Sec. 19.5] THE SAFE HANDLING OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS 459 



kind are handled, the use of gloves is always compulsory. Thin rubber 

 surgeon's gloves are to be preferred since they allow nearly unobstructed 

 use of the fingers and can be thoroughly washed before they are removed or, 

 if necessary, discarded. They are not intended to offer radiation protection 

 but rather to protect the hands from direct contact with active materials 

 and contaminated apparatus. Fabric and leather gloves should never be 

 worn in the laboratory for they retain finely divided materials and absorb 

 liquids. At best they are a greater hazard than bare hands. Similarly, 

 lead-filled or shielded gloves are useless for most purposes because they are 

 unwieldy to work with and secondary radiation produced in the lead may 

 at times have a greater intensity than the primary radiation. This is 

 especially true for very high-energy gamma rays. In certain instances, 

 however, they offer the only means of protection as in cleaning or repairing 

 heavily contaminated hoods, plumbing, etc., and then they are preferable to 

 no protection at all. 



Finally, the laboratory should be provided with suitable means of disposal 

 of active waste. All contaminated paper, discarded apparatus, experimental 

 animals, etc., should be placed in active waste cans provided only for this 

 purpose. These are usually large standard trash containers made of cor- 

 rosive-resistant metal, with tight-fitting covers conspicuously labeled with 

 red paint. Since active waste liquids should never be washed down sink 

 drains, they are best disposed of in glass or earthenware jars, shielded if 

 necessary, and removed periodically or when the activity level at the outside 

 surface of the container becomes too high. 



19.5. Safety Procedures. Radiochemistry and all other operations involv- 

 ing appreciable amounts of active material should be carried out according 

 to a definite set of safety rules covering procedures and personnel. Complete 

 assurance that personnel will receive exposures no greater than the daily 

 tolerance dose can be secured only when the safety rules established for a 

 laboratory are strictly adhered to. Usually this can be accomplished (1) by 

 thorough instruction of personnel in the dangers involved and the specific 

 practices to be followed and (2) by rigid enforcement of the rules through 

 periodic inspection and by posting a printed set of rules in a conspicuous 

 place. When high activities are handled and an individual shows a per- 

 sistent tendency toward carelessness and indifference, a job transfer nor- 

 mally is indicated before he or his associates are accidentally and seriously 

 exposed. 



The following rules, applicable to laboratories handling activities up to 

 the curie level, are based largely on the rules and procedures practiced in the 

 Clinton Laboratories of the Atomic Energy Commission. Taken as a com- 

 plete set, the rules may be considerably more severe than is warranted for 

 some laboratories and may be modified to suit less stringent radiation 



