Radioactivity working practice

Working with Radioactivity Rules, Practices and Safety Precautions... 

Working practices when using radioactive isotopes... 

Have you registered for radioactive work Normal practice is for all users to register with a local Radiation Protection Supervisor. Details of the project may have to be approved by the appropriate administrator(s). You may have to have a short medical examination before you can start work. 

As with all laboratory work, protection of the worker against the hazard consists of good facility design, operation, and monitoring, as well as good work practices on the part of the worker. The ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) exposure principle is central to both levels of protection. The amount of radiation or radioactive material used should be minimized. Exposures should be minimized by shielding radiation sources and workers and visitors and by use of emergency alarm and evacuation procedures. Physical distance between personnel and radiation sources should be maximized, and whenever possible, robotic or other remote operations should be used to reduce exposure of personnel. 

The authors emphasize the importance of safe working practices and expect that readers make themselves familiar with, and take care to work at all times in accordance with, their national, local and institutional radiation safety protocols regarding carbon-14 and tritium, to maintain good practices of contamination monitoring, and are competent in the control and remediation of radioactive contamination. Some general guidelines have been pubhshed . 

Although the Curies noted that one equivalent gram of radium released one hundred calorics of heat per hour, they were uninterested in the practical implications of this, as they were both devoted to pure scientific discovery. During their work with pitchblende in 1898, the Curies discovered two new radioactive elements, which they named polonium (in honor of Marie s homeland) and radium. By 1902 they had isolated a pure radium salt and made the first atomic weight determination. 

Working areas within certain industrial buildings may have restricted access (i.e. sterile laboratories, radioactive areas). Separate toilet accommodation may be required in these areas, an assessment of which may be obtained from the operator and reference to such publications as Atomic Energy Code of Practice, Laboratory Practice. It may also be necessary to operate such appliances remotely by photoelectric cell, sonic control or foot control. 

Isotope Methods. The isotopes of calcium have relatively short half-lives and are readily counted using liquid scintillation or gamma counters as appropriate to the nuclide. Calcium isotopes may be quantitated in the excreta, blood, tissues or in the whole body. This has made them useful for many nutritional metabolic studies. However, because of safety concerns, radioactive isotopes are cumbersome to work with and many researchers are unwilling to administer them to human beings. This has limited the use of isotopes to those studies in which alternate methods are not available or are imprecise. Methodologies for stable isotopes of calcium, which may be safely used in human being, are becoming available for use in metabolism studies. These will be practical alternatives to radioactive isotopes in the future. 

The other major springboard for the fluorocarbon chemical industry was the "Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb. This required the large-scale production of highly corrosive elemental fluorine and uranium(VI) fluoride for the separation of the radioactive 235U isotope. Oils capable of resisting these materials were needed to lubricate pumps and compressors, and polymers were needed to provide seals. Peril uorinated alkanes and polymers such as PTFE and poly(chlorotrifluoroethylene) (PCTFE) proved to have the appropriate properties so practical processes had to be developed for production in the quantities required. In 1947 much of this work was declassified and was published in an extensive series of papers3 which described the fundamental chemistry on which the commercial development of various fluoro-organic products, especially fine chemicals, was subsequently based. 

WORKING WITH RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS Generally Accepted Practices... 

Perform experiments with volatile materials or radioactive gases in a well-ventilated fume hood rated for that class of work. Good practice for safety purposes is to conduct most work with radioactive materials in a fume hood. 

In 1906 she was appointed a member of the Chemical Staff at University College, and from that time until her death on July 6th, 1924, she continued her teaching work, having charge of the practical laboratory work for students of the Intermediate Science class, and giving courses of lectures to more advanced students on the chemical aspects of radioactive transformations.100 ... 

With respect to practical work with radioactive substances, the risk of a hazardous effect should be as low as possible, and <0.1%. The following measures are recommended to keep radiation exposure to a minimum ... 

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