Radiation Safety

UIUC Radioactive Waste Management

General Guidelines

Guidelines for radioactive waste management can be found in the UIUC Radiation Safety Manual in the following sections:

Solid Waste Disposal

Solid radioactive waste can be broken down into two categories: waste that contains radioisotopes with half-lives of greater than 90 days, and waste that contains radioisotopes with half-lives of less than 90 days.

Waste containing radioisotopes of half-lives less than 90 days are allowed to decay to background radiation levels before disposal. Waste with half-lives greater than 90 days are either stored or incinerated.

Less than 90 day half-life? See Solid Radioactive Waste Management.

Greater than 90 day half-life? See Preparing Solid Radioactive Waste for Pickup.

Radioactive carcasses? See Preparing Radioactive Carcasses for Pickup.

Radioactive sharps? See Liquid Scintillation Vials, Glassware, and Plastic Containers.

Liquid Waste Disposal

Liquid radioactive waste can come in two forms, organic (less than 10% water content) and aqueous. Aqueous waste will not be collected for disposal, and should not be stored for decay. Organic waste will be collected for disposal.

Aqueous waste disposal? See Disposal of Aqueous Waste.

Organic waste disposal? See Preparing Organic Liquid Radioactive Waste for Pickup.

Online Radioactive Waste Pick Up Request

An online form for requesting the pick up of solid or liquid radioactive waste is available at https://www.drs.uiuc.edu/DrsRss/ (Radioactive Waste Tags required).

Questions?

Contact the Division of Research Safety, Radiation Safety Section (333-2755 or via e-mail) or visit our website: http://www.drs.uiuc.edu/rss/.

Other Radiation Safety Fact Sheets are available from the Radiation Safety Section at our website: http://www.drs.uiuc.edu/rss/factsheets/.