water-treatment residues. 

Low-level waste Radioactively contaminated industrial or research waste such as paper, rags, plastic bags, medical waste, and water-treatment residues. 

Use disposable labware for all procedures involving high levels of tritium. Seal used lab-ware in plastic bags and place into radioactive waste containers. This will minimize the buildup of tritium vapors in the open waste. 

C. Normal surgical management of wounds will be more than adequate for removal of radioactive contamination and special procedures are not required. Rinse water or sponges should not be disposed of until expert consultations have been obtained. Material objects from the wounds must be saved and if separable from the rest of the waste, put in specially marked bags. These fragments will be studied by technical experts and require special disposal. Such personnel are usually located at the medical group level (see section 3.1). 

Expending on the design of the system and the regulatory requirements, incinerable waste containers (e.g. plastic bags or cardboard boxes) may be used for waste feed packaging. A double lid system (or equivalent) shall be considered when alpha bearing waste is handled, to prevent the spread of radioactive contamination. 

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