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New Scintillation Vial Containers Debut on Chicago Campus

 

 

Scintillation vials leak and smell and can create contamination hazards when they are collected in boxes or bags. Some of the caps invariably are loose and the vials leak. This is not usually a problem when users return vials to their original trays but, more and more often, people buy vials in bulk or do not have the time to neatly package them in trays and boxes. Other trash sometimes finds its way into the waste vial collection container and it must be removed before we can ship the waste for disposal.

 

We have found a collection container that offers several advantages. It is a transparent, 10-gallon, plastic pail with a yellow lid. It is about the size of the 10-gallon dry waste drums, which is a convenient size for most labs. A clear plastic bag lines the pail, and we have put appropriate labels and a waste card holder on the outside. This will become the required container for all labs that generate scintillation vials.

 

The pail's transparency makes it easy to tell, at a glance, whether anything other than vials is in the container. The pail is not so big that it will sit around the lab forever waiting to be filled up, and not too small for labs that generate a fair number of vials. It is cleanable and reusable. Multiple containers can be used for vials that must be segregated by radionuclide or activity.

 

Follow these rules for segregating your vials.

·        Do not mix beta-plates or micro-plates with regular glass or plastic vials.

·        Vials containing solvent-based scintillation media must be separated from vials containing biodegradable media. We strongly recommend the use of biodegradable media.

·        Vials containing H-3 and/or C-14 only must be collected separately from any other vials.

·        Vials containing H-3 and/or C-14 with averaged activity of less than 0.05 uCi/gram of media, and any radionuclide with a half-life of less than 30 days, must be collected separately.

·        Vials containing H-3 and/or C-14 with averaged activity less than 0.05 uCi/gram and/or any radionuclide with a half-life of greater than 30 days but less than 109 days must be collected separately.

·        Vials containing H-3 and/or C-14 with averaged activity greater than 0.05 uCi/gram and/or any radionuclide with a half life greater than 109 days should be collected separately.

 

Once we have accumulated some experience on the Chicago campus we will decide whether to provide it to Evanston labs as well. Chicago labs can call ORS at 3-8300 to request containers.