A nuclear medicine department uses absorbent pads, gloves and syringes with a short-lived imaging agent, plus one long-lived sealed reference source that stays in the lab. The safety officer requires each item to leave by the route matching its half-life, with release documented before disposal. Which disposal route applies to the absorbent pads, gloves and syringes?

The pads, gloves and syringes are contaminated with a short-lived imaging agent, so the appropriate route is decay-in-storage: retain them until their activity has decayed, survey them to confirm readings are indistinguishable from background, document that release check, and then discard them as ordinary trash. The separate long-lived sealed reference source remains in the lab and does not determine the route for these short-lived contaminated items. Sending the items to a licensed radioactive-waste contractor is a recognized waste-management route, but it fails the stated requirement to use the route matching this waste’s short half-life; decay storage and documented clearance are the specified route. Using a regulatory clearance limit instead of confirming readings are indistinguishable from background substitutes a different release criterion, even if that limit is permitted in some jurisdictions or circumstances. Completing the release record only after ordinary-trash disposal reverses the required sequence: documentation must establish clearance before release, not retrospectively. Exam caveat: “ten half-lives” is often used as a planning rule, but elapsed time alone does not establish that an item meets the required survey criterion. Practical check: verify the applicable procedure’s survey method and background comparison, and ensure the dated release record is complete before the waste leaves controlled handling.