HANDLING OF RADIOISOTOPES WITH ANIMALS AND PLANTS 125 



iron bricks are often adequate and have the advantage of flexibility. Per- 

 haps of most convenience for small laboratories is the system whereby the 

 individual shipments are placed in load or iron pots which can then be 

 stored on the floor or on the bench, in which case no additional shielding 

 is required. In any event, the shielding material may place a considerable 

 weight load on the floor of the room, which must be taken into account. 

 Laboratory Equipment. A listing of specialized ecjuipment for a small- 

 to moderate-sized radioisotope laboratory follows: 



Item Suggested quantity Remarks 



Radiochemical fume hood 1-2 



Chemical fume hood 1-2 



Gloved box 1 Two or more may be needed if used 



instead of hoods 



Isotope storage pots 4 Depends on amount of gamma activ- 



ity to be stored 



Laboratory cart 1-2 Handy for transport of shielded radio- 

 activity 



Shielding bricks (iron or lead) 20-80 Few needed if work is confined to beta 



emitters 



3-ft tongs 3 



Various small tongs 10 



Pantograph or remote-control pi- 



petter 1 



Scalers (see Chap. 5 for discussion of 2-4 May need more if repair facilities are 

 counting equipment) not handy 



Automatic sample changer 1 Only if money is to be traded for 



technician's time in counting large 

 numbers of samples 



Extra Geiger-Miiller counters 6 A variety should be maintained to 



anticipate needs 



Scintillation counter 1 A "must" for gamma counting 



Internal counter 1 May need more than one if most of 



work is to be done with soft-beta 

 emitters 



Vibrating-reed electrometer and ioni- 1 Only if high-sensitivity C'^ assays are 



zation chamber required 



Lead counter shield 1-2 Can use lead bricks if necessary to 



economize 



Cutie Pie (ion-chamber survey in- 

 strument) 1 



Portable Geiger-Muller survey instru- 1 Two of these preferable if finances 



ment permit 



Line-operated Geiger-Muller survey 



instrument 1 



Pocket dosimeter 6 



Charging box for above 1 



Absorber sets 1 Cover range from to 1500 mg/cm'' 



Syringe shields 2 Lucite for beta emitters, lead for 



gamma emitters 



