• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.38 no.4
• /
• pp.332-339
• /
• 2012

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to prevent health problems and environmental contamination resulting from inappropriate management of dental wastes and to provide reference data for revision and supplementation of dental clinic waste management guidelines. Methods: From 640 total of dental clinics registered in 16 cities and counties in Gyeongsangnam-do, 100 (60 in Changwon (Masan, Changwon), 29 in Gimhae, and 11 in Jinju) were included in this study. From July 2010 to September 2010, investigators visited the 100 dental clinics and conducted survey interviews using a structured survey questionnaire regarding disposal methods for liquid wastes (suction pump, spittoon container waste, used liquid disinfectants, and X-ray developer), and disposal methods for solid waste (suction pump, spittoon container waste, and general medical waste). Results: All the 100 dental clinics were found to treat liquid waste from suction pumps and spittoon containers in the same manner as general waste water. Nineteen percent of the clinics treated solid waste that was not filtered through the filter of a suction pump as general waste. Fifty or more percent of the clinics treated solid waste in spittoon containers as general waste. Seventy percent of the clinics used disinfectant solution, although most of them treated used disinfectants in the same manner as general waste water. Some clinics treated used X-ray developer and X-ray fixer in the same manner as general waste water. In most of the clinics, used drapes were washed within the clinic. Conclusions: It was found that waste water and dental wastes at some dental clinics were treated in inappropriately. Thus, in conclusion, the development of guidelines regarding proper management of liquid and solid dental waste at dental clinics is required, and hygiene and environmental training for workers at dental clinics is necessary.

• Progress in Medical Physics
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.8-14
• /
• 2014

The amounts of radioactive wastes to be disposed in the medical institute have been increased due to development of radiation diagnosis and therapy rapidly. They are produced mostly by the very short lived radioisotopes such as $^{18}F$ used in PET/CT, $^{99m}Tc$, $^{123}I$, $^{125}I$ and $^{201}Tl$, etc. IAEA proposed a criteria for the clearance level of waste which depends on the individual ($10{\mu}Sv/y$) and collective dose (1 man-Sv/y), and concentration of each nuclide (IAEA Safety Series No 111-P-1.1, 1992 and IAEA RS-G-1.7, 2004). Radioactive wastes of $^{18}F$, $^{99m}Tc$, $^{123}I$, $^{125}I$ and $^{201}TI$ in the several types of container like Marinelli beaker, vial and plastic, were collected to measure the concentration of the waste of each nuclide in accordance with IAEA criteria. The measurement method and procedure of determining specific activity of the wastes using gamma emitters like MCA, gamma counter and beta emitters were developed. For the efficiency calibration of the detectors, CRM (certified reference material) which has the same dimension and shape was provided by Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS). Correction factor of the radioactivity decay was calculated based on the measurement results, and the consideration of mutual relation with theoretical equation. The result of this study will be proposed as ISO standard.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.119-122
• /
• 2008

Radioiodine (I-131) Therapy has been known one of the methods treated with hyperthyroidism and thyroid tumor, using a separate ward. This technique has been already used for several decades, and its clinical efficacy proven. Today, Radioiodine takes a form of capsule through continuous development, so, 30 odd domestic hospitals run about 63 separate wards. And, its demands would increase continuously; because of tending upwards the patients had thyroid cancer. However, various kinds of wastes originate from a procedure of radioiodine therapy. Especially, when their radioactivity exceed permissible level (4 Bq/$cm^2$) set by Nuclear laws of the Republic of Korea, it regards as radioactive wastes, then, managed separately from origination to the last disposal.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Sciences Society Conference
• /
• 1996.10a
• /
• pp.66-66
• /
• 1996

• Proceedings of the Korean Sanitation Conference
• /
• 2004.11a
• /
• pp.28-44
• /
• 2004

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Life Science Conference
• /
• 2005.04a
• /
• pp.236-236
• /
• 2005

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Life Science Conference
• /
• 2005.04a
• /
• pp.101-101
• /
• 2005

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.54 no.2
• /
• pp.507-513
• /
• 2022

When X-ray energy above 8 MV is used, photoneutrons are generated by the photonuclear reaction, which activates the components of linear accelerator (linac). Safely managing the radioactive material, when disposing linac or replacing components, is difficult, as the standards for the radioactive material management are not clear in Korea. We surveyed the management status of radioactive components occurred from medical linacs in Korea. And we also measured the activation of each part of the discarded Elekta linac using a survey meter and portable High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector. We found that most medical institutions did not perform radiation measurements when disposing of radioactive components. The radioactive material was either stored within the institution or collected by the manufacturer. The surface dose rate measurements showed that the parts with high surface dose rates were target, primary collimator, and multileaf collimator (MLC). ⁶⁰Co nuclide was detected in most parts, whereas for the target, ⁶⁰Co and ¹⁸⁴Re nuclides were detected. Results suggest that most institutions in Korea did not have the regulations for disposing radioactive waste from linac or the management procedures and standards were unclear. Further studies are underway to evaluate short-lived radionuclides and to lay the foundation for radioactive waste management from medical linacs.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.54 no.4
• /
• pp.1456-1463
• /
• 2022

The aim of this work is to study the radiation shielding properties of cement samples with waste glass incortated into its composition. The mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) of the samples were experimentally determined to evaluate their radiation shielding ability. The experimental coefficient was evaluated using NaI detector for gamma energies between 59.53 keV and 1408.01 keV using different radioactive point sources Am-241, Eu-152, Co-60, and Cs-137, and the gamma transmission parameters half-value layer, mean free path, and transmission factor were calculated. The theoretical coefficient of the composites was determined using Geant4 and XCOM software. The results were also compared against Geant4 and XCOM simulations by calculating the relative deviation between the values to determine the accuracy of the results. In addition the mechanical properties (including Compressive and porosity) as well as the thermogravimetric analysis were tested for the present samples. Overall, it was concluded that the cement sample with 50% waste glass has the greatest shielding potential for radiation shielding applications and is a useful way to reuse waste glass.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.352-366
• /
• 2022

Nuclear power plant operations for electricity generation, rare-earth mining, nuclear medical research, and nuclear weapons reprocessing considerably increase radioactive waste, necessitating massive efforts to eradicate radioactive waste from aquatic environments. Cobalt (⁵⁸Co) and strontium (⁹⁰Sr) radioactive elements have been extensively employed in energy generation, nuclear weapon testing, and the manufacture of healthcare products. The erroneous discharge of these elements as pollutants into the aquatic system, radiation emissions, and long-term disposal is extremely detrimental to humans and aquatic biota. Numerous methods for treating radioactive waste-contaminated water have emerged, among which the adsorption process has been promoted for its efficacy in eliminating radioactive waste from aquatic habitats. The current review discusses the adsorptive removal of radioactive waste from aqueous solutions using low-cost adsorbents, such as graphene oxide, metal-organic frameworks, and inorganic metal oxides, as well as their composites. The chemical modification of adsorbents to increase their removal efficiency is also discussed. Finally, the current state of ⁵⁸Co and ⁹⁰Sr removal performances is summarized and the efficiencies of various adsorbents are compared.