Determining the solubility of aqueous radioactive waste from a pharmaceutical research and development lab

The management of radioactive waste disposal at pharmaceutical research facilities is often the responsibility of the Radiation Safety Office. Aqueous waste containing a variety of radionuclides may be generated by numerous research procedures. Disposal of this waste at commercial facilities is costly and each dollar spent in disposal costs is money not spent on research. An alternative to commercial disposal is release of radioactive aqueous waste into the sanitary sewer as provided by the Code of Federal Regulations (10CFR20.2003). This method of disposal must meet certain criteria regarding the amount and concentration of radioactivity released to the sewer. In addition, the material must be "readily soluble (or readily dispersible biological material) in water." This paper describes the process used at our R&D facility to determine the solubility of aqueous waste.