I-125 AQUEOUS WASTE VOLUME REDUCTION AT A PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH LABORATORY

A wide variety of radioactive waste is generated by pharmaceutical res earch. One particularly high volume low specific activity waste stream produced by a research and development facility is aqueous I-125 wast e. This waste is generally held for decay and released to the sanitary sewer when the activity is low enough to ensure that concentrations a re well below the appropriate regulatory limits. However, the large vo lume of this particular waste stream rapidly exhausted available space to store it for decay. This study investigated safe, inexpensive, and efficient methods for removing I-125 from the aqueous waste, with the goal of implementing a practical process for concentrating the activi ty and thus reducing the stored volume. The implemented treatment (vol ume reduction) process used commercially available low cost activated carbon/particulate filters and inexpensive resin beds manufactured in- house. The much smaller volumes of spent filters and resin beds are th en held for decay and eventual incineration. This technique has proven an effective means for managing this high volume waste stream.