Waste Disposal Employee Training WASTE DISPOSAL The purpose of this workbook is to explain the different methods of waste disposal for licensed material in your medical facility. Waste disposal includes unit dose waste, wastes decayed-instorage, generator return, waste released into the sanitary sewer and waste transferred for disposal to a licensed recipient. The list of regulations and guidelines is listed below: •

10 CFR 35.92 – Decay-in-storage

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NUREG 1556 Vol. 9 Rev. 2 – Model Procedures for Waste Disposal

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10 CFR 35.2092 – Records of decay-in-storage

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Subpart K 10 CFR Part 20 – Waste Disposal 10 CFR 20.2001 10 CFR 20.2002 10 CFR 20.2003 10 CFR 20.2004 10 CFR 20.2005 10 CFR 20.2006

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10 CFR 20.1101 – Radiation Protection Program

MPC Ver. 1.1 09-12

Waste Disposal Employee Training Unit Dose Waste If a unit dose pharmacy is used, the materials supplied by them (e.g., syringes, needles, etc.) may be returned to the unit dose pharmacy in the original shipping container if the radioactive shipment meets DOT regulations for a Limited Quantity shipment.

Limited Quantity Shipment The Limited Quantity shipment is purely based on activity. The Limited Quantity limits as of 10/1/05 are noted below. Any activity above these limits is considered a Normal Form Shipment. These limits are important because you should always send containers back to the Nuclear Pharmacy as Limited Quantity packages. In order for combinations of radionuclides to be shipped together in the same package, the total activity for the package must not exceed the lowest activity limit noted below for the radionuclides to be shipped. Sealed/solid sources noted below have been multiplied by ten. Radionuclide

mCi Max Activity

F-18 P-32 Co-57 sources Ga-67 Sr-89 Y-90 Mo-99 generators Tc-99m Pd-103 seeds In-111 I-123 I-125 seeds I-131 Xe-133 gas Tl-201

1.6 1.4 270 8.1 1.6 0.81 20

MBq Activity 59.2 51.8 9990 300 59.2 30 790

11.0 1100 8.1 8.1 81 1.89 270 11.0

407 4074 300 300 3000 70 10000 407

Max

MPC Ver. 1.1 09-12

Waste Disposal Employee Training Decay-in-Storage Decay-in-storage is one of the most common methods of radioactive waste disposal. The radioactive waste is stored until it cannot be distinguished from background radiation. Radioactive waste stored for decay is regulated by: 10 CFR 35.92 states: (a) A license may hold byproduct material with a physical half-life of less than 120 days for decay–in-storage before disposal… Listed below are guidelines to follow for radioactive waste decayed-in-storage: The storage area should be designed to allow for segregation of wastes with different half-lives (e.g., multiple shielded containers). Each container should have adequate shielding to maintain occupational exposure at ALARA levels. Additionally, all items of waste kept for decay-instorage must be in a secure location (10 CFR 20.1801).

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When the container is full, seal it, and attach an identification tag that includes the date sealed and the longest-lived radionuclide in the container. The container may then be transferred to the decay-in-storage area.

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Prior to disposal as in-house waste, monitor and record the results of monitoring for each container as follows: – Use a survey instrument that is appropriate for the type and energy of the radiation being measured; – Check the radiation detection survey meter for proper operation and current calibration status; – Monitor in a low-level radiation (