Anyone in the Department of Chemistry working with radioisotopes are required to attend a course on the use of radioisotopes. The course is designed for individuals at the University who have not been trained previously in the use of radioactive materials. Professorial staff, research associates, research assistants, postdoctoral fellows, technicians and graduate students without previous experience with radioisotopes are normally required to attend the course and pass the test before starting their experiments.
The Radiation Protection Course consists of two half-days and it is offered monthly. The course covers basic radiation physics, definitions and units of radioactivity, principles of radiation protection against external and internal exposures, the risk and assessment of such exposures, the Federal regulations and University of Toronto policies, instrumentation, inventory and contamination control and emergency response. Please see Yacine Merabtine for the next scheduled course.
Purchasing Radioactive Materials
All orders for radioactive materials require the following minimum information for approval by Radiation Protection Services:
- Permit number
- Permit holder name
- Radioisotope
- Activity per unit ordered
- Number of units ordered
- Supplier
- Requisition number
- Requisition date
- Delivery location (building and room number)
Disposal
Radioactive Waste Includes:
- Surplus radioisotope material in any form (i.e. surplus materials in supplied form, sealed sources, etc.)
- Material that has come into direct contact with radioactive material (i.e. gloves, culture dishes, pipettes, flasks, etc.)
- Materials used for radioactive decontamination (i.e. papertowels, sponges, etc.)
- Materials that have come into incidental contact with radioactive material (i.e. bench top covering material, etc.)
- Contaminated equipment used during radioisotope handling procedures that is no longer required and cannot be cleaned (i.e. centrifuges, gel electrophoresis equipment, etc.)
For requirements in segregating and disposing radioactive waste, please consult the "Laboratory Hazardous Waste Management Manual" published by the Office of Environmental Health and Safety.