Chemical treatment of radioactive liquid wastes from medical applications

This work is a study about the treatment of the most important radioactive liquid wastes from medical usages, generated in medical institutions with nuclear medicine services. The radionuclides take in account are 32 P, 35 S, 125 I. The treatments developed and improved were specific chemical precipitations for each one of the radionuclides. This work involve to precipitate the radionuclide from the liquid waste, making a chemical compound insoluble in the aqueous phase, for this process the radionuclide stay in the precipitate, lifting the aqueous phase with a very low activity than the begin. The 32 P precipitated in form of Ca332 P O4 and Ca2 H 32 P O4 with a value for Decontamination Factor (DF) at the end of the treatment of 32. The 35 S was precipitated in form of Ba35 SO4 with a DF of 26. The 125 I was precipitated in Cu 125 I to obtain a DF of 24. The results of the treatments are between the limits given for the International Atomic Energy Agency and the 10 Code of Federal Regulation 20, for the safety release at the environment. (Author)