| Spill control: |
| 1) Notify individuals in the area of the spill's occurrence, location, size, and nature. |
| 2) Wash your hands if they have become contaminated as part of the spill incident. |
| 3) Put on personal protective equipment including gloves, lab coat, and eyewear to prevent contamination of the hands, body, and clothes. |
| 4) Define and confine the spill zone. Mark off the spill area with chalk, markers, tape, etc., and restrict traffic to that area. |
| 5) Individuals in the spill zone must stay within the zone until monitored for contamination, then decontaminated and/or established as free of contamination. Individuals within the spill zone should move to the area of lowest exposure. |
| 6) If the spill is of dry material, dampen the spill slightly. This will avoid the spill's spread due to air currents. Be careful not to spread the spill area unnecessarily. If the spill is liquid material, cover the liquid with absorbent material to limit the spread of contamination. |
| 7) Shut off fans or air circulation devices. Direct exhaust ventilation should be left operating. |
| 8) Notify the resident marine technician, the Laboratory Officer, and/or the Staff Scientist. |
| 9) Once the spill zone is controlled, then emphasis shifts to decontamination procedures. Begin decontamination procedures as soon as possible. Cleaning agents are in the spill kit in the radioisotope van. Start at the periphery of the contaminated area and work inward. Systematically reduce the contaminated area. Avoid using large circular cleaning motions, as this practice will increase the spill's surface area. Mitigation of liquid 14C spills can be enhanced by rinsing the area with acid. This should only be done in a well-ventilated area. |
| 10) Put all contaminated disposable materials into plastic bags for appropriate disposal later. Contaminated equipment should be bagged or set aside in dish pans for later decontamination. |
| 11) Survey meter and/or wipe tests should be used to monitor the progress of the decontamination. |
| Personal decontamination: |
| 1) Administer first aid if necessary. |
| 2) Be aware of personal and ethnic privacy issues when decontaminating personnel. |
| 3) Define the area of contamination. Note the quantity of contamination, size, and location. |
| 4) Begin decontamination procedures with the mildest form of cleansing. Skin should be decontaminated using mild soap and water. The decontamination should progress to using soap with a mild abrasive, soft brush, and water, then to a mild organic acid (citric acid or vinegar). Nails or hair may need to be trimmed to complete decontamination. Decontamination procedures should not break the skin. |
| 5) Shoe bottoms can be decontaminated by lifting off the contamination with adhesive tape. Duct tape works especially well for decontaminating the soles of shoes. |
| 6) Survey meter and/or wipe tests should be used to monitor the progress of the decontamination. |
| 7) Record the size, location, and degree of contamination. Give this information to the radiation safety officers and notify them of the spill. Notify the resident marine technician, the Laboratory Officer, and/or the Staff Scientist. |
| 8) Put all contaminated disposable materials into plastic bags for appropriate disposal later. |
| 9) Clothing may need to be removed or changed. Contaminated clothing may be bagged and retained for decay or disposal. |