Guidelines to Radioactive Waste Pick-Up

 

 

Handling Radioactive Waste

Radioactive wastes are accumulated in laboratories in waste containers provided by our office. Waste must be segregated by physical form and half life category within the physical form for collection. This page contains the specific criteria for radioactive waste segregation, packaging and disposal.

 

Segregation

Packaging

Disposal, Tracking, & Pick-Up

 

 

Segregation

Two types of segregation are in place: a physical segregation of the types of waste and an isotope half-life segregation within some physical types. The physical types segregated include: dry solids, aqueous liquids, animal carcasses, scintillation vials, and mixed wastes. There are three categories for segregating dry waste and aqueous liquid waste based on the half-life of the radioactive material. These half-life categories are designated by color-coded barcode labels as follows:

Green : half-life < 30 days, i.e. 32P, 33P, 131I, and 51Cr.

Yellow : half-life between 30 days and 60 days, i.e. 125I .

Blue : half-life > 60 days, i.e. 35S 3H, 14C, 45Ca and 211At

 

 

Packaging

Dry solids

Dry solids generally consist of paper, plastic, glass, metal (not lead), and other assorted laboratory wastes without significant liquid content. All radioactive dry waste must be collected, segregated by half-life category, and sealed in plastic disposal bags (tear-resistant) provided by the laboratories. Remove excess air in plastic bags before sealing to minimize volume. Bags must be sealed with tape or twist-tie and then placed in a second bag and sealed to ensure contamination control. The secondary containment bags provide a means for collecting potentially contaminated rubber gloves used to close primary disposal bags. . Sharps in containers are acceptable in dry waste barrels provided that they are placed in some sort of cut/puncture resistant container. Sharps containers are available at the stockrooms and are acceptable for waste disposal in dry waste and carcass barrels. Sharps include, but are not limited to, needles, razor blades, Pasteur pipettes, and broken glass. In addition to packaging, all waste packages must be labeled according to the procedures described under Disposal, Tracking, and Pick-Up

Laboratories using isotopes within one half-life category or with extra space to accommodate multiple barrels may consolidate waste by using a separate barrel for each half-life category and directly adding dry waste to the barrel without separately packaging first. However, when the barrel is full, the plastic bag lining the barrel must be sealed and labeled according to the procedures described under Disposal, Tracking, and Pick-Up.

 

Aqueous liquids

Aqueous liquids are solutions involving water as the only solvent. Radioactive aqueous liquids must be collected in plastic containers (with size appropriate to the quantity generated) by half-life category and sealed with lids such that the liquids will not leak. OESO provides one gallon plastic containers for liquid collection, but will allow laboratories to use other containers that meet approval with Radiation Safety and Environmental Programs offices. The one gallon liquid waste containers can be filled to a level no higher than four inches below the mouth of the container and must remain in an upright position at all times . Additionally, each collection container must be maintained in a catch basin capable of holding the total volume of liquid in case of any leaking or if spills occur. Small amounts of liquids can be discarded in sealed tubes with dry waste as long as the volume of liquid does not exceed 25 milliliters for the entire barrel. Note: The use of clay absorbent is prohibited.

 

Animal carcasses

Radioactive animal carcasses and their associated bedding, excreta, tubes, sharps, etc. must be bagged and sealed in 3 mil plastic bags. Waste packages should be labeled with a radioactive tag, a barcode label color-coded for the appropriate half-life category, and refrigerated.

 

Scintillation vials

Scintillation vials and in-vitro vials should be collected in containers provided by OESO. Before vials are placed in a waste container they must be removed from the carton and have all the caps tightened. Scintillation vials do not have to be segregated by half life categories. Biological vials must be handled as carcass waste, due to their tissue content.

