One main disadvantage is that they are labor intensive and researchers need to label secondary antibodies with radioisotopes. They are also not cost-efficient, and have a short shelf-life. This is due to the natural decay of the radioactive label. Radioactive detection also has safety concerns, and requires radiation safety training, and protective gear before being able to carry out the experiments. It is important to note that the use of this technique is rare today due to novel techniques being developed.