The fact that they cause extreme skin irritation and sting if they get in your eyes is incentive enough to wear protective clothing and glasses. They anesthetize nerve endings so that one does not feel the damage, even when the stuff gets in one's eyes. If you even think you might have come into contact with such solutions, rinse the affected area thoroughly. In the case of eye contamination, rinse with cold running water for a full 20 minutes. After tightly capping the vials they should be vortexed thoroughly once more taken to the scintillation counter or vial rack, logged in and loaded up.
Most counters continue to count samples while loading.
Each vial may require as much as 10 minutes for an accurate count, so the raw data will be available the following day or later. Safety tip - hazards of scintillation fluid Scintillation fluid is volatile and may be carcinogenic. Always use a fume hood when working with scintillation fluid or any organic solvent, and work behind the glass shield. The repipet should be calibrated to deliver 5-6 ml for a 7 ml vial, or about 15 ml for a 20 ml vial. Biodegradable scintillation cocktail is available.