Categorization and Field Identification of Sealed Radioactive Sources Regional Training Course “Orphan Source Search Training” TC Regional Project RAS/9/062 and RAS/9/085 Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) Quezon City, Philippines 17 - 21 October 2016

Introduction By the end of this module students will be able to: Categorize sealed radioactive sources; Identify common sources and devices by appearance

Overview Categorization of radioactive sources is based upon radioisotope and radioactivity or practice Typical practices in each category Examples of common sources and devices in each category

Categorization of Radioactive Sources Safety Standards Series: RS-G-1 To provide an internationally harmonized basis for risk-informed decision making on radioactive sealed sources Scope: Includes radioactive sources used in industry, medicine, agriculture, research and education Focuses on sealed radioactive sources Excludes: X-ray machines Nuclear materials as defined in the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials

Basis for Categorization of Radioactive Sources Categorization is based on the potential to cause death or severe injuries Considers radioisotope and radioactivity (A) A dangerous source is one with an activity (≥D) that could, if not under control, give rise to an exposure sufficient to cause an effect that is fatal or life threatening or results in a permanent injury that decreases the quality of life A D

Categorization of Radioactive Sources Category Activity Ratio A/D Practice 1 A/D ≥ 1000 RTG’s; Irradiators; Teletherapy; Gamma Knife 2 1000>A/D≥10 Industrial gamma radiography Brachytherapy (High and Medium Dose Rate) 3 10>A/D≥ 1 Fixed industrial gauges with high activity sources (level, dredge, conveyor gauges etc.) Well logging gauges 4 1>A/D≥ 0.01 Brachytherapy (LDR except eye plaques & permanent implants) Industrial gauges with lower activity sources (e.g. portable moisture/density gauges) Bone densitometers; Static eliminators 5 0.01>A/D and A>Exempt Brachytherapy (eye pl. & perm implants); XRF devices; Electron capture devices; Mossbauer sources: PET check sources Increasing Risk

Some D values of interest Radionuclide D (TBq) D (Ci) Am-241 0.06 2 Co-60 0.03 0.8 Cs-137 0.1 3 Ir-192 0.08 Sr-90/Y-90 1 30

A little more about the D Value.. A dangerous source is one that could give rise to an exposure sufficient to cause a severe deterministic effect (SDE) (A deterministic effect is one for which a threshold level of dose exists and above it, severity increases with dose) A SDE is fatal or life threatening or causes permanent injury D values are calculated from the quantity of RAM that could give rise to a SDE for given scenarios and dose criteria

D Value: Scenarios and Dose Criteria Scenarios include dispersion due to malevolent acts Unshielded source in hand for 1 hr or pocket for 10 hrs or room for days to weeks Dispersal of source by fire or explosion or human action Dose criteria 1 Gy to bone marrow or 6 Gy to lung in 2 days (low LET) 25 Gy to the lung from inhalation of high LET radiation in one year 5 Gy to the thyroid in 2 days For a source contacting tissue, 25 Gy at a depth of 2 cm For source too big to be carried, a dose of 1 Gy to bone marrow in 100 hrs at a distance of 1 m Page 43-44 of RS-G-1.9

Categorization of Radioactive Sources Category Activity Ratio A/D Practice 1 A/D ≥ 1000 RTG’s; Irradiators; Teletherapy; Gamma Knife 2 1000>A/D≥10 Industrial gamma radiography Brachytherapy (High and Medium Dose Rate) 3 10>A/D≥ 1 Fixed industrial gauges with high activity sources (level, dredge, conveyor gauges etc.) Well logging gauges 4 1>A/D≥ 0.01 Brachytherapy (LDR except eye plaques & permanent implants) Industrial gauges with lower activity sources (e.g. portable moisture/density gauges) Bone densitometers; Static eliminators 5 0.01>A/D and A>Exempt Brachytherapy (eye pl. & perm implants); XRF devices; Electron capture devices; Mossbauer sources: PET check sources Increasing Risk

What the categories mean: Category Plain language description of risk is being close to an individual source Risk in the event at the radioactive material is disbursed by fire or explosion 1 Extremely dangerous to the person Could permanently injure or be life threatening to persons in the immediate vicinity 2 Very dangerous to the person Little or no risk of health effects beyond a hundred meters 3 Dangerous to the person Little or no risk to persons a few meters away 4 Unlikely to be dangerous to the person Could not permanently injure persons 5 Most unlikely to be dangerous to the person Could not permanently injure anyone Source, Table 3 of RS-G-1.9

