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The National Source Tracking System and Interim Inventory

The National Source Tracking System (NSTS) will be a secure Web-based system to allow NRC licensees to record certain types of radioactive source transfers directly over the Internet. Until the NSTS becomes available, the NRC and Agreement States will continue using an interim database to record snapshots of data. The interim database has been in use since 2004 and currently meets the U.S. Government's commitment to implement a national source registry described in the International Atomic Energy Agency's Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources.

On this page

• Benefits of the NSTS
• History of the NSTS and Interim Inventory
• About Sealed Sources
• NRC Rule on the NSTS
• Related Documents
• Related Letters

Benefits of the NSTS

The National Source Tracking System (NSTS) will

• enhance accountability for radioactive sources by helping the NRC and Agreement States
  • conduct inspections and investigations,
  • communicate nationally tracked source information to other government agencies, and
  • verify legitimate ownership and use of nationally tracked sources; and
• provide an efficient and secure means over the Internet for licensees to report transfers of nationally tracked sources.

History of the NSTS and Interim Inventory

In July 2002, the NRC and the Department of Energy (DOE) established the Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD, or “dirty bombs”) working group to investigate how to improve the control of nuclear material.  In May 2003, the DOE/NRC report was issued titled "Radiological Dispersal Devices: An Initial Study to Identify Radioactive Materials of Greatest Concern and Approaches to Their Tracking, Tagging, and Disposition."  The quantities of concern identified in the DOE/NRC report are similar to the IAEA Code of Conduct Category 2 threshold values, so to allow alignment between domestic and international efforts to increase the safety and security of radioactive sources. NRC has adopted the IAEA list of isotopes and Category 2 values.

To track these radioactive source transfers in a timely manner, the RDD working group recommended that a Web-based National Source Tracking System (NSTS) be developed, allowing applicable radioactive source transfers to be recorded directly by licensees using the Internet.  The NRC determined that the sources to be tracked nationally are Category 1 and Category 2 sources, as described by the IAEA Code of Conduct.

The NSTS is being developed through close cooperation with other Federal and State agencies.  Once fully operational, the NSTS will enhance the accountability of radioactive sources as described under Benefits, above.

The RDD working group recommended that an interim database of sources be created and used until the NSTS is developed.  The interim inventory has been performed annually since 2004 to obtain the data for the interim database.  The interim database does not track material, but provides a “snap shot” at the time of data collection.  This information has been useful in assessing the quantities and distributions of sources across the nation and in identifying potential security risks.

About Sealed Sources

The sources described above are considered sealed sources because they are encapsulated to prevent leakage or escape of the material.  Specialized devices have been designed to use these sources in a safe and effective manner.  Based on analysis of the interim database, there are an estimated 5,000 devices containing an estimated 54,000 nationally-tracked sources in the United States.

These devices include irradiators, radiography cameras, well-logging devices, stereotactic radiosurgical devices, and teletherapy devices.  The most common radionuclides used in these devices include, but are not limited to, Cobalt-60, Cesium-137, Iridium-192 and Americium-241. To learn more about uses of material, see our Medical, Industrial, and Academic Uses of Nuclear Materials.

NRC Rule on the NSTS

In November 2006, the NRC issued the final rule incorporating the NSTS into its regulations.  The rule also implements provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.  It requires

• manufacturers to assign a unique serial number ot each nationally tracked source and
• each licensee to
  • report information on the manufacture, transfer, receipt or disposal of sources of interest to the NSTS, to be administered by the NRC;
  • provide its initial inventory of nationally tracked sources to the NSTS; and
  • annually verify and reconcile the information in the system with the licensee’s actual inventory.

Related Documents

• NSTS Final Rule
• DOE/NRC Report: Radiological Dispersal Devices
• NRC staff paper to NRC Commissioners on the tracking of certain sources
• Commission response to the NRC staff paper on the tracking of certain sources

Related Letters

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Tuesday, May 15, 2007