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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)How do I register my unused sealed sources?Unwanted sealed sources may be registered with OSRP in a number of simple ways. Individuals or entities interested in registering sources may contact OSRP by phone, fax, email or snail mail. In order to enter your sources into our tracking database we will need specific info about the facility or site (e.g., location, licensing authority, etc.), contact information (e.g., name, address, phone number, email, etc.), and specific data about each unwanted source (e.g., manufacturer, model, serial number, isotope, activity, etc.). We also encourage people to register sources via our website. Click on “Register Sources” option from the links on the left and follow the instructions to complete the online registration form. What sources are recovered by the OSRP?Prior to November 2000, OSRP focus was environmental clean-up limited to recovering radioactive sealed sources that had no commercial disposal path in the U.S. Such sources were generally classified as Greater Than Class C (GTCC) Low Level Radioactive Waste as defined in 10 CFR 61.55. In practice, this meant recovery of sealed sources containing transuranic isotopes such as Am-241, Pu-238, and Pu-239 with activities greater than 0.5 mCi. These transuranic isotopes were often combined with light elements such as beryllium or lithium to generate neutrons (i.e., Am-241/Be, Pu-238/Be, Pu-239/Be, Am-241/Li and Pu-238/Li). OSRP has also collected Am-241/Be/Cs-137 and Pu-238/Li/Cs-137 combination sources, as well as a few sources containing Cm-244. In November of 2003, the NNSA assumed responsibility for OSRP and the focus of the mission became removal of excess sources that posed a potential threat to public health, safety, and national security. NNSA immediately increased the scope of OSRP work to include the isotopes of concern to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). These additional isotopes are Cs-137, Sr-90, Ir-192, Co-60, and Ra-226. Since 2003, OSRP has continued recovery of actinide/transuranic sources, but has also established the ability to recover and manage these additional non-actinide isotopes. So far, priority has been to concentrate on recovery of very large (over 200 Ci) Cs-137, Co-60 and Sr-90 sources. However, where excess and unwanted sources of lower activity are found at a particular location, consideration is given to the sum total of activity from a security perspective. Licensees holding excess and unwanted sources of any isotope or activity level should check with the OSRP if problems with disposition occur. If OSRP cannot recover the sources directly, the staff can often point out other options that may be helpful. As a general guideline for individual sources, the lower limits of concern are:
What is SCATR?The Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD) and DOE/NNSA have created a program entitled "Source Collection and Threat Reduction" or "SCATR" to collect sources being stored and not used that could - as an aggregate - be used for malicious intent. DOE recognizes that the availability of disposal of such sources is limited and expensive; and has initiated this rare opportunity for licensees to have financial assistance in properly securing and disposing of these sources through this CRCPD program. The SCATR program is limited to sources that do not meet International Atomic Energy Agency’s Category 1 and 2 sources. Examples of sources that would be eligible for the SCATR program include medical brachytherapy sources (137Cs and 226Ra), eye applicators, low activity sources that exceed the NRC 120-day half-life limit for decay-in-storage, long half-life industrial sources and calibration sources. This program is limited to sealed sources, and does not include transuranic isotopes (transuranic sealed sources are recovered directly by OSRP). In addition, sources that have already passed through ten half-lives should not be registered for SCATR. For more information please contact CRCPD, Inc., at www.crcpd.org/SCATR/SCATR.html or (502) 227-4543. For assistance with the source registration process, please contact OSRP. Are sealed sources and special form sources the same thing?No, sealed sources and special form sources are not necessarily the same thing. However, they are related to each other: All special form sources are sealed sources, but not all sealed sources are special form. According to The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), "sealed source" simply means that radioactive material is encased in a capsule designed to prevent leakage or escape of the material. In addition to meeting the definition of a sealed source, "special form" sources must satisfy the following conditions according to 49 CFR 173.403:
Therefore, special form sources are simply sealed sources that have been tested and the “special form” character of the source is certified. For example, an IAEA Certificate of Competent Authority issued by the cognizant agency in a country is a special form certificate showing that the sources listed on the certificate have been designed to meet specific durability testing requirements and are unlikely to release their radioactive contents even under extreme conditions. In order to transport a radioactive source in a Type A container, the shipper is required to have a current copy of the IAEA Special Form Certificate for the source on file. Are there different types/categories of sealed sources?Many different types of sealed sources have been manufactured containing radioisotopes that range in activity from microcuries to thousands of Curies. Much of what OSRP has recovered to date contain actinide series material, such as Pu-239, Pu-238, and Am-241 sealed sources, as well as some other actinide isotopes. Some of these sources also contained light metal such as beryllium or lithium to enhance neutron generation. Irradiation devices, such as Gammators, contain gamma-ray emitting isotopes such as Cs-137 or Co-60. Sr-90 has been used to make radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) where the energy of the beta particle emission is captured as heat, some of which is converted to electricity using thermocouples. What are, or were, sealed sources used for?Sealed sources are used in a wide variety of applications. Many are used for research purposes in educational institutions, in medical applications, and in devices (e.g., thickness, level, density, or moisture gauges). Pu-238 was used in cardiac pacemakers and Am-241 is commonly present in smoke detectors. Some Pu-293 sources were used in nuclear reactor start-up applications, while others, like Am-241/Be neutron sources, have been used as well-logging tools in the oil industry. Pu-238 and Sr-90 sealed sources were also used as batteries or power sources in other applications due to their unique heat generation capabilities.
What information will OSRP request from those registering sources?Once sources have been registered with OSRP using the online registration form, an email confirmation will be sent along with a list of the necessary documents. While all documentation is not required for recovery, it is important to provide OSRP with as much information as possible. Any questions about required documents should be directed to Jerry McAlpin (mcalpin@lanl.gov). What is the status of OSRP recovery efforts?In total, since 1999, OSRP has been able to recover more than 17,000 sources from over 680 sites (including all 50 States, the DC area, Puerto Rico and a number of foreign countries).
See our U.S. recoveries to date
Why do sealed sources need to be recovered?Some sealed source owners or custodians are no longer licensed by the NRC or Agreement States and/or can no longer properly maintain security of sealed sources in their possession. Other sealed sources are beyond their certified life and/or have no disposal option. Sealed source owners have been forced to store these unwanted sealed sources, in some cases for many years. The primary reason for the recovery of sealed sources is that owners have no disposal option for excess and unwanted sources. Recovery of these excess and unwanted radioactive sources is necessary because such entities do not typically have the kind of organized and secure storage necessary to prevent unauthorized access to the radioactive material. Some sources have also been recovered from DOE and DOD sites because OSRP can dispose of them, whereas the site itself may not have disposal capability. How long has OSRP and LANL been recovering sealed sources?LANL began accepting Pu-239/Be neutron sources in 1979 and had been chemically separating Pu-239 material from sealed sources at a Laboratory facility. They had processed about 1100 by 1998, when DOE ended this practice for programmatic reasons. In about January 1999, the DOE management strategy changed to "aggressive source recovery with consolidation of sources in multifunction shielded containers for storage until disposal is made available." OSRP was created to implement the new strategy and has been actively recovering sealed sources from off-site locations since 2001. Who tasked OSRP and LANL with sealed source recovery?DOE's Office of Environmental Management initially created OSRP at LANL and tasked it with recovery and management of all unwanted sealed sources until a disposal pathway could be developed. In October 2003, responsibility for OSRP moved to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) as part of the Global Threat Reduction Initiative with a national security mission to recover all unwanted and excess sealed sources and secure them. Do you have a question we haven't answered? E-mail your question to: osrp@lanl.gov. |
