<p>I got yelled at by some SRA in someone else’s lab yesterday for throwing out the scintillation vials right after the test. But all the H3 and P32 counts were BELOW 20, so none of it was hot. I don’t understand why it can’t go into the trash if the counts are low.</p>
<p>Can anyone explain how terrible of a mistake that was? I stupidly answered who my PI was when she “asked”.</p>
<p>Below 20 what? cpms?</p>
<p>Did you actually measure how hot it was in a scintillation counter or a Geiger counter? Geiger counters have different calibration settings and it’s not uncommon for people to misread/misinterpret a needle/digital reading of 20K cpms as 20 cpms.</p>
<p>You can’t just throw out tritium or p32 as regular trash, hot or not. Both have to be properly thrown out as volatile organic waste, even moreso if scintillation fluid was added to measure counts.</p>
<p>You were “asked” for your PI because he/she is ultimately responsible for overseeing how “trash” is properly disposed in the lab. Improper disposal can mean fines and may lead to shutting down of the lab if dubious practices are found to be taking place within the lab.</p>
<p>It was in a scintillation counter. I don’t think anyone really uses Geiger counters anymore. </p>
<p>I didn’t know that, usually we just throw them out in the general trashcans with boxes and stuff. Hopefully this won’t cause too much problem for my PI</p>