Proper management of radioactive waste helps ensure protection of the public and the environment. All radioactive materials are accounted for from generation to disposal. You must keep a record of each waste type which totals to 100% of your original order. Waste accounting records are not corrected for decay since it is easier for you to reference the total original amount and the EHS database calculates decay for you. EHS reserves the right to refuse pickup of wastes that are incorrectly collected or packaged. We will notify you regarding any items discovered as incorrectly packaged.
There are six main radioactive waste types:
Dry solids and aqueous waste containers must be issued through EHS to ensure proper container type and labeling. You should have separate containers for each isotope. Waste containers should never be overfilled as this can lead to spills and contamination. Line the inside of your dry solids bin or plexi™ collection box with a clear thick liner. Your plexi™ box should be prominently labeled with large yellow and magenta - Caution Radioactive Materials. All waste containers should be closed when not in use and aqueous lids tightly capped. Mixed waste containers will usually not be specifically issued by EHS but collected in a container purchased by the laboratory. Sharps containers must be prominently labeled - Caution Radioactive Material - for collection of your radioactive sharps, needles, scalpels, or razors.
Dry solids radioactive waste includes such items as gloves, paper, and plastic used with radioactive materials. The following items are NOT ALLOWED in the dry solids radioactive waste:
Scintillation vials should remain separate from other waste types for disposal, even if they are dry, empty, or blank. Scintillation vials are collected separately in trays for EHS pickup. Blank scintillation vials like those that are most commonly collected from null smear survey results will also be collected for EHS pickup. You should sort the blank scintillation vials from your routine smear surveys in separate trays and let EHS know that they are background results so that they are collected as deregulated scintillation vials. To prevent leakage, close vials tightly.
Non-hazardous scintillation fluid must be used unless approved by Environmental Health and Safety. There are special use requirements for hazardous scintillation fluids. These wastes must be handled as both radioactive and hazardous. See section f below (Radioactive Mixed Wastes) for these special requirements.
Aqueous liquids should be collected in containers available through EHS. Aqueous containers should be placed on absorbent paper and care should be taken to prevent splash. Lids should be tightly capped when not in use. You should keep the outside of all containers clean and free from cross contamination for EHS pickup. Aqueous containers should be well organized and not stacked. Unless there is a potential for volatility, you should not store your waste containers in the fume hood, since this will hinder the airflow in your fume hood.
Mixed wastes are radioactive wastes mixed with hazardous chemical wastes. Some common mixed wastes include phenol/chloroform, methanol, and ethanol. Mixed wastes can be in solid or liquid form or in scintillation vials. Evaporation in a fume hood is not an acceptable method of disposal and must not be allowed unless the evaporation step is part of experimental procedures. EHS will provide mixed-waste labels that must go on the storage container at the beginning of accumulation. These labels record the container constituents including radionuclide, activity, and percent of each hazardous waste component. Once your orange labels are placed on the collection container, you need to place the container in an HSD registered satellite accumulation area. You must comply with all satellite accumulation area policies including keeping an inventory and conducting weekly inspections. For waste pickup, you will need to submit a mixed waste disposal form sheet. HSD may need to assay your mixed waste to confirm the activity and concentration.
Occasionally, EHS may have to delay pickup of mixed wastes since they are required to ship mixed waste within ninety days from the time of pickup.
Radioactive biological type waste can generally be described in two sub categories: biological non-carcass and biological carcass. Generally, all infectious wastes and materials having been in contact with infectious wastes must be disinfected before pickup by HSD, and hence, re-classified as "biological non-carcass" waste. Examples of radioactive "biological non-carcass" wastes are animal bedding, culture vessels, plastic tubing, and biologically contaminated sharps.
You are required to disinfect human cell lines whether from cell lines or primary cells. Cell cultures will often require disinfecting. For transfected cells you will need to provide biosafety with sufficient information to properly classify the biological materials. You can disinfect all media and materials using ten percent bleach (sodium hypochlorite solution) soaked and dried. Lysing or assuming that the antibodies did their job is not alone adequate for considering your waste radioactive biological non-carcass. You should be able to disinfect most materials using a spray bottle and a tray with drain valves. The tray is drained into your liquid waste container after soaking for an appropriate amount of time for disinfecting. The tray could be placed in your fume hood to help speed the drying process. Biosafety can suggest other disinfectants like Virex depending on your particular application.
Animal carcasses and tissue should be kept frozen. Please contact radiation safety as soon as possible regarding packaging if you plan to generate any radioactive animal carcasses and tissue.