Category 1 A/D ≥ 1000 Applications: Radioisotopic thermoelectric generators (RTG’s) Industrial Irradiators (e.g. sterilizers and food irradiators) Teletherapy Fixed multi-beam teletherapy (gamma-knife) Seed irradiators

Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) Devices that use sources to generate heat that is converted to electricity to power various devices, often in remote locations 90Sr Activity ranges from: 90Sr 3.3 – 25 PBq (9,000 – 680,000 Ci) Lighthouses, military uses Radioisotope heaters and Extraterrestrial RTGs - Galileo space craft Galileo was an American unmanned spacecraft that studied the planet Jupiter and its moons, as well as several other Solar System bodies. Named after the astronomer Galileo Galilei, it consisted of an orbiter and entry probe. Each GPHS-RTG, mounted on a 5-meter long boom, carried 7.8 kilograms (17 pounds) of 238Pu.[11] Each RTG contained 18 separate heat source modules, and each module encased four pellets of plutonium dioxide, a ceramic material resistant to fracturing. The modules were designed to survive a range of hypothetical accidents: launch vehicle explosion or fire, re-entry into the atmosphere followed by land or water impact, and post-impact situations. An outer covering of graphite provided protection against the structural, thermal, and eroding environments of a potential re-entry. Additional graphite components provided impact protection, while iridium cladding of the fuel cells provided post-impact containment. The RTGs produced about 570 watts at launch. The power output initially decreased at the rate of 0.6 watts per month and was 493 watts when Galileo arrived at Jupiter. A diagram of Galileo's main components. As the launch of Galileo neared, anti-nuclear groups, concerned over what they perceived as an unacceptable risk to the public's safety from Galileo's RTGs, sought a court injunction prohibiting Galileo's launch. RTGs had been used for years in planetary exploration without mishap: the Lincoln Experimental Satellites 8/9, launched by the U.S. Department of Defense, had 7% more plutonium on board than Galileo, and the two Voyager spacecraft each carried 80% as much plutonium as Galileo did. However, activists remembered the messy crash of the Soviet Union's nuclear-powered Cosmos 954 satellite in Canada in 1978

Industrial Irradiators Typically 137Cs or 60Co Activity ranges:190 TBq-560 PBq (5,000–15,000,000 Ci)

Seed Irradiators 137Cs in 100’s of TBq (1000’s Ci) quantities

Blood Irradiators Used to sterilize blood Found in medical or research applications Typically 60Co, 137Cs, 170Tm Activity ranges from: 60Co 56 TBq – 1.9 PBq (1,500 – 50,000Ci) 137Cs 37–440 TBq (1,000–12,000Ci)

Field Identification: Irradiators

Teletherapy Used for treating tumors Found in medical clinics Typically contains 60Co or 137Cs Activity ranges from: 60Co 37–560 TBq (1000–1,5000 Ci) 137Cs 19–56 TBq (500–1,500 Ci)

Abandoned 60Co Teletherapy Device

Teletherapy Source

Category 2 1000>A/D≥10 Applications: Industrial gamma radiography High and medium dose rate brachytherapy Instrument calibration

Industrial Radiography Used to take pictures of dense objects to check for defects Portable 192Ir ,60Co,75Se,169Yb,170Tm Typical activities are 0.19–7.4 TBq (5–200 Ci)

Field Identification: Radiography

Field Identification: Radiography

Brachytherapy (HDR/MDR) Sources placed inside or near a tumor to deliver a large dose to the tumor tissue Radionuclide and activity depends varies based on type of tumor: 137Cs • 198Au 60Co • 125I 192Ir • 252Cf

Instrument Calibration Sources

Category 3 10>A/D≥ 1 Applications: Fixed industrial gauges with high activity sources level gauges dredger gauges conveyor gauges containing large sources spinning pipe gauges Well logging gauges

Industrial Level Gauges

Industrial Gauges Common 137Cs 110 GBq (3 Ci) Contact dose rate up to 75 Sv/h industrial gauges

Field Identification: Level/Density/Flow Gauges

Well logging 241Am/Be 37 GBq (1 Ci) Neutron and gamma dose rate 10 cm from tool up to 2.1 mSv/h

Oil Well Logging Sources

Pacemaker Pu-238 (87.7 years)

