Handling of Radioactive Materials
All DBMR employees who handle radioactive materials comply with the corresponding internal directives for radiation safety.
Only people instructed by the radiation safety officers (RSO) may handle radioactive materials.
Annual notification
Research groups dealing with radioactive substances must report to the RSO on an annual basis purchasing, consumption and the inventory of radioactive materials.
Download: Annual Radioactivity Notification.
Transport
When transporting radioactive materials on-site, the sources must constantly be under the direct supervision or secured so that unauthorized persons do not have access. It must be ensured that bystanders do not receive unnecessary radiation doses.
Packaging shall meet the following requirements:
- Highly visible warning sign for radioactivity
- The dose rate at 1m distance from the surface is not more than 100 μSv/h
- The dose rate at the surface is not more than 2 mSv/h
- The radioactive material must not escape
- The loose contamination on the outter surface is at most 1 CS (Bq/cm2) specified in RPO, annex 3, column 12
- Are radioactive materials contained in a fragile vessel, this vessel must be sealed in an unbreakable container
- If radioactive material is liquid, the packaging must contain enough bibulous material to absorb the entire volume of liquid
There are strict regulations for off-site transports of limited quantities in so-called excepted packages (UN 2910), so in any case the local RSO must be consulted in advance. It is to refrain from a mail delivery of radioactive material to foreign countries. Dangerous goods may only be transported by specially trained carriers.
Laboratories Type C
There is one Type C laboratoy available for handling open radioactive materials.
- MEM D802a (local RSO: François Achermann
Internal Directive for Radiation Safety - Handling radioactive materials version 1.3 (PDF, 213KB)
Delimited work areas Type D
If the handled activity per experiment or day is below the licensing limit LA specified in the RPO, annex 3, column 10, the work can be done in a clearly delimited area in a normal lab only with the permission of the RSO DBMR.
Regular contamination controls must be performed with a suitable contamination monitor. When handling 3H and 14C, regular wipe tests must be carried out, ideally after completion of work. The results of the contamination controls must be recorded.
Before delimited areas can be used for other work (without radioactive material), a clearance measurement has to be carried out.
Monthly Laboratory Wipe Test Report - OBT (Status as of 30 July 2020).xlsx (XLSX, 79KB)
Storage
Radioactive materials are stored exclusively in the approved storage locations. Please inform the local RSO before storing radioactive materials.
Disposal
Radioactive waste must be separated by type of nuclide and combustibility. The local RSO are responsible for the waste management and provide the necessary containers. Sample tubes with scintillation solution should be disposed of in the blue disposal containers with red lids (University of Bern) or yellow lids (Inselspital).
Consolidate internal directive for the disposal of tritium and carbon-14