Re: smoke detector disposal

[Chris Davey <cdavey@med.phys.ualberta.ca>]

On Tue, 11 Oct 1994, joseph guido wrote:

>      Does anyone out their have any advice on what to do with a smoke 
>      detector whose manufacturer has gone out of business?
>      
>      The device contains 3 uCi of AM-241.
>      
>      
>      Thanks 
>      
>      Joe Guido
>      Radian Corp.
>      Joseph_Guido@pc.radian.com
>      (505) 672-0384
>      
> 
In Canada, the advice given by the regulator (the Atomic Energy Control
Board) is to ensure that there are no visible radiation warning labels on
the smoke detector and then dispose of it to regular garbage.  The
reasoning is that this amount of Am-241 is not going to cause a hazard to
the environment, and that disposal to a rad waste site would be
financially extravagant, and therefore not ALARA.  In fact, the AECB says
don't dispose of more than 10 detectors per garbage can of waste!  (Max
activity for this method of disposal is 5 microcuries)

Chris Davey
RSO
Cross Cancer Institute