Technical Addendum

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/A - A
SAFETY SERIES
-A_____L*-
No. 19
The Management of
Radioactive Wastes Produced by
Radioisotope Users
Technical Addendum
INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY
VIENNA, 1966
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THE MANAGEMENT OF
RADIOISOTOPE WASTES PRODUCED BY
RADIOISOTOPE USERS
TECHNICAL ADDENDUM
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The following States are Members of the International Atomic Energy Agency:
AFGHANISTAN FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA
ALBANIA GERMANY NIGERIA
ALGERIA GABON NORWAY
ARGENTINA GHANA PAKISTAN
AUSTRALIA GREECE PANAMA
AUSTRIA GUATEMALA PARAGUAY
BELGIUM HAITI PERU
BOLIVIA HOLY SEE PHILIPPINES
BRAZIL HONDURAS POLAND
BULGARIA HUNGARY PORTUGAL
BURMA ICELAND ROMANIA
BYELORUSSIAN SOVIET . INDIA SAUDI ARABIA
SOCIALIST REPUBLIC INDONESIA SENEGAL
CAMBODIA IRAN SOUTH AFRICA
CAMEROON IRAQ . , SPAIN
CANADA ISRAEL SUDAN
CEYLON ITALY SWEDEN
CHILE IVORY COAST SWITZERLAND
CHINA JAMAICA SYRIA
COLOMBIA JAPAN ’ ' THAILAND
CONGO. DEMOCRATIC KENYA TUNISIA
REPUBLIC OF REPUBLIC OF KOREA TURKEY
COSTA RICA KUWAIT UKRAINIAN SOVIET SOCIALIST
CUBA LEBANON REPUBLIC
CYPRUS LIBERIA UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST
CZECHOSLOVAK SOCIALIST LIBYA REPUBLICS
REPUBLIC LUXEMBOURG UNITED ARAB REPUBLIC
DENMARK MADAGASCAR UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MALI BRITAIN AND NORTHERN
ECUADOR MEXICO IRELAND
EL SALVADOR MONACO UNITED STATES OF AMERICA .
ETHIOPIA MOROCCO URUGUAY
FINLAND NETHERLANDS VENEZUELA
FRANCE NEW ZEALAND VIET-NAM
YUGOSLAVIA
The Agency’s Statute was approved on 23 October 1956 by the Conference on the Statute of the
IAEA held at United Nations Headquarters, New York: It entered into force on 29 July 1957. The
Headquarters of the Agency are situated in Vienna. Its principal objective is "to accelerate and enlarge
the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world".
© IAEA, 1966
Permission to reproduce or translate the information contained in this publication may be obtained
by writing to the International Atomic Energy Agency, KSrntner Ring 11, Vienna I, Austria.
Printed by the IAEA in Austria
May 1966
This publication is not longer valid
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SAFETY SERIES No. 19
THE MANAGEMENT OF
RADIOISOTOPE WASTES PRODUCED BY
RADIOISOTOPE USERS
TECHNICAL ADDENDUM
INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY
VIENNA,, 196,6
This publication is not longer valid
Please see http://www-ns.iaea.org/standards/
International Atomic Energy Agency.
The management of radioactive wastes pro­
duced by radioisotope users. Technical Addendum.
Vienna, the Agency, 1966.
81p. (IAEA, safety series no. 19)
621.039.7
This Addendum is also published in
French, Russian and Spanish
THE MANAGEMENT OF RADIOISOTOPE WASTES
PRODUCED BY RADIOISOTOPE USERS. TECHNICAL ADDENDUM
IAEA, VIENNA, 1966
STI/PUB/119
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FOREWORD
The International Atomic Energy Agency published in 1965, as
part of its Safety Standards, a Code of Practice entitled: "The
Management of Radioactive Wastes Produced by Radioisotope Users"
(Safety Series No. 12, STI/PUB/87), based on the work of two inter­
national panels convened by the Agency. This Addendum contains
detailed technical information on processes and procedures that are
outlined in more general terms in the Code of Practice.
