Re: Radium Info Requested

["Franz Schoenhofer" <franz.schoenhofer@CHELLO.AT>]

-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----

Von: Mark Anderson <slhp@HOTMAIL.COM>

An: radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu <radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu>

Datum: Montag, 29. April 2002 16:24

Betreff: Radium Info Requested





>I am interested in practical HP info for the safe handling of unsealed

>radium in 100 uCi quantities.

>



I have not worked with such quantities, but let me comment anyway from the

viewpoint of a chemist.



You write "unsealed radium". I can hardly believe that you would work with

radium metal. Radium is an earth alkaline metal and would therefore be

reacting with water vapour in the air. So obviously you use some radium

salts. Which ones? Powdered ones, solutions? This is extremely important

information. I would be most surprised if radium salts would be volatile -

all the analogue compounds of the other earth alkali elements are not. So

any hazard should only come from powder becoming airborn, aerosols and

spills. I would recommend that you work in a well sealed glove-box, as

should be done with any larger amounts of alpha-emitters anyway. Be also

careful of the gamma-dose, depending on the kind of equilibrium the radon

daughters, especially the long lived are in.





>

>Information in the following areas would be greatly appreciated.

>

>1)  Skin absorption hazard?  Yes/No?



This might depend on the compound you use. All elements and their compounds

may be absorbed by the skin. Working in a glove box and having additional

rubber gloves on your hands eliminates this risk.







I seem to recall reading about radium

>being somewhat volitile.

>

>2)  Related to the above - Will radium be effectively captured with a HEPA

>filter?



This depends on both the chemical and physical form, your "radium" is

present.



>I know the radon daughter will get through -



I do not know much about filters and what HEPA means, but the radon

daughters (Po-218, Po-214 etc.) are very efficiently removed by filters,

which is actually used to determine them.





 I'm more concerned

>with the radium itself.  If HEPA is not the most appropriate or best

filter,

>what is?

>

>3)  I've heard horry stories about radium spreading and contaminating an

>entire facility.



This can only occurr, when radium is spread by careless people, who should

not work in such a facility. This has also happened in factories, where

radium was isolated or for instance luminous dials were manufactured 50 and

more years ago and residues were simply discarded around the factory, like

in Olen in Belgium or some places in Switzerland and Germany, where watches

were manufactured.





Does radium present special problems in this regard vs.

>other pure isotope material?





Contamination with I-131and tritium is probably a bigger problem, because

you can hardly prevent contamination, but on the other hand I-131 is

shortlived and will decay very fast - in contrast to Ra-226 and tritium is a

very weak beta-emitter which has low dose-factors and diffuses away anyway

very fast.





>

>4)  Any other special handling precautions?  Tips/Suggestions?  Lessons

>learned?  Pratical experience?

>





I have only handled standards with a comparatively low activity in the

kBq-range, but I have never contaminated my laboratory!



Best regards,



Franz









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