Radiation Safety 101

It's not that bad, trust me

I was in the lab all day today doing a test called radiochemical purity. It is a chromatographic separation of isotope complexes on a silica based paper. It also involves butanone, acetone and saline as solvents.

Working with radiation, we have a real thing about safety. The isotope in question is (only) Technetium 99m - a medical isotope.

Technetium is derived from Molybedium (element 42, yay!), emits gamma rays and has a half life of 6 hrs. The relatively short half-life is the reason it is used in nuclear medicine.

So how to we protect ourselves from those nasty gamma rays?

• Prevent unnecessary exposure.Don't wave hot items in other peoples faces.
• Stay as far away from unshielded items as practical. You don't need to lift an unexposed vial to eye level. Take the needle down to it.
• Lead shielding. Technetium is milked from a generator. The resulting hot vial needs to be kept in a lead container. Lead shields are also used on needles used to transfer sample to the chromatography paper and a large shield between the analyst and the work area.
• The usual lab safety stuff - coat, glasses and gloves.

Lots and lots of gloves. I'm glad I switched to the nitrile gloves. They are so much nicer than the latex :)