Correct, it's a c14 labeled acetate used in an experiment in students lab. During the experiment some students spilled that stuff on their robes, the floor or the desk while using the pipette and later i was told not to worry cause it gets "dry" . So hence my question if it's really a safe method to get rid of those unseen traces of this material ?
OK, let me reiterate what others have said, more specifically.
No. This is not correct lab procedure. You should have been trained before hand on the correct procedure, reviewed at the incident time, and followed it at that point.
The first time I worked with radio-labeled compounds I likewise spilled a small amount of tritium-labeled lipid. A tiny amount, of a weakly labeled, short-half life, dilute solution. So the exposure risk was the √ the √ the √ trivial.
However, there is a cleaning procedure for radio-labeled spills, and this was a good time to practice, and execute it. There's no point in training people to become sloppy, because they'll only get worse.
The spill should have been roped off and diked, no not with hazmat cordons, and giant absorbent ropes -- just say, "Spill here, everyone else stay away" and some paper towels thrown around to keep the spill from spreading. It should have been absorbed with paper towels, and all items that have absorbed radioactive solution should be added to the radioactive waste. And eventually, the area should be subjected to a wipe test -- a moistened kimwipe is wiped on spots in the lab, added to scintillation solution, counted in a scintillation counter, and compared with background, all as a general test of laboratory hygiene compliance.
This sort of work can get expensive, rapidly. But science is expensive, when executed with personal and environmental safety in mind. People shouldn't be "playing" in the lab. One person's spill should have been a big deal, but everyone's spill everywhere ... that's just sloppy.
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Topic: Acetate boiling point {radioactive spill procedure} (Read 6439 times)