Handling Contaminated Laundry

Caution employees to be careful when handling contaminated laundry. 

The regulation requires a written schednle for cleaning and for identifying the method of decontamination to be nsed, in addition to cleaning, following contact with blood or other potentially infections materials. It spedlies methods for disposal of contaminated sharp objects and provides standards for containers for these itans and other regulated waste. Further, the standard includes provisions for handling contaminated laundry to minimize exposures. 

Handle contaminated laundry as little as possible, with minimal agitation. 

Contaminated laundry should be handled as little as possible. Laundry must be bagged where it was contaminated. Wet laundry must be placed in leak-proof bags. All employees who handle contaminated laundry must wear gloves. 

Laundry handlers should be vaccinated before handling contaminated materials. 

Contaminated laundry must be handled as little as possible with a minimum of agitation. It must be bagged or containerized at the location where it was used and cannot be sorted or rinsed in the location of use. Also, contaminated laundry must be placed and transported in bags or containers labeled or color-coded in accordance with... 

Wear the following PPE when handling and/or sorting contaminated laundry... 

Personnel handling potentially contaminated material, such as laundry workers, housekeeping staff, and laboratory personnel should also use PPE. 

Clean area clothing should be cleaned and handled in such a way that it does not gather additional contaminants which can later be shed. These operations should follow written procedures. Separate laundry facilities for such clothing are desirable. Inappropriate treatment of clothing will damage fibres and may increase the risk of shedding of particles. 

Volume reduction of concentrated evaporator bottoms, which may include boric acid wastes, laundry wastes, chemical wastes, and other floor drain wastes, is accomplished in the radwaste volume reduction system. The major components of the system are the crystallizer chamber and recirculation system, condenser, and vacuum pump system. The crystallizer chamber consists of a conical tank and an inner circular baffle to separate solid crystals from a clear recycle stream. Combustible wastes such as clothing, filter cartridges, and wood are volume-reduced in the radwaste incinerator. Solidification of volume-reduced wastes and other low-level radioactive wastes, such as spent resins and contaminated tools, is performed in the cement solidification system. The major components of the cement solidification system include the high shear radwaste mixer, waste dispensing system, flush water recycle steam, cement storage and feed system, and the container handling system. 

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