Re: Decon on Uranium storage cabinet

[avest@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Albert Lee Vest)]

>To Ninni Jacob, or anyone else who could help:
>
>Ninni, on May 4 you mentioned that you had a safe in which radon daughters >
>The Geology department had us get rid of the rocks, but wanted to keep the 
>cabinet. After repeated scrubbing with abrasive cleansers there is still 
>contamination on every inside surface of the cabinet. Our cabinet is a 
>painted metal thing with lots of nooks and crannies inside. I would like to 
>at least get it to a point that it could be used for rock storage again.
>
>Any ideas are welcome.
>
>Jim Herrold
>University of Wyoming

I have a few ideas/questions.

1 - Is it REMOVABLE contamination, that you can pick up with swabs or smear 
wipes?  If not, 
2 - What are the radiation levels like outside the cabinet?  i.e., Could 
someone's gonads receive an external dose of 50 mrem in a year?  If not,
2a - What are the radiation levels like inside the cabinet?  i.e., Could 
someone's hands receive a dose of 50 rem in a year?  If not,
3 - Maybe you could put a label on the cabinet identifying it as a sealed 
source, not to be disposed of or surplused without telling the competent 
authorities, and let them use it as is.
Albert Lee Vest    avest@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu
health physicist        Office of Radiation Safety
(614)292-0122            The Ohio State University
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