All radioactive waste must be tagged with the name of the P.I., the building and room number, the isotope, the activity of the isotope and the date the container or bag was sealed.
Room 1105 in the Tulane Medical School is no longer used for radioactive waste drop-off on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact the RSO for a radioactive waste pick-up and disposal.
The following supplies are available from the Radiation Safety Officer to help you manage your radioactive waste streams:
- Cardboard radioactive waste boxes
- Yellow radioactive waste poly bags
- Acrylic shielding material (beta emitters)
- Nalgene bottles for liquid radioactive waste and ECO funnels
- Radioactive waste tags
Liquid Waste – Drain disposal of liquid radioactive waste is not allowed. Collect the liquid in an approved container and contact the RSO for pick-up and disposal. If you need appropriate containers, contact the RSO who will provide your lab with the containers and safety ecological funnels free of charge.
Scintillation and source vials – Place scintillation and source vials in their own bag or container. Do not mix them with other waste.
Solid waste – Solid radioactive waste includes used gloves, pipette tips and disposable pipettes, bench paper, etc. Do not put lead with solid radioactive waste, such as lead pigs and shielding.
Isotope segregation – Separate radioactive waste with long-lived half-lives from that of short-lived half-lives. For example, if your lab uses H-3 and I-125, keep the waste generated from the use of each isotope separate. Keep the waste containers for each isotope in separate areas of your lab to prevent inadvertent mixing of the two categories of waste.
Examples:
H-3 and C-14 may be disposed of in the same container
I-125 and P-32 must be segregated with each having their own waste containers
Lead pigs and lead shielding – Call for pick-up of lead containers and shielding materials. Place them in their own separate containers.
Animal Wastes – Contact the RSO prior to generating radioactive animal carcasses or tissues. Special disposal arrangements will need to be made.
For questions and/or concerns, please contact Tony Davila, Radiation Safety Officer, at adavila@tulane.edu or 504-988-2867
