Question: what is like working with radioactive chemicals

Sarah O'Sullivan answered on 14 Mar 2019:

Not too much different to working with other chemical really. You have to be careful not to spill and we have to keep a record of how much we’ve used so that we know how much is left. How much radioactive material we store is something we have to report to the Office of Nuclear Regulation and the IAEA for safeguarding- it’s to make sure we account for all the material and none of it is used for worrying purposes. A lot of radioactive materials work is done inside a glovebox which is a sealed unit with arm holes. The gloves can be quite big and it can make the work quite awkward and hot! We also have to wipe the work surface before and after we do anything to measure if there’s any spill that we can’t see. It makes doing any process a little longer than a regular chemical but it’s not too different from normal lab work