Ordering Radioactive Material
         To order radioactive material you will need your possession spreadsheet, an Emory University Purchase Requisition and the necessary catalogs.  We begin the ordering process by filling out the purchase requisition as shown in the figure.

This information must be present on the requisition for Radiation Safety to process it:

1.  Vendor name (here the vendor used will be Amersham)
2.  Delivery date
3.  Principal Investigator's name under which the material is ordered
4.  Delivery contact and location
5.  Catalog number of isotope ordered (here Dr. Curie is ordering 5 mCi of P-32 Orthophosphate)
6.  Isotope, activity (in uCi) and compound
7.  Principal Investigator
8.  Authorization number
9.  Amount on hand

        The final piece of information in this list can be found on your possession spreadsheet as shown in the next figure.  The spreadsheet is organized with 12 sheets within the spreadsheet file.  It runs from December to November rolling over each month's ending balance automatically.  Your input will be described at each point in Dr. Curie's example file.  The amount on hand necessary for the purchase requisition is found in the last column of the sheet which contains the amount of waste plus stocks currently in your lab.
         After the purchase requisition has been completed, it must be faxed to Radiation Safety at 727-1352 for approval.  If you need delivery the following day, the requisition must be faxed by 12:00 p.m. the previous day.  Once the requisition has been approved, it is faxed to Purchasing for them to place the order.  If a vendor approaches you regarding a vendor gift of radioactive material, it is still necessary for you to receive approval from Radiation Safety.  You should fill out a purchase requisition and note that you are receiving a free gift.  We will process the order in the same manner and fax it to purchasing.  They will place the order and let the company know that there is no charge for the gift.

Receiving Radioactive Material
       The package is delivered to Radiation Safety where our technicians check the package in and perform the necessary surveys.  When the package is delivered to you, there will be two stickers on the box that you should pay attention to.  The first states that the package has been surveyed by Radiation Safety and no further survey is necessary.  The second sticker shows the isotope and the activity that you have received.
        After the package has arrived, note the activity that you have received. This information will be recorded on your possession spreadsheet.  In the receipt column, Dr. Curie will record 10,000 uCi of ³²P received on December 12, 1995.  The spreadsheets are set up to account for the total amount of ³²P in the laboratory.  If your lab uses more than one compound of ³²P then it will be necessary to record that the receipt was orthophosphate.  The method that you use to do this is left up to the lab.  Many labs place a separate form on the refrigerator to account for receipts and uses for each compound.  If this is the case, the computer spreadsheet should be updated on a regular basis especially before ordering material or disposing of waste.  Each time radioactive material is removed from the stock vial the use should be recorded on the spreadsheet.  Dr. Curie shows uses of 1000 uCi on the 14th, 2000 uCi on the 17th and 1000 uCi on the 20th.  This spreadsheet was printed on December 20, you will notice that the spreadsheet only calculates decay and totals for the current date.

