Publicising and Implementing Radiographic Film Collection

Waste and effluents from the radiographic materials industry and radio diagnostic services are a valuable resource for obtaining large quantities of silver. They cannot be disposed of in the environment without prior treatment. Silver like other heavy metals is highly polluting and harmful to health. Acetates deposited in landfill sites can take more than 100 years to degrade. Thus many actions have been created and developed with the aim of reducing the impact generated by the disposal of waste and effluents into the environment. The aim of this work is to publicise the methods used to recover the silver in diagnostic films and how acetate is reused in handicrafts. As a result it was shown that recycling radiographic products is possible as it recovers the existing silver as well as reusing the acetate from the films in handicrafts. It is also clear that the population needs more information about the damage caused by radiographs discarded in the environment due to their composition. We need incentives to create collection points closer to their homes; in schools health centres shops and public places.