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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

The Off-Site Source Recovery Program Capabilities in Recovering Transuranic Sealed Sources - 17599

Over the past 16 years, the mission of the Off-Site Source Recovery Program (OSRP) has been recovering disused radioactive sealed sources in the interest of national security, public health and safety. This program, which is sponsored by the National Nuclear Security Administration's Office of Global Material Security's Office of Radiological Security, is managed at Los Alamos National Laboratory and Idaho National Laboratory and has recovered sources worldwide. To date, OSRP has recovered more than 38,000 sources from over 1,300 locations worldwide. Since its inception, OSRP has grown from recovering only sealed sources containing one transuranic (TRU) isotope, Pu-239, in the early days of the program, to recovering sealed sources containing several other TRU and non-TRU isotopes. Primarily, OSRP's mission includes Pu-238, Pu-239, Am-241, Cf-252, Cm-244, Sr-90, Cs-137, Co-60, Ir-192 and Ra-226 sources that are US-origin, defense related and not commercially disposable. Over the lifetime of this program the types of recoveries performed have expanded from a single site to multi-site round-up recoveries. An additional approach, referred to as self-ship recoveries, is also used in cases where only a few sources may be present at a licensee's site. In these situations, the licensee ships their source(s) to an OSRP staging facility for ultimate consolidation and disposal. OSRP recovers sources from many types of licensees, with the majority of sources being removed from industry, universities and hospitals. These include sealed sources used in industrial radiological devices like moisture-density gauges and thickness gauges, medical devices such as blood irradiators and radiotherapy devices and sealed sources from nuclear power plants, among others. The recovery and management of sealed sources is a complex process covering multidisciplinary areas, including source construction, characteristics of the radioactive material, source packaging and transportation per DOT regulations, safe and secure storage, and final disposition per waste acceptance criteria of repository sites. (authors)

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Radiological Risk From Disused Radioactive Sealed Sources in Egypt - 19083

Sealed sources are radioactive nuclear substances encased in a sealed capsule or in a cover to which the substance is bonded, and are used for a variety of activities, such as medical, industrial, academic and research, as well as commercial applications. While most sources are of relatively low activity, there are many of medium or very high activity. In use radioactive sealed sources after time become disused sources according to several reasons like, if the source activity became less than the desired activity (unfit for the intended application), if the model of the instrument became old fashion and no longer uses, if the source had been damaged, and if the user company was shut down and no longer in business. In developing countries, thousands of radium needles, teletherapy sources, oil well logging neutron sources, and miscellaneous industrial radioactive gauges are annually collected as waste and stored in centralized waste facilities. Although these sources become disused, it still dangerous and the mismanagement of high activity sources is responsible for most of the radiological accidents that result in loss of life or disabling injuries. On the other hand, these sources may be a target for criminal acts in countries where final disposal options are unavailable. Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA) represented in Hot Labs and Waste Management Center (HLWMC) is responsible by the national nuclear law (law No. 7 /2010) for management of all kinds of radioactive waste including disused radioactive sealed sources from all Egyptian territories. Categorization of disused sources is necessary to ensure that the controls and security measures that are applied to the sources are adequate with its radiological risk. The aim of this work is to use the international Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) categorization system to provide a simple, logical system for grading disused radioactive sealed sources in Egypt as well as to update the inventory of such sources which already collected as waste in Egypt. The categorizations of radioactive sealed sources are based on their potential to cause harm to human health. This study revealed that nearly 980 sources have been defined in Egypt as disused sources with a total activity of 46100 Ci according to available data in July 2018. (author)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2016

Sealed Source Security Challenges and Solutions: The Impact of Increased Commercial Disposal Access - 16557

Several recent developments have transformed the sealed source disposal landscape in the United States in ways unimaginable just a few years ago, including the initiation of operations at the first new commercial LLRW facility to open in the United States in decades; publication by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of revised commercial low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) disposal guidance; and the development and certification by the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) of new transportation package designs for high-activity sources/devices. These developments will likely enable LLRW generators to dispose of risk-significant radioactive sealed sources that for decades have been without a commercial disposal pathway. However, challenges remain with regard to ensuring that these new commercial disposal pathways are effective, and that sealed source licensees take advantage of the new options in a timely manner. These challenges include costs related to both transportation and disposal that are likely much higher than most generators expected when they purchased their sources. DOE/NNSA is actively engaged with Federal, State, regional, private sector partners to address these challenges, including measures to encourage financial planning for end-of-life management of radioactive sealed sources. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2016

Special Analysis for the Disposal of the Idaho National Laboratory Contact Handled Sealed Sources Waste Stream at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site, Nevada National Security Site, Nye County, Nevada

This special analysis (SA) evaluates whether the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Contact Handled Sealed Sources waste stream is suitable for disposal by shallow land burial at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS) on the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). The INL Contact Handled Sealed Sources waste stream consists of sealed radioactive sources. The INL Contact Handled Sealed Sources waste stream requires an SA to determine whether the Area 5 RWMS can accept radium-226 ( 226 Ra), tritium ( 3 H), and europium-152 ( 152 Eu) at activity concentrations exceeding the NNSS Waste Acceptance Criteria Action Levels and whether to accept four long-lived radionuclides (curium-247 [ 247 Cm], 250 Cm, californium-249 [ 249 Cf], 251 Cf) without action levels.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2022

