2004 Radiation Safety Refresher Training

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2004 Radiation Safety Refresher Training

• Sue Dupre, Radiation Safety Officer
• Stephen Elwood, Health Safety Specialist

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The Refresher Training News
This years refresher training topics include

• New user-friendly EHS website
• No incidents this year!
• No spills, contamination incidents, no missing
  materials during the last year
• Results of intensive audit of eight labs
• Policy changes and administrative changes
• NRC inspection expected this spring

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EHS website

• A new EHS website was introduced last fall.
• The website is intended to be much more
  user-friendly and easy to search
• The next four slides show examples of the new
  Radiation Safety pages on the EHS site
• Go to www.princeton.edu/ehs for the main EHS page

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EHS website
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Audit Observations

• Lab Inventories
• Lab inventories are sometimes excessive because
  labs hold onto old samples and old stocks, just
  in case. Be sure to regularly discard old stock
  vials and unneeded materials
• Actual lab inventories are sometimes much smaller
  than the electronic RITA inventories because Vial
  Use Logs are not returned to EHS after the vials
  are discarded.
• Return Vial Use Logs after vial is discarded
• EHS will reinstitute quarterly reconciliation of
  lab inventories through RITA

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Audit Observations

• Survey Documentation
• Most of the labs audited were seriously deficient
  in maintaining survey logs.
• Remember to record every postoperational survey!
• For each withdrawal from a vial (noted on the
  Vial Use Log), there should be an accompanying
  survey for that day (noted on the Survey Log).
• Wipe surveys for H-3 use must also be noted on
  the Survey Log.

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Audit Observations

• Labeling and Housekeeping Issues
• Be sure to label individual pieces of
  contaminated equipment even if the equipment is
  located within a radioactive work area.
• Label samples as radioactive (i.e., trays of
  liquid scintillation counting samples). Include
  isotope, date, etc.
• Remove labeling when no longer needed.
• Keep rad work areas as organized and free of
  extraneous items as possible.

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Audit Observations

• Security and Waste
• Unsecured stock vials were found
• Lock away stock vials as soon as you are done
  with them
• Dont leave stock vials unattended
• We found a liquid waste bottle labeled as Not
  P-32
• Label wastes clearly with the isotope, date, etc.
  that the container actually does contain

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Audit Observations

• Lack of Familiarity with Isotopes in Use
• During the audit we found some inexperienced
  isotope users who did not understand the
  properties of the isotopes they were using. For
  instance, one new user was using an I-125
  scintillation meter to survey for C-14
  (impossible to detect C-14 with that kind of
  meter)
• Know the hazards, properties, shielding
  requirements, appropriate survey techniques,
  waste disposal requirements for the isotope you
  use

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Review of Incident Procedures
One of the inexperienced users said that she
would call the Princeton Medical Center if she
discovered contamination on her hand. This is
incorrect! Be sure to review radiation incident
procedures.

• Incidents include
• Spill of radioactive materials
• Widespread or unusual contamination
• Any case of contamination on
• skin or clothing
• Missing radioactive materials
• Exposure to an x-ray machine

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Radiation Incident Notification

• Call EHS during work hours
• Call Public Safety at 8-3134 after work hours

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Shipping Radioactive and Other Hazardous Materials

• This is a reminder that all hazardous materials
  must be shipped in compliance with U.S. DOT
  regulations
• Contact EHS if you have any question at all that
  your shipment might contain an officially defined
  hazardous material.
• EHS will assist you with the shipment
• Complete the online Shipping Hazardous Materials
  form found on the EHS site
• Allow several days in advance to make sure that
  arrangements can be made

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Mixed Wastes

• Definition Any waste that is radioactive and is
  also a RCRA-listed hazardous chemical waste.
• Recent examples include radioactive acetonitrile
  (byproduct of HPLC) and methanol
• Complete the Mixed Waste Tracking Form on the EHS
  website when the waste is generated.

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Policy and Procedural Changes
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New Waste Containers Procedures
New radioactive waste containers and waste
instruction cards have been placed in all the
laboratories.
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Waste Can Categories

• Liquid Scintillation Counting Wastes
• Any isotope flashpoint gt 140 F
• P-32 Solid Wastes
• DIS Solid Wastes
• t½ lt 120 days (P-33, S-35, I-125)
• Long-Lived Solid Wastes
• t½ gt 120 days (H-3, C-14)

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New Eating/Drinking Policy
A new Eating/Drinking policy has been implemented
that will allow a very few labs to establish
Eating/Drinking Areas. The new policy is intended
for those labs in which there is wide separation
between research areas and desk areas.
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Eating/Drinking Areas

• New policy approved by the Radiation Safety
  Committee to allow eating and drinking in very
  limited areas and under very strict conditions.
• Not applicable to most labs (all desk areas must
  be totally separate from lab areas).
• Interested labs must apply to the RSC

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Transferring Radioactive Materialsbetween
University Labs

• The Radiation Safety Committee has just approved
  a new policy regarding the transfer of
  radioactive materials between Princeton
  University labs
• The transferring lab must go to the EHS website
  to check whether the recipient lab is authorized
  to possess the radioisotope in question.
• If authorization exists, the transferring lab
  will send a notification e-mail to EHS via the
  website and may proceed to make the transfer.
• EHS will follow up to adjust inventories and send
  out a new Vial Use Log if necessary.

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NRC Inspection

• An NRC inspection is expected this spring (its
  been two years since the last inspection)
• Check lab conditions and records
• Make sure training for all lab personnel is
  up-to-date
• Pay attention to security matters
• Can your lab personnel answer the sample NRC
  Interview questions? Check with your lab manager
  if you did not receive a copy of the sample
  interview questions.

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Radiation Safety Program Feedback

• Your questions, comments, suggestions and
  feedback are welcome.