Problems of radioactive waste disposal in a nuclear medicine department

According to the increasing application of unsealed radioactive materials in nuclear medicine facilities the radiation exposure of medical and allied health personnel aggravates at the same rate. The main groups of radioactive wastes originate from diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, from test preparations as well as from excretions of patients treated with radiopharmaceuticals. The waste disposal methods differ according to the nature of the wastes (solid, liquid, gaseous) and to the half-life of the radionuclides used. As to the the disposal of radioactive excretions, measuring results of bedlinen and dishes contaminated with 131I are discussed. (author)