General Guide for the In Vivo Use of Radioactive Materials

Animals should be kept in plastic cages on absorbent bedding. For small animals such as mice, disposable cages are preferable. For larger animals, if the cost of disposable cages is excessive, all cages must be decontaminated and wipe tested following decontamination before they can be returned to general use.

Contaminated bedding must be disposed of as solid waste. It must be stored in one of the two approved limited access storage facilities until it has decayed to safe levels (for isotopes with half life under 87 days), or until it can be transferred to the disposal contractor for shipment to a burial site.

If the animals must be returned to animal quarters, they must be kept in a defined and clearly labeled area. All maintenance and care must be provided by the authorized user or his/her trained radiation workers. Regular animal care personnel will not be allowed to enter the area until the experiment has been terminated and the facility has been checked for possible contamination.

If regular animal care personnel must enter the restricted room for purposes other than caring for animals in the radioactive study, they must be accompanied by the authorized user or his/her trained radiation worker.

Animal carcasses which contain less than 0.05 uCi/g of either 3 H or 14 C may be disposed of without regard to radioactivity. Carcasses containing any other isotope or 3 H or 14 C in concentrations exceeding the above values must be disposed of as radioactive waste.