Radioactive Waste Minimization and Pollution Prevention Guidance

Select reagents and procedures that minimize the volume and toxicity of all wastes. If feasible, design experiments in such a way that radioactive wastes are generated separately from chemically or biologically hazardous wastes
Avoid ordering radioactive materials in quantities that exceed your intended usage
Non-radioactive wastes must never be mixed with radioactive wastes. Failure to do this significantly increases the volume of wastes
Non-radioactive tracers and methods are available for many common assays, and procedures used in biomedical
Substitute with Short-lived Radionuclides where feasible
Reduce the activity and volumes of materials used in the experiment to decrease the amount of wastes generated
Replace hazardous chemical solvents with formulations not regulated as hazardous or mixed wastes
Limit the number of users of radioactive materials
Limit the number of areas where radioactive materials are used

NIH Policy Manual 3032
NIH policy on environmental management and waste minimization

A management tool to help improve environmental performance and provide information on the NIH Goes Greener Campaign