Decontamination glassware washing

Radioactive materials should not be washed by glassware washing personnel. Laboratory research personnel should decontaminate ware first. 

Basically, the glassware washing procedure is divided into two phases the laboratory phase, which consists of preparations by research workers for decontamination by rinsing or soaking, and the glassware washing room phase, which completes the process. Communication is important between the laboratory worker and the glassware washer worker... 

The fume cupboard is cleaned directly after sample preparation. Any samples, organic solvent waste, chlorinated solvent waste, and aqueous wastes that do not require decontamination are collected into separate, clearly marked waste containers. In the same way, paper and consumable wastes that do not require decontamination are collected in a clearly marked waste box. Materials requiring decontamination must be treated with a proper decontamination solution and disposed of in designated waste containers. Glassware and accessories are flushed with decontamination solution and soaked in potassium hydroxide solution and, if not destroyed, they are washed with alkaline nonphosphorus detergent before further cleaning. 

Glassware and laboratory utensils should be decontaminated completely by laboratory personnel before being sent for washing. Decontamination may be effected by appropriate methodologies (see Section 3), when available, or by rinsing several times with adequate volumes of a suitable solvent. In some cases, four to five rinses have been found to be sufficient to achieve good decontamination. 

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