Accumulated waste is disposed every six months. U.S.C. contracts out with a private contractor for the disposal of solid radiological waste and scintillation vials. Liquid radiological waste is collected from lab experiment residuals. The waste is collected in plastic containers and carboys and stored in a Radiation Collection Room. According to Zurosky, all liquid wastes emptied have a measured activity of no more than 0.5 curies per milliliter.
Solid waste refers to waste such as gloves, towels, and other items contaminated with radiation.
As a result there is a high amount of solid radiological waste as shown in Table 9. Scintillation vials are also used in certain experimental protocols. In an effort to decrease the costs associated with solid radiological waste disposal, a solid waste compactor was purchased in 1989. The effect of the compactor can be seen in Table 10. Both solid radiological wastes and scintillation vial waste are transported from the University to the Barnwell Low Level Nuclear Disposal Facility located in the southern part of the state.