Re: Waste Disposal at Universities

[Jennifer Wilson <wilsonj@unbc.edu>]

I am very interested in this information as well.  Can you post on 
radsafe rather than to Kent personally?  Thanks!


					Jen Wilson
					RSO, UNBC

On Wed, 19 Jun 1996, Kent Lambert wrote:

> I was wondering how other radiation safety offices at universities handle the cost of 
> radioactive waste disposal.  Here are the questions:
> 
> 1.  At your facility, does the RSO pay for disposal and charge the researcher prorata  
> based on volume generated?
> 
>     a.  How does one assure that waste is not hidden away (e.g., in a closet) to 
>         avoid charges?
> 
>     b.  Does this lead researchers on with little grant money to dispose of waste  
>         in alternative, less expensive waste streams (e.g., regular trash)?
> 
>     c.  If a principle investigator (or a whole department) leaves the institution
>         and leaves radioactive waste or contamination which results in the 
>         generation of radioactive waste who pays for the disposal?
> 
> 2.  At your facility, does the researcher pay for the cost and the RSO only act as the 
> facilitator by negotiating the contract with the broker, arranging for pick-ups, etc.
> 
> 3.  At your facility, is waste disposal a part of the RSO budget?
> 
>     a.  How does one encourage waste minimization?
> 
>     b.  Does this encourage researchers to put expensive waste stream materials
>         (e.g., chemical waste) that they are charged for into radioactive waste
>         resulting in mixed waste?
> 
> 4.  At your facility, does the RSO collect a surcharge for the purchase of long lived 
> radioactive wastes as a mechanism to collect waste disposal costs? 
> 
> These are the things that they don't teach you in your "Introduction to Health Physics" 
> course.  Thank you in advance for all of the input I am about to receive.
> -- 
> Kent Lambert, CHP
> lambert@hal.hahnemann.edu
> 
> All opinions are well reasoned and insightful.
> Needless to say, they are not [necessarily] the
> opinions of my employer. - paraphrased from Michael Feldman
>