Disposing of Radioactive Material
        As Dr. Curie used her material, she generated waste.  At Emory we generate waste in three different forms: dry, liquid and liquid scintillation vials.  We will take a look at each waste stream and the correct disposal procedures for each.  We will also note the types of containers which Radiation Safety provides for disposal of radioactive material.
         The first stream we will consider is dry waste.  Dry waste consists of pipette tips, gloves, centrifuge tubes which contain no liquid, paper towels, etc.  Dry waste does not consist of lead pigs, scintillation vials or chemicals.  If there is any residual liquid in your centrifuge tubes, for example, it should be emptied into the liquid waste before disposal.  Liquid scintillation vials which were used for purposes other than liquid scintillation counting should not be disposed of in dry waste.  If, for example, tubes were stored in the scintillation vials, the tube should be placed in the dry waste and the vial in the liquid scintillation vial waste.  Radiation Safety provides 5 gallon buckets and 20 gallon stapaks to store your dry waste.  Each container is labeled with a "Dry Waste Only" label which specifies what may be placed in the container.  You should use separate containers for each isotope with the exception of ³H and ¹⁴C.  If you use ³⁵S, ³²P, ³H and ¹⁴C in your lab, you will need one container each for the ³⁵S and ³²P and one container for the ³H and ¹⁴C.  When the containers are brought into your lab they should immediately be labeled with the principal investigator's name and as soon as waste is placed in the containers they should be labeled with the isotope.  If there is dry waste which may puncture the plastic liner in the container, Radiation Safety also provides sharps containers which may be used for syringes, razor blades, etc.  Once the container is full, it may be placed in the dry waste container.  Note on the waste disposal form that a sharps container is in the dry waste.
         Liquid waste may be disposed of in 1 gallon plastic bottles provided by Radiation Safety.  Just as with dry waste, you will need to segregate all isotopes into separate containers with the exception of the ³H and ¹⁴C liquids.  These may be disposed of together.  The liquid containers are labeled with a blue label which gives you directions regarding disposal.  There is a place to mark if the liquid is ³H and ¹⁴C or some other isotope as well as a place to mark if the liquid is flammable.  Just as with the dry containers, once the plastic bottles are taken into the lab, they should be labeled with the principal investigator's last name and labeled with the isotope name as soon as liquid is placed in them.  If the media is capable of supporting bacterial growth, add something to it such as bleach that will kill the bacteria before transferring to Radiation Safety.  Also, be sure to use the correct cap with the container and do not fill above the line marked on the side of the bottle.
        The final waste stream is liquid scintillation vials.  As mentioned before, these containers should hold all liquid scintillation vials without regard to contents.  The liquid scintillation waste can be segregated by half life.  One container can be used for ³H and ¹⁴C while another can be used for any short-lived isotope, ³²P, ³⁵S, ¹²⁵I, etc.  The vials used for wipe tests should also be disposed of in these containers.  The label posted on the containers for liquid scintillation vials is yellow and has a place to note long-lived or short-lived isotope.  When the containers are brought into the lab be sure to label them appropriately.  This is very important if you store your liquid scintillation vial waste in a common room next to the counter.
         A final note about your waste: the long-lived isotopes have to be sent off for burial and this is a very expensive process.  An article in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution the week of January 14, 1996 gave the expense for disposal at the Chem-Nuclear site in Barnwell, SC which is Emory's final disposal site for ³H and ¹⁴C waste.  "The state levied a $235 per cubic foot tax on waste buried at Barnwell. [Chem-Nuclear] said that the company adds a disposal fee of $59 to $120 to that amount."  Taking these figures into consideration, each 20-gallon stapak of dry waste would run about $1000 each.  If it is possible for you to modify your procedures to minimize your waste, it would be a great benefit to us and to your lab.
         Now, waste day comes around and Dr. Curie is ready to turn in her waste to the Radiation Safety Office.  Today is December 20 and she takes out her possession spreadsheet to see how much waste she has.  If you notice, each time a use is recorded on the spreadsheet, the computer automatically transfers that amount to "Waste on Hand."  For this reason, it is important for Dr. Curie to make sure that all of her receipts and uses have been recorded on the spreadsheet.  To make things easy, Dr. Curie decides to turn in all of her ³²P waste.  The first task is to determine how much waste she has.
         First, she checks her waste area and finds that she has two dry waste containers, one liquid waste container and one liquid scintillation vial container.  She checks the possession spreadsheet and finds that she has 3550 uCi of ³²P waste on hand.  Then, she has to figure out how 3550 uCi is split among these four containers.  From previous experiences and by being knowledgeable of her procedures, she knows that 80% of the isotope is in liquid form, 15% as dry and the remaining 5% as liquid scintillation vials.  Each experiment will differ so each procedure that you do should be studied to determine these proportions.  The above figure shows the split of the waste.
         Now that Dr. Curie knows how much activity is in each waste container, she can fill out the cards which accompany the containers.  Each container has a radioactive material card which calls for the following information:

1.  Isotope
2.  Activity
3.  GM Survey
4.  PI's last name
5.  Date of disposal

        The GM survey is important because it lets our technicians know if the waste that you are disposing of is "hot" and should therefore, be shielded and/or handled quickly.  Also, if you are disposing of ³H or ¹⁴C it is good practice to survey the waste anyway to determine if it has been mixed with other isotope by accident.
 
 
 
 
 
 

The final steps in waste disposal are to fill out the Radioisotope Waste Inventory form and record the waste disposal on the possession spreadsheet.  Each container should be listed on a separate line on the waste inventory form.  Note the form: dry, liquid or liquid scintillation vials, the activity and any hazard if necessary.  Sign and date the form. Then record the disposal on the computer spreadsheet. On the date of disposal, record the total amount disposed of in the column "Waste to RSO."  You will notice in Dr. Curie's spreadsheet that when she does this, the balance in her "waste on hand" column goes to zero.
 To dispose of your waste, you may deliver it to Radiation Safety in the Rollins building room G90 on Thursday mornings from 9:00 to 12:00 if your lab is in Rollins or the Dental School building.  If you are located in the Woodruff Memorial Research Building, your waste can be delivered to Radiation Safety in LL302 on Thursday afternoons from 1:00 to 4:00.  If your lab is not located in these buildings, you can call 727-8784 to schedule with Radiation Safety to have your waste picked up on Wednesday afternoons.  We will also deliver new containers to you at this time.
 Monthly, the possession spreadsheet should be faxed to Radiation Safety.  Since the computer only calculates decay and totals for the current date, it is necessary to wait until the last day of the month to print it out.  Following the directions as shown in your software, you will be able to highlight one month at a time and fit it to one page.  If you have problems doing this, contact your health physicist or consult your operating manual.  By the tenth of the following month, you should fax or send a copy of this sheet to  Your spreadsheet from the previous month must be turned into Radiation Safety before any orders can be placed.

Transferring Radioactive Material
         Finally we will note the procedure regarding transferring radioactive materials.  If you need to transfer material to another university or agency or if you need to receive material from someone other than a vendor, contact your health physicist for information.  We will need to know the person you wish to send to or receive from in order for us to obtain a copy of their license. In addition, if you wish to transfer material between laboratories at Emory, contact your health physicist for assistance.