196
12 Health Hazards and Protection
4. There should be separate rooms for the storage of radioactive materials and for
dispensing highly active materials. These areas should be treated as the most
active ones.
5. The research laboratory, or training laboratory, should be situated near to the
dispensing rooms, so that the active material may be transferred without being
carried for a long distance.
6. In the research and the training laboratory, there should be a provision for a big
fume cupboard, so that experiments with volatile radioactive materials may be
carried out in it without any difficulty.
7. At the entrance to the laboratory, there should be provisions for washing and
pegs for laboratory coats etc.
8. In buildings where air-conditioning and fume cupboards are used, the arrangement should be made so that air from the active area may not be sucked to the
inactive area.
9. The flow of water into the building should also be such that the water may not
flow back to the main building from the active laboratory, especially from the
dispensing room.
10. There should also be a provision for a space where inactive work such as the
separation of certain compounds etc., can be carried out.
11. A room for a safety officer, inactive chemical storeroom, lecture room, toilets
etc., and other necessary rooms should be built along with the radiochemistry
suite, and these should be treated as an inactive area.
12. In a tracer laboratory, it is necessary to appoint a safety officer, whose duty is
to maintain discipline in the laboratory and to keep a record of individual doses
received. He/She should also have arrangements with the appropriate medical
authority, who can be called in case of an emergency. He/She should have a
complete record of various isotopes which are being used by the workers.
13. The interior design of the radioactive suite is also important. All the water
and the gas pipes etc., must be boxed in to assist in cleaning the laboratory.
Benches should be polished and covered with bituminous paper, so that any spill
of radioactive material may be cleared up easily. The floor must be covered with
linoleum, which is kept well waxed, otherwise it may absorb active solution and
decontamination may be impossible.
14. The neutron source room should be doubly shielded with thick concrete walls
from each side, and when convenient the neutron source may be kept underground, the earth acting as shielding.
15. In the radiochemistry suite, it is preferable to have two doors (not on the same
wall), so that in case of an accident, the workers can escape easily.
Considering all these factors, a self-explanatory simple design for a radiochemistry
suit is shown in Fig. 12.1. In this drawing, the activity increases as one goes from the
entrance toward the neutron source.
12 Health Hazards and Protection
4. There should be separate rooms for the storage of radioactive materials and for
dispensing highly active materials. These areas should be treated as the most
active ones.
5. The research laboratory, or training laboratory, should be situated near to the
dispensing rooms, so that the active material may be transferred without being
carried for a long distance.
6. In the research and the training laboratory, there should be a provision for a big
fume cupboard, so that experiments with volatile radioactive materials may be
carried out in it without any difficulty.
7. At the entrance to the laboratory, there should be provisions for washing and
pegs for laboratory coats etc.
8. In buildings where air-conditioning and fume cupboards are used, the arrangement should be made so that air from the active area may not be sucked to the
inactive area.
9. The flow of water into the building should also be such that the water may not
flow back to the main building from the active laboratory, especially from the
dispensing room.
10. There should also be a provision for a space where inactive work such as the
separation of certain compounds etc., can be carried out.
11. A room for a safety officer, inactive chemical storeroom, lecture room, toilets
etc., and other necessary rooms should be built along with the radiochemistry
suite, and these should be treated as an inactive area.
12. In a tracer laboratory, it is necessary to appoint a safety officer, whose duty is
to maintain discipline in the laboratory and to keep a record of individual doses
received. He/She should also have arrangements with the appropriate medical
authority, who can be called in case of an emergency. He/She should have a
complete record of various isotopes which are being used by the workers.
13. The interior design of the radioactive suite is also important. All the water
and the gas pipes etc., must be boxed in to assist in cleaning the laboratory.
Benches should be polished and covered with bituminous paper, so that any spill
of radioactive material may be cleared up easily. The floor must be covered with
linoleum, which is kept well waxed, otherwise it may absorb active solution and
decontamination may be impossible.
14. The neutron source room should be doubly shielded with thick concrete walls
from each side, and when convenient the neutron source may be kept underground, the earth acting as shielding.
15. In the radiochemistry suite, it is preferable to have two doors (not on the same
wall), so that in case of an accident, the workers can escape easily.
Considering all these factors, a self-explanatory simple design for a radiochemistry
suit is shown in Fig. 12.1. In this drawing, the activity increases as one goes from the
entrance toward the neutron source.