A System for the Decontamination of Liquid Radioactive Waste Produced in in vitro Tests in Nuclear Medicine

Abstract

It is well known that very large storage tanks for radioactive liquids are necessary for the disposal of liquid radioactive waste.
In vitro tests in radioimmunoassay in nuclear medicine are rapidly increasing for clinical examination causing marked increase in the volume of liquid radioactive waste. Thus we have developed a system for decontaminating radioactivity from liquid waste.
In the first step, the liquid waste is boiled by a sterilizer and, in the second step, this sterilised liquid is filtered by a cylindrical filter (Toyo filter No.84) . After filtration, the liquid waste is passed into a beaded charcoal column and an ion exchange resin (Amberlite IRA 402) column. After these treatments, the radioactivity level of liquid waste is lowered to less than 1 % of the original radioactivity.
We are now in the planning stages of building an apparatus for practical use.