What is Radioactive Waste?
Radioactive waste is a byproduct of various industrial, medical, and scientific processes that involve nuclear materials. It’s a material that contains radioactive substances that can be hazardous to living organisms and the environment if not managed properly. Understanding what radioactive waste is and how it impacts our world is crucial as we navigate the complexities of nuclear technology. This blog will go over radioactive medical waste, how it’s generated, and how to manage and dispose of it safely.
Defining Radioactive Medical Waste
Radioactive medical waste refers to materials generated from medical procedures and treatments that involve the use of radioactive substances. These materials can include contaminated syringes, gloves, gowns, vials, and even patient tissues or fluids that have come into contact with radioactive isotopes.
Various medical applications use radioactive materials, such as in diagnostic imaging (e.g., PET scans), cancer treatments (e.g., radiotherapy), and laboratory research. Once you expose these materials to radiation, they can become hazardous and require careful handling, storage, and disposal to prevent environmental contamination and minimize health risks to medical personnel and the public. You must follow strict regulations when managing radioactive medical waste to ensure safety.
Handling Radioactive Waste
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) typically considers radioactive medical waste a “low-level waste.” This means that the waste contains small concentrations of radionuclides. You should never discard this waste in a regular trash can. Guidelines for handling this waste varies from state to state and even across departments. Guidelines generally follow these instructions:
- Segregate radioactive waste and place it in clearly marked containers. Any sharps or needles should be placed in a separate sharps container.
- It should be secured and removal should be restricted to authorized personnel only.
- Some radioactive waste can be allowed to decay naturally if accompanied by compliant and accurate records.
Disposing of Radioactive Waste
Emitted radiation is measured in half-life. Half-life is the time it requires for half of the radioactive atoms in the radionuclide to decay. Different isotopes have different half-lives. For example, Iodine-131 has a half-life of 8 days, whereas Coblat-60 has a half-life of 5,271 years.
When segregating it, collect those containing different isotopes in separate bags and bins. Then, label the container with the name of the isotope, the level of radioactive activity, and the date you first monitor it.
The most common disposal process for radioactive medical waste is delay/decay processes. Your service provider will store the waste generally for 10 half-lives of the isotope or until 0.1% of radioactivity remains. In rare cases, your service provider will use incineration or concentration/containment processes.
Learn More about Safe Handling of Medical Waste with Medical Waste Pros
Medical Waste Pros keeps you in compliance with our medical waste disposal services. Our experienced and knowledgeable team provides resources focused on safety and efficient medical waste management. Call us at (888) 755-6370 or fill out the form to learn more and receive free quotes on our services and programs today. We will be in contact with you within minutes.