As in the Code of Practice itself, the information given in this
Addendum is particularly relevant to the problem of handling the
relatively small quantities of waste arising frosri the use of radio­
isotopes in laboratories, hospitals and industry when no special facili­
ties for radioactive waste treatment are available on the site.
The Addendum is directed toward providing the radioisotope
user with the type and amount of information required for him to be
able to (a) assess the alternatives available to him in terms of his
particular needs and restraints, (b) develop a preliminary design
of an optimum waste-handling system, and (c) get help and guidance
in his search for more detailed information.
The Addendum has been prepared by Mr. William H. Regan, Jr.,
whose services were provided to the Agency by the Government of
the United States of America, with the assistance of the Secretariat.
The Agency believes that this Addendum will provide information
of considerable value and publishes it for whatever use Member
States and others may wish to make of it. However, it should not
be regarded as representing the Agency's official judgement of policy
on the matter.
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CONTENTS
1. TYPES OF WASTE ASSOCIATED WITH SOME USES OF A
NUMBER OF RADIOISOTOPES ................................................... 1
2. WASTE-COLLECTION CONTAINERS AND SYSTEMS_____. 4
2.1. Segregation ............................................................................. 4
2.1.1. Philosophy of segregation ................................ 4
2.1.2. Methods ..................................................................... 5
2.2. Liquid-waste collection...................................................... 8
2.2.1. Containers................................................................ 8
2.2.2. Marking and records........................................... 10
2.3. Solid-waste collection........................................................ 10
2.3.1. Collection-container design and materials 14
2.3.2. Marking and records........................................... 18
2.3.3. Collection and transportation on-site ......... 19
3. DIRECT DISPOSAL OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES
TO SEWERS............................................................................... 20
3.1. Discharge practices............................................................. 21
3.2. Dilution techniques and computations............................ 27
3.2.1. General considerations...................................... 28
3.2.2. Calculations for disposal practice............... 30
3.2.3. Constant-drip discharge bottle ........... 32
3.2.4. Recommendations for disposal...................... 34
3.3. Behaviour of radionuclides in sewage-treatment
plants .......................................................................................... 35
4. LIQUID-WASTE TREATMENT TECHNIQUES SUITABLE
FOR USERS OF RADIOISOTOPES.............................................. 37
4.1. Batch-chemical treatment ............................................... 37
4.1.1. Lime-soda ash treatment.................................. 40
4. 1.2. Aluminium and ferric hydroxide coagulation . 41
4.1.3. Phosphate coagulation......................................... 43
4.1.4. Ferrocyanide precipitation ............................. 44
4.1.5. Strontium phosphate precipitation ............... 47
4.1.6. Massive chemical treatment........................... 47
4.1.7. Treatment of sludges ........................................ 49
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4.2. Ion exchange using organic resins ................... 50
4.2.1, Treatment by ion exchange................................. 50
4.2.2. Cation exchanger for processing general
laboratory wastes ................................................ 52
4.3. Evaporation............................................................................. 59
4.3.1. Low-temperature evaporator........................... 59
4.3.2. Wiped-film evaporator..................................... 62
4.4. Conclusions and recommendations .......................;... 64
5. SOLID-WASTE TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL BY INDI­
VIDUAL USERS OF RADIOISOTOPES ................................... 65
5.1. Incineration............................................................................. 65
5.1.1. Introduction.............................................................. 65
5.1.2. Applicability............................................................ 66
5.1.3. Simple approach to calculating safe limits
for incineration ..................................................... 66
5.2. Compression.................................................................. 69
5.3. Solid-waste burial ..................................................... 70
5.3.1. Packaging ................................................................. 70
5.3.2. Site selection for ground disposal ................. 72
6. AIR-BORNE WASTE MANGEMENT ......................................... 74
6.1. Fume-hood design recommendations ............................. 74
6.2. Gaseous and aerosol waste control systems suitable
for use by small laboratories ......................................... 76
6.2.1. High-efficiency filters ....................................... 76
6.2. 2. Medium-efficiency pre-filters ....................... 78
6.2.3. Activated carbon adsorbents ............................ 78
REFERENCES 79