3 Categories of Radioactive Waste:
- Long lived (>90 day half-life) -- for burial in South Carolina
- Short lived (<90 day half-life) -- for decay on campus
- Low level (radionuclides in liquid scintillation fluid) -- for incineration in Florida
The cost of disposal depends on volume and category of waste:
- save money by reducing the volume of waste
- use radionuclides with a half-life less than 90 days.
Waste stored for decay must:
- have a half life less than 90 days
- be stored for at least 10 half-lives (maybe longer)
- be monitored for any radiation before being brought to the RSO for disposal
- have log sheets and records sent to RSO after disposal
Non-disposable low level radioactive waste:
- H-3/C-14 in a concentration > 0.05 uCi/ml
- Be-7, Fe-55, Co-60, Ni-63, Nb-95 in any concentration
Store solid waste in yellow 5, 20, and/or 32 gallon containers or specially designed plexiglass shielded boxes:
- Yellow waste containers provided by the Radiation Safety Office.
Store liquid waste in glass or plastic containers away from traffic and in an area that could contain a spill in the event that the container leaked:
- short-lived liquid waste can be stored in 5 gallon white plastic containers provided by the RSO
- long-lived liquid waste should be stored in 1 gallon size plastic containers.
Transportation of radioactive waste:
- All radioactive waste is picked up by the Radiation Safety Office
The Radioactive Waste Manifest:
- top section for short lived waste solid and long lived dry, and animals
- bottom section for bulk liquid and/or liquid scintillation vials
Appointments for radioactive waste disposal:
- Fridays only - (other days by special arrangements)
- every half-hour (8:00 am - 12:00, 1:00 pm 4:00 pm)
- call ext. 62570 to make an appointment
- a Radioactive Waste Manifest (PDF) may be filled by the lab or the RSO will complete this for each waste pickup.