Professional Documents
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Shoukat Khan,* Syed AT,** Reyaz Ahmad,** Tanveer A. Rather,* Ajaz M,** Jan FA**
Departments of Nuclear Medicine*, Hospital Administration**, Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical
Sciences, Srinagar - 190011.
Abstract: Most of the tertiary care hospitals use radioisotopes for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Safe disposal of the
radioactive waste is a vital component of the overall management of the hospital waste. An important objective in radioactive
waste management is to ensure that the radiation exposure to an individual (Public, Radiation worker, Patient) and the
environment does not exceed the prescribed safe limits. Disposal of Radioactive waste in public domain is undertaken in
accordance with the Atomic Energy (Safe disposal of radioactive waste) rules of 1987 promulgated by the Indian Central
Government Atomic Energy Act 1962. Any prospective plan of a hospital that intends using radioisotopes for diagnostic and
therapeutic procedures needs to have sufficient infrastructural and manpower resources to keep its ambient radiation levels
within specified safe limits. Regular monitoring of hospital area and radiation workers is mandatory to assess the quality of
radiation safety. Records should be maintained to identify the quality and quantity of radioactive waste generated and the mode
of its disposal. Radiation Safety officer plays a key role in the waste disposal operations.
Correspondence
Dr Shoukat H. Khan
Associate Professor & Head
Nuclear Medicine
SKIMS, Srinagar, 190011, JK.
Email: drshkhan199@yahoo.co.in
39
40 Shoukat Khan. et al.
The hospital radioactive waste is mostly label with name of the isotope, level of
composed of low level waste and activity and date of monitoring.
occasional medium level waste with short
half-lives. The high level waste is usually Radioactive waste disposal
associated with nuclear industry and The collected radioactive waste is
nuclear reactors. disposed as per the following:
Dilute and Disperse
Radioactive Waste Management in a Hospital Delay and Decay
The management of radioactive waste Concentrate & Contain (Rarely used)
involves two stages: collection and disposal. Incineration (Rarely used)
The radioactive waste should be
identified and segregated within the area of Dilute and Disperse:
work. Foot operated waste collection bins Low activity solid article may be
with disposable polythene lining should be disposed off as ordinary hospital waste
used for collecting solid radioactive waste provided the activity of the article does not
and polythene carboys for liquid waste. exceed 1.35 microcuries (50 KBq) or the
Collecting radioactive waste in glassware overall package concentration does not
should be avoided. Each package is exceed 135 microcuries / m 3 (5MBq / m 3).
monitored and labeled for the activity level Such articles include vials, syringes, cotton
before deciding upon the mode of disposal. swabs, tissue papers etc. Similarly, liquid
Some hospitals that have incinerators and radioactive waste with activity less than
permission to dispose of combustible microcurie level can be disposed off into
radioactive waste through incineration may the sanitary sewerage system with
also segregate combustible radioactive adequate flushing with water following the
waste from non-combustible waste. When disposal. However, the maximum limit of
two different isotopes of different half-lives total discharge of liquid radioactive
like Tc-99m and I-131 are used, separate material into sanitary sewerage system
waste collection bags and bins should be should not exceed the prescribed limits
used for each. Each bag or bin must bear a Table (2).
Sulphur-35 18.5 74
and should have smooth surface from inside. closed for the period of one month that the
The capacity of the tank depends on the second tank takes to fill. As such, each tank
number of patients admitted each day. A holds the radioactive waste for 2 months that is
facility admitting two patients would require two sufficient for the decay of Iodine-131 to low
delay tanks of 6000 liters each. This capacity is levels (Delay & Decay). However before
based on the presumption that on an average releasing the effluent of the tank into the public
each patient uses about 100 liters of water per sewerage system a sample is collected to
day. At that rate, each patient will use 3000 check the activity, this should not be more than
liters per month and two patients will use 6000 1.2 microcuries per liter. No hospital is
liters. At the end of one month as the tank will permitted to release into public sewerage
be full, it is closed and the gate valve of the system an aggregate 37 G Bq (1 Curie) of
(11)
second tank is opened. The full tank is kept liquid radioactive waste in one year.
Valve - I Valve - II
Fig. (1). Typical dual delay tank system for two patients.
Radioactive Waste Management In A Hospital 45
Table (3). Maximum radioactivity for disposal of a corpse without special precautions (MBq).
Radioisotope Post-mortem Burial Cremation
/ Embalming
Iodine-131 10 (1) 400 (3) 400 (3)
Yetrium-90 Colloid 200 (1) 2000 (4) 70 (5)
Gold- 198 400 (1) 400 (3) 100 (5)
Phosphorus-32 100 (1) 2000 (4) 30 (5)
Strontium-89 50 (1) 2000 (4) 20 (5)
(1) Based on contamination hazard.
(2) Based on extremity dose limit.
(3) Based on dose rate external to the body.
(4) Based on brehmsstrahlung dose at 0.5m.
(5) Based on contamination hazard that these radioisotopes remain in ash.
46 Shoukat Khan. et al.