Effictiveness of non-commercial cleaning agents verses commercial agents

Abstract

This study determined the efficiency of using non -commercial cleaning agents for the radioactive decontamination of wet 99mTc-pertechnetate (99mTcO4) spills. Methods: Two trials were run using six cleaning agents (Radiacwash™(Biodex), bleach, Windex® (S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.), Fantastic® (S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.), water, and soap and water for 99mTcO4 decontamination effectiveness on vinyl floor tile. Results: All the decontaminaton agents cleaned up well, and were all below background. The Geiger-Muller Detector (GM) data showed that there was no fixed contamination on any of the tiles for both trials. The background for trial 1 was 0.083, and trial 2 background was 0.079. Trial 1 exposure rate after decontamination of water was 0.030. Trial 2 exposure rate after decontamination of water was 0.032, and Windex® (S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.) was 0.031. Conclusion: Trial 1 showed that water was the best cleaning agent and trial 2 showed that water and Windex® (S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.) are the best cleaning agents.