Re: Medical waste held for decay

[Ken Douglass <kdouglas@wvuhsc1.hsc.wvu.edu>]

Joelle,

Our license and regs also require that we survey the decayed material
"with no interposed shielding" and may dispose of it as nonreadioactive
only if it is indistinguishable from background. We hold nuclear
medicine waste for three months since the longest halflife is 8 days
(I-131); then we don't have to keep radionuclides separate.

Note that the 10 half life holding period has been deleted from the
proposed 10 CFR 35. This makes sense since the activity left after 10 HL
depends only on the initial activity. Under the 10HL rule you have to
keep 1uCi as long as 1 Curie. Under the proposed rule you only have to
certify that the radioactivity is indistinguishable from background.

Ken

--

Kenneth H. Douglass, Ph.D.

Director, Radiation Safety
West Virginia University
West Virginia University Hospitals

kdouglas@wvu.edu


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