Ionising radiations: precautions for industrial users.

  • Great Britain. Department of Employment and Productivity.
Date:
1969
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Ionising radiations: precautions for industrial users. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    spillage 1t may be possible to clear it up simply by removing the wax coating. Epoxy type floor paints can be used on smooth unbroken surfaces but only when traffic is light and infrequent. Walls should be painted with a high gloss paint. Hard plastic surfaces are extremely suitable for benches although it is advisable to protect any bench with a sheet of disposable material such as polyethylene, PVC or kraft paper. It can be secured in place by adhesive tape which can itself be used as a temporary protection for awkward shaped objects. CLEANING AND WASTE DISPOSAL Cleaning of workrooms should be done sufficiently frequently to ensure that the contamination is kept below the maximum permitted levels. It should be done by methods which avoid the spread of contamination and dispersal of radioactive material into the general air. In practice this means that wet methods should be used. If vacuum cleaners are used they should not be of the type which dis- charge the filtered air into the workroom. Articles used for cleaning should not be used for any other purpose and these should be kept in a separate cupboard. When their useful life is over they should be disposed of as active waste. Radioactive waste and contaminated articles such as cleaning tissues should be placed in receptacles reserved exclusively for this purpose. They should have an inner lining which should be large enough to extend over the top so as to reduce the possibility of the interior of the receptacle being contaminated. Advice on the disposal of radioactive waste should be sought from the Ministry of Housing and Local Government in England and Wales and from the Scottish Development Department in Scot- land. Normally an authorisation from these Authorities will be required for the disposal of waste. CHANGING ROOMS Where there is a real risk of the active area, or the shoes or overalls ef the operator becoming contaminated, it is advisable for access to the area to be via a ‘Change Room’. This is in effect an area set apart between the main access corridor to the active area and the active area itself. In this Change Room any protective clothing should be put on and removed so that if any contamination is brought out on the shoes or clothing it should get no further than the Change Room. A Change Room can vary from an area formed simply by erecting a low barrier a little way inside the access door over which