Safety and Health
Further information
Pay careful attention to the following instructions for the disposal of radioactive waste, both liquid and solid.
Liquid radioactive waste
- Liquid radioactive waste is best disposed of via the sewer system. Such waste may only be disposed of via flushing sinks connected to approved radioactive drains provided for this purpose.
- Ensure that the activity per flush is below the dilution concentration limit for each radionuclide.
- Organic solvents are not to be disposed of via flushing sinks.
Solid radioactive waste
- Solid waste must be sealed in a red plastic bag and placed in a cardboard radioactive waste box.
- Waste must be segregated by radionuclide and waste type unless otherwise permitted. For example, the following waste should be packaged in separate boxes
- radionuclide
- animal carcasses (will be stored frozen and incinerated)
- syringes in a sharps container (will be incinerated)
- scintillation cocktail contained in counting tubes (may be incinerated)
- All sharps (needles and broken glass) must be enclosed in a hard container (metal tin or plastic sharps container) before being placed into waste boxes.
- An estimate of the total activity of each radionuclide must be written in the details section of each box. Only units of activity (Bq, Ci and their derivatives) are acceptable.
- Do not use counts per second or Bq per mL.
- Current WA government regulations limit the activity of radionuclides in a waste box for landfill burial. The box limits for long lived radionuclides are outlined in the following table.
| Radionuclide | Box Limit MBq m Ci |
|
|---|---|---|
| 3H | 48 | 1300 |
| 14C | 3.4 | 92 |
| 36Cl | 2.2 | 59 |
| 22Na | 0.63 | 17 |
- Boxes should be sealed with 50 mm wide masking tape such that the box label is not obscured.
- Do not use Caution – Radioactive tape on waste boxes.
Ensure all wastes are labelled clearly and correctly.
University information
CRICOS Code: 00126G
