RITA, the Radioisotope Inventory & Tracking Application based in Princeton PRIME, is the main tool for inventorying and tracking your radioactive materials. 

Package Receipt

When a radioactive material package arrives at the Radioactive Receiving site, EHS reviews the shipping paper and the information on the vial and enters that information into RITA.  RITA assigns a unique Vial ID Number to the vial, and the EHS receiver puts labels with the Vial ID Number on the vial itself and on the shipping container.  The EHS receiver also prints out a Vial Use Log, places it in the package, and then delivers the package to the lab.

Using the Vial Use Log

An example of a Vial Use Log is shown in this photo:

Whenever you withdraw material from a stock vial (the vial shipped by the vendor), you must use the Log to enter the date of withdrawal, your name, and the volume you removed.  There are other columns you may use, but only these first three columns are required to be completed.

Discarding Vials and Updating the Lab Inventory

When a vial is no longer useful and has been placed into a radioactive waste pail, the lab must notify EHS to remove the vial from the lab's inventory in RITA.  

• In the Notes section of the Vial Use Log, note that the vial has been disposed of and the date of disposal.
• Notify EHS that the vial has been discarded in one of the following ways:
  • Fax a copy of the Vial Use Log to EHS at 609-258-1804.
  • Return the Log via campus mail to EHS, 262 Alexander Street.
  • Log in to PRIME and use the EHS RITA module (Review User Inventory) to notify EHS.  Note:  Contact EHS to request access to RITA and to request instructions for using RITA.

Physical Inventory of Radioactive Materials

EHS asks each lab to physically review its inventory of stock vials periodically and to verify that the inventory as listed in RITA agrees with the actual inventory.  Instructions for doing this are included in the email from EHS that requests the physical inventory.