title: Focus on the legislative approach to short half life radioactive hospital waste releasing.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We propose to summarize the advancements introduced by the new Directive 2013/59/Euratom concerning the concept of clearance, for which the radioactive medical waste represents a typical candidate. We also intend to spotlight disputable points in the regulatory scheme in force in Italy, as well to make a contribution to evaluate whether the practice of patients' urine storing, stated by it, can be regarded to be proper.
  
  
  METHODS
  With directing our interest to radionuclides used in Nuclear Medicine, we first present an overview of how the clearance concept, and that of exemption closely related to it, have been developed from the previous Directive 96/29 to the new one; then we describe the implementation of these concepts in the Italian legislation. Subsequently we estimate the exposure due both to keeping the effluent on site and to direct discharging it to the environment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In line with a well established international consensus, the Directive 2013/59 drives simple and harmonized regulation of clearance. On the contrary, some complexity and lack of consistency can be found in the framework of the national legislation affecting the radioactive medical waste handling. In addition the practice of excreta storing is disputed not to be really beneficial.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The opportunity should be taken to make the whole system of these requirements simpler and more consistent and effective when it is revised to transpose the new Directive.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Epidemiology, Workplace and Environmental Hygiene, Italian Institute for Insurance Against Accidents at Work, Via Fontana Candida 1, 00040 Monte Porzio Catone, Roma, Italy. Electronic address: c.petrucci@inail.it.
authors.forename: Caterina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Petrucci
authors.affiliation: Health Physics Service, S. Chiara University Hospital, Via Roma 67, 56125 Pisa, Italy. Electronic address: c.traino@ao-pisa.toscana.it.
authors.forename: Antonio Claudio
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Traino
mesh_terms: D005618:Fresh Water / Q000737:chemistry; D006207:Half-Life; D006761:Hospitals; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D011850:Radioactive Waste / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry; D018505:Waste Management / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*
chemical_list: D011850:Radioactive Waste; D012722:Sewage
keywords: Exemption and clearance levels; Patients' excreta releases into the environment; Short half life radionuclides in Nuclear Medicine; Urine storage tanks