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Use and Disposal of Uranyl Acetate in the Electron Microscope Laboratory: Glow in the Dark or Walk in the Park?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2018

Randy Tindall
Randy Tindall*
Affiliation:
University of Missouri
*
[email protected]

Extract

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Let's face it—uranyl acetate is the perennial bad boy of chemicals, at least from the standpoint of disposal. A necessary evil in the electron microscopy laboratory, it presents a quandary for those trying to comply with hazardous materials regulalions, an effort complicated by its nominal radioactivity. Disposal costs of radioactive materials can be daunting. A past posting to the Microscopy Society of America listserver gave an estimate of US$7000 per liter and local follow up indicated that, although probably high, that may not be an unreasonable figure. In these times of diminished subsidies and expectations of increased cost recovery by academic service facilities like ours, this is of paramount concern.

The Electron Microscopy Core Facility at the University of Missouri-Columbia follows guidelines issued by our campus Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) office regarding hazardous materials and their disposal.

Type
Research Article
Information
Microscopy Today , Volume 12 , Issue 3 , May 2004 , pp. 40 - 41
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2004

References

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