 

Mixed Waste

For the purposes of this policy, mixed wastes are those wastes that contain both radioisotopes and hazardous chemicals. Refer to the Chemical Waste Policy for Duke University/Medical Center for the definition of Hazardous Waste. Laboratory personnel must determine if the waste generated by an experiment would be classified as a mixed waste. Examples of mixed waste include: tritiated benzopyrene in ethyl acetate, 32P labeled GTP in chloroform, and 14C labeled acetic acid. There can be no generation of mixed wastes without the prior written approval of the Environmental Programs Division . NOTE: This policy specifically excludes solvent based scintillation cocktail fluids used for scintillation counting. Written approval will typically be given for:

• Solvents contaminated with radionuclides of the maximum concentrations listed below. Any mixed solvent wastes submitted with higher concentrations will have the increased disposal costs charged directly to the researcher.

•  Combined 3H and 14C not to exceed 0.05µCi/mL

•  Total of all other isotopes not to exceed 0.002 µCi/mL.

•  Acidic pH<2 or Basic pH >10 aqueous solutions of radiolabeled materials.

 

Laboratories submitting mixed waste for disposal without prior written approval for the material will have to store the waste until the isotope decays below background, or pay the costs for disposal .

 

Lead Containers

Lead is an EPA regulated hazardous waste and cannot be discarded in the regular trash or with the radioactive waste. However, it can be recycled. Lead containers (pigs) and shielding can be recycled through Environmental Programs. The laboratory must wipe test each pig to ensure that they are not contaminated with radioactivity. Pickup of lead pigs for recycling can be requested by calling the waste pickup recorder at 684-3210.

 

Other types of radioactive waste

Contact the Environmental Programs Division if you will be creating any radioactive waste that does not fit any of the above categories.

 

Disposal, Tracking, and Pick-Up

Each waste barrel submitted for disposal must be accompanied by a waste disposal sheet for documenting the half-life category, nuclide(s), activity, and the date each bag of waste was added to the barrel. There are different sheets for dry waste, liquid waste, and scintillation vials. Please ensure that the sheet matches the physical form of the waste. Laboratories are responsible for keeping an original blank copy of these forms to make photocopies for new waste barrels.

Each bag of waste placed in the barrel must be packaged according to the specifications listed in the Packaging section . In addition, each bag must be labeled with the appropriate color-coded barcode label for its half-life category, with the matching label placed on the waste disposal form. Note: Treat mixed isotopes as the longer-lived isotope, but document both isotopes and their activity on the disposal form. For consolidated wastes, all isotopes in the same half-life group, the bag lining the waste barrel is the collection bag. The laboratory must seal this plastic bag with tape and attach one barcode label, color-coded for the appropriate half-life category, on the outside of the bag. This barcode label should be readily visible to the technicians upon collection. The matching barcode label must go on the waste collection sheet for that barrel. If a laboratory has properly collected of all waste upon pick-up, OESO technicians will sign and retain the disposal form for each barrel that is removed. Laboratory personnel are responsible for providing a blank disposal form for all new barrels.

 

Standard Pickup Requests

Laboratory personnel in each work area will be responsible for requesting pickups of their radioactive waste. Requests are made by calling the radioactive waste pickup line at 684-3210. Pick-ups will occur within one business day of a request (excluding weekends and Medical Center holidays); however, waste containers will not be removed

if request forms lack the appropriate information or the waste is packaged incorrectly. The technicians will notify laboratory personnel of any problems with the waste or disposal forms when they occur. If the laboratory has questions or needs to solve a waste related problem, they should call Environmental Programs staff at 684-2794.

 

Hot barrel pick-up requests

Because of differences in shielding and handling requirements, Environmental Programs handles hot barrels differently than standard pickups. Environmental Programs defines a hot barrel as any barrel that gives off greater than 2 mR/hr one meter from the unshielded barrel. To have a hot barrel picked up, Environmental Programs must be notified 24 hours in advance. Call 684-2794 and ask for the radioactive waste manager. We will need to know the isotope, activity, waste type, and number of barrels. You will be given a 2 hour time window during which the waste will be picked up the following workday.

 

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