Radioactive waste management in hospital

Question 1

WHY is Safe disposal of the radioactive waste: a vital component of the management of the hospital waste?

Answer 1

to ensure that the radiation exposure to an individual (Public, Radiation worker, Patient) and the environment does not exceed the prescribed safe limits

Question 2

Disposal of Radioactive waste in public domain is undertaken in accordance with ?

Answer 2

Atomic Energy (Safe disposal of radioactive waste) rules of 1987 - by the Indian Central Government Atomic Energy Act 1962

Question 3

hospitals that intend using radioisotopes for diagnostic + therapeutic procedures need to have sufficient infrastructural and manpower resources because?

Answer 3

ambient radiation levels need to be within specified safe limits

Question 4

Regular monitoring of hospital area and radiation workers is mandatory to assess the quality of radiation safety. how is this done?

Answer 4

Records should be maintained to identify the quality / quantity of radioactive waste generated and mode of its disposal.

Radiation Safety officer plays a key role in the waste disposal operations.

Question 5

what are main radioisotopes used in hospitals ?

Answer 5

technetium-99m (Tc-99m),
Iodine-131(I-131),
Iodine-125 (I-125),
Iodine-123(I-123),
Flourine-18(F-18),
Tritium (H-3)
Carbon-14(C-14)

Question 6

what are the basic concepts in Radioactive waste management ?

Answer 6

quantity of radioactive material
relative biological effectiveness
half-life of radioisotope
tenth-value thickness

Question 7

how is quantity of radioactive material measured ?

Answer 7

Old unit

Curie (Ci), millicuries (mCi) etc.

Standard international unit (SI)

Becquerel (Bq).

Question 8

Explain Relative biological effectiveness

Answer 8

(Equivalent dose / Effective dose)

A unit exposure of gamma rays or X-rays will be less biologically damaging than unit exposure of alpha rays.

Question 8

Explain Relative biological effectiveness

Answer 8

(Equivalent dose / Effective dose)

A unit exposure of gamma rays or X-rays will be less biologically damaging than unit exposure of alpha rays.

Question 9

Explain half-life of radioisotope

Answer 9

time interval for a particular radioactive material to reduce (decay) its radioactivity by half.

For example: if there are 10 millicuries (mCi) of a radioisotope Tc-99m at 2 pm, since its half life is 6 hours, the remaining activity at 8 pm will be 5 mCi.

Question 10

what is Tenth -value thickness (TVT)?

Answer 10

the thickness of an absorber or shielding material that decreases the transmitted beam intensity by a factor of 10 or 0.1% of its original intensity.

Usually its lead

Question 11

what are some Radioactivity / Radiation measuring and monitoring devices?

Answer 11

Well counter: for measuring radioactivity, mostly gamma rays.

Dose calibrator: Ionization based chamber : measuring radioactivity.

Gun monitor: Ionization based portable survey meter : radiaton monitoring.

Geiger Muller (GM) Counter: Ionization based sensitive system : detects minutest levels of radiation contamination

Film badge: Photographic film based personnel dose monitoring.

TLD badge: Thermoluminescent dosimeter for personnel dose monitoring.

Pocket Dosimeter: Ionization based personnel dose monitor that provides instant readout.

Question 12

What are Classifications of Radioactive Waste?

Answer 12

According to level of activity: high- med-low

form: solid-gas - liquid

half- life: ~ < or > then a month

Question 13

what are 2 stages of waste management ?

Answer 13

collection and disposal.

Question 14

what are examples of radioactive waste disposal?

Answer 14

Dilute and Disperse:
disposed off as ordinary hospital waste provided the activity of the article does not exceed 1.35 microcuries (50 KBq) or the overall package concentration does not exceed 135 microcuries / m3 (5MBq / m3)

Delay and Decay:
Medium activity radioactive waste and those with half-lives of less than a month may be stored. Then check levels and dispose

Concentrate & Contain (Rarely used):
Incineration (Rarely used)

Question 15

what are examples of radioactive waste disposal?

Answer 15

Dilute and Disperse:
disposed off as ordinary hospital waste provided the activity of the article does not exceed 1.35 microcuries (50 KBq) or package concentration does not exceed 135 microcuries / m3 (5MBq / m3)

Delay and Decay:
Medium activity radioactive waste and those with half-lives of less than a month may be stored. Then check levels and dispose

Concentrate & Contain (Rarely used):
Incineration (Rarely used)

Question 16

what are examples of radioactive waste disposal?

Answer 16

Dilute and Disperse:
disposed off as ordinary hospital waste provided the activity of the article does not exceed 1.35 microcuries (50 KBq) or the overall package concentration does not exceed 135 microcuries / m3 (5MBq / m3)

Delay and Decay:
Medium activity radioactive waste and those with half-lives of less than a month may be stored. Then check levels and dispose

Concentrate & Contain (Rarely used):
Incineration (Rarely used)

Question 17

what are Special situations of Radioactive Waste Management in a Hospital?

Answer 17

Disposal of sealed sources
Disposal of gaseous waste
Disposal of excreta and urine of patients administered high doses of radioisotopes:

Question 18

what is Management of cadavers containing radioactive material?

Answer 18

EG if levels of radioactivity are high then the cadaver is retained in the hospital mortuary until the activity decays to safe limits

Question 19

Explain Advisory / Regulatory bodies and Record keeping

Answer 19

usage of radioisotopes and disposal of radioactive waste is done in accordance to recommendations and guidelines issued by various international and national bodies.

Question 20

Give examples of

Question 21

Give examples of Explain Advisory / Regulatory bodies and Record keeping

Answer 21

(www.icrp.org).
(www.aerb.gov.in).
Radiation Safety Officer (RSO)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

and Record keeping : of radioisotopes used, levels, and disposal etc