Category 4 1>A/D≥ 0.01 Applications: Low dose rate brachytherapy (except 90Sr eye plaques and permanent implant sources) Industrial gauges that incorporate low activity sources Thickness/fill-level gauges Portable gauges (e.g., moisture/density gauges) Bone densitometers Static eliminators High level lightning rod arrestors (154/152Eu)

Beta thickness gauges 147Pm 3.7 GBq (0.1 Ci) Shutter open (beta) Between guide plates up to 10 Sv/h

Field Identification: Thickness Gauges

Thickness and Density Gauge

Source capsules Beta emitter Low energy gamma

Neutron gauges 241Am/Be ~ 1.85 GBq (50 mCi) Neutron and gamma dose rate Contact dose rate up to 30 Sv/h

Moisture Density Gauge Unit can have two sources: Gamma 137Cs or 226Ra Neutron 241AmBe or 252Cf Activity ranges: 137Cs: 300–410 MBq (8 – 11 mCi) 241AmBe: 370–3700 MBq (10–100 mCi) 226Ra: 74–150 MBq (2–4 mCi) 252Cf: 1.1–2.6 MBq (30–70 Ci)

Field Identification: Moisture/Density Gauges

Field Identification: Hydrology Information available on source from the devices shown? Information on device can be used with IAEA Source Catalogue, US NRC Sealed Source and Device Registry – or communicated back to more knowledgeable organization to assist in identifying individual source data

Static Electricity Eliminators

High Level Lightning Rod Arrestors 154/152Eu 2-15 GBq (50-400 mCi) 60Co 18 GBq (500mCi)

Category 5 0.01>A/D and A>Exempt Applications: Low dose-rate brachytherapy eye plaques and permanent implant sources X-ray fluorescence devices Electron capture devices Mossbauer spectrometry PET check sources Low level lightning rod arrestors

Low Activity Sealed Sources X X

Field Identification: X-Ray Fluorescence Devices

Low Level Lightning Rod Arrestors Trade Mark: Nuclear Ibérica Model: Minocptor Sources: Am-241 Trade Mark: Nuclear Ibérica Model: Ionocaptor Sources: Am-241 Trade Mark: Helitita Source: Am-241 Typically 37-370 MBq (1-10 mCi) Tests done in the 1960s with millicurie sized radioactive sources including thoroim and in particular, radium 226 did not indicate any advantage in preventing lightning strikes However in the 1980s again using small radium sources of approximately 0.72 µci seem to indicate some benefit over a simple metal Franklin style lightning rod. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 30, NO. 5, SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 1994 1351 Lightning Protection Systems: Advantages Disadvantages Donald W. Zipse, Fellow, IEEE Trade Mark: Energía Fría Sources: C-14 Trade Mark: : Fair Raythor Sources: Am-241 or Ra-226

Tritium Exit Signs

Field Characterization: Source Markings

Field Characterization: Device Labels Very useful information – especially when coupled with type of device or manufacturer sources are in

International Catalogue of Sealed Radioactive Sources and Devices

Objectives of the Catalogue Two major objectives: To provide vital information for a wide range of individuals and organizations on industrially manufactured radioactive sources and devices To facilitate identification of design specifications based on limited information from orphan sources and devices to allow safe handling of these items

Catalogue entries 10 000 sources, 10 000 devices, 1300 suppliers

Example of Use: “Metal object” in scrap yard. “The length of the cylinder was approximately 20 cm and the diameter 5 cm. The diameter of the screw was 1 cm.” Cyrillic: IBN-8-1 Cyrillic: Year 1986

Source could fit behind “screw”

Characterization: Manufacturers’ Documentation

Characterization: Identify through Measurement Last resort: Dose rate Type of radiation Isotope identifier Quantification? Hand held isotope identification instrumentation typically limited when spectrum is busy or high degrees of resolution are required High occurrences of mis-identification Training and qualification on instrumentation a key to success

Summary Radioactive sources come in a large variety of isotopes, activities and appearances The more hazardous sources are in Categories 1, 2 and 3 There are a number of ways of identifying radioactive sources including: warning signs, labels, measurements and catalogues

More Information on Source Identification IAEA International Catalogue of Sealed Radioactive Sources can help identify a source: Source-Catalogue@iaea.org US DOE Off-Site Source Recovery Project, information and contact information at: http://osrp.lanl.gov IAEA Nuclear Security Series No. 5, Identification of Radioactive Sources and Devices, IAEA, Vienna, 2007 IAEA Web Site: http://iaea.org