Re: Medical waste held for decay -Clarification

["Kent N. Lambert" <lambert@auhs.edu>]

Joelle,

In 10 CFR 35.92(a)(2) it states that as a prerequisite to disposing 
of radioactive waste by decay in storage, a licensee:

"Monitors byproduct material at the container surface before 
disposal as ordinary trash and determines that its radioactivity 
cannot be distinguished from the background radiation level with a 
radiation detection survey meter set on its most sensitive scale 
and with no interposed shielding" 

I think this is quite clear, and answers both of your questions.  A 
radiation detection survey meter is not a liquid scintillation counter. 
A thin window GM is the ideal survey instrument for detecting P-32.

However, I do have a concern - you indicate P-32 as a component 
of your waste, yet we rarely have P-32 as medical waste.  If you 
are talking about waste from research activities, then the rules for 
disposal are based on license conditions, since 10 CFR 20 does 
not provide specific requirements for disposal by decay.

Also, Tennessee is an agreeement state so you should check with 
your state radiation control program to see if their regulations differ 
from the above.

Hope this helps clarify the issue.

Kent Lambert

lambert@auhs.edu
************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html