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Ordering and Receiving Radioactive Materials

 

When ordering radioactive materials for use on the campus of Northwestern University, each order must be approved in advance by the Office for Research Safety.  This is to ensure that no investigator orders an amount that would exceed his/her authorized possession limit.  There are several methods used by ORS to ensure the limit is not exceeded. 

 

·         First, all orders must be placed using the EPPS system.  We monitor the EPPS system for items flagged “radioactive” and authorize payment if an investigator is approved for work with radioactive material and the ordered amount doesn’t appear to exceed the investigator’s possession limit.  The invoice will not be paid if ORS does not authorize payment.

·         Second, if you are using a blanket PD, you should contact ORS (by phone or email) informing us of the order.  We need the following information:

q       investigator’s name,

q       radionuclide,

q       activity (in millicuries), and

q       PD number.

·         Finally, when the package arrives at ORS, we check the amount of radioactivity in the package against the balance available for the investigator.  If the contents of the package would cause the investigator’s limit to be exceeded, the package will not be delivered until the laboratory staff can show that the inventory was reduced sufficiently to allow possession of the new material. We encourage investigators to request a limit somewhat higher that they expect to use so no possession limit is ever approached. 

 

All packages must be delivered to the Office for Research Safety address on the respective campus.  In Chicago, that is Ward B-106 (745 N. Fairbanks Ct., Chicago, IL 60611) and in Evanston, that is Tech NG-65 (2145 Sheridan Rd., Evanston, IL 60208).  After the packages are processed (surveyed for contamination and entered into the inventory system) they are delivered to the laboratory by ORS staff.  To avoid any delays in delivery, always have the vendor place the authorized investigator’s name on the attention line on the package and on the packing list.  To accomplish these requirements using the EPPS system, enter the PI’s name in the “authorized person” field, select either RS1 or RS2 as the “ship to” field, and the appropriate ORS address in the “build/room” field.

 

If, through error or ignorance, a package containing radioactive material is delivered directly to the laboratory by anyone other than ORS staff, bring the package to the ORS office immediately for processing.  You will know that the package did not come from ORS if there is no yellow and pink “Radionuclide Inventory” sheet with the box.  Do not open the package before bringing it to Research Safety.  We will perform the surveys for removable contamination required by U.S. DOT and add the contents of the package to the investigator’s inventory.

 

There are two main lessons to take from this Nutrino: We should know about each incoming package before it arrives at the University and we ought to be able to tell by looking at the package which laboratory ordered the material.