Engineering Evaluation of Barium Buildup in a Decayed CsCl Sealed Source and Potential Impact for Cesium Release from a Breached Source

For more than 50 years, radioactive 137 Cs has been a major source material for radioactive sealed sources, usually constructed as cesium chloride (CsCl) salt loaded into double-walled, stainless-steel capsules. A complication develops as 137 Cs decays to 137 Ba since this process creates a strongly reducing environment inside the capsule. A potential hazard exists if the capsule is breached and air ingress induces rapid exothermic oxidation, and this mechanism is suspected to be responsible for the well-known contamination incident at the Harbor View facility in Washington state. For this study, many thermodynamic evaluations were performed to assess the internal state of capsules after several decades of decay and to describe the potential oxidation if the capsule contents were to suddenly be exposed to air. Results suggest that reduction of impurities such as Cu, Fe, Pb, and Cr to metal will occur. If these impurities are lacking, it is possible that even Ba metal will form. In most cases, rapid oxidation can occur, and the exothermic reactions are sufficient to vaporize portions of the contents, which would include the remaining 137 Cs.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Special Analysis for the Disposal of the Materials and Energy Corporation Sealed Sources at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site

This special analysis (SA) evaluates whether the Materials and Energy Corporation (M&EC) Sealed Source waste stream (PERM000000036, Revision 0) is suitable for shallow land burial (SLB) at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS) on the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). Disposal of the M&EC Sealed Source waste meets all U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Manual DOE M 435.1-1, “Radioactive Waste Management Manual,” Chapter IV, Section P performance objectives (DOE 1999). The M&EC Sealed Source waste stream is recommended for acceptance without conditions.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2018

UNREVIEWED DISPOSAL QUESTION EVALUATION: Disposal of the Sandia National Laboratories Sealed Sources at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site, Nevada National Security Site, Nye County, Nevada

This Unreviewed Disposal Question Evaluation (UDQE) assesses whether the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) Sealed Sources >100 microcuries (μCi) (ASLA000000030, Revision 1 [SNL 2018]) is suitable for shallow land burial (SLB) at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS) on the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). Disposal of the SNL Sealed Sources waste stream meets all performance objectives of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Manual DOE M 435.1-1, Radioactive Waste Management Manual, Chapter IV, Section P (DOE 1999). The SNL Sealed Sources waste stream is recommended for acceptance without conditions.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2018

DOE/NNSA Efforts to Facilitate the Disposal of Risk Significant Sealed Sources - 18590

Commercial disposal of high-activity Class B and C disused sources has been particularly challenging in the U.S. For many years, a lack of disposal facility access, a shortage of certified of Type B transportation containers, and outdated regulatory guidance had effectively relegated a large number of risk-significant sources to indefinite storage. Progress has been made in all of these efforts. The DOE/NNSA Office of Radiological Security (ORS) and the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD) Source Collection and Threat Reduction (SCATR) piloted the commercial disposal of a high-activity Cs- 137 source. To facilitate implementation of the NRC's revised waste classification guidance on sealed sources. Disposal of the 560 Ci blood irradiator at the U.S. Ecology facility in Richmond has helped to establish the availability of disposal access for similar sources under the 'alternative approach' provisions of the NRC's 2015 Concentration Averaging and Encapsulation Branch Technical Position (CA BTP). However, while these developments are significant for making disposal access available, the available information suggests that commercial sealed source users continue to keep disused sources in storage. This may be due to remaining uncertainty regarding disposal access, or due to the high cost of commercial disposal. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2019

Safe and Secure Management of Disused Radioactive Sealed Sources in Egypt - 19063

Radioactive sources offer many benefits in medicine, industry and education but the lack of appropriate long-term management when they eventually become disused has led to accidents, in some cases with serious consequences, and increased their vulnerability for use in a malicious act. This lack is evident in the absence of clearly defined policy and strategy, responsibilities and resources to meet those responsibilities for safe, secure and sustainable management of disused sources. The strengthening of national legislative and regulatory infrastructures globally has led to major improvements in the protection and control of radioactive sources. Nevertheless, in many countries, radioactive sources were in use before such infrastructures had been developed or adequately strengthened and were therefore not under regulatory control. The paper presents some aspects from Egyptian experience related to safe and secure measures for management of Cs-137, Ra-226 and Co-60 sealed sources. Data relating to the disused radioactive sealed sources, DSRS inventory as well as the arrangements made in order to prepare for conditioning of sources is presented. The efforts made by technical staff and radiation protection team for all arrangements and details such as conditioning set-up, working area, leakage test, certified stainless capsules, radiation protection measures and sources characterization in addition to all security measures for stored DSRS are also presented. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2019

Unreviewed Disposal Question Evaluation: Disposal of the Perma-Fix Environmental Services Macroencapsulated Sealed Sources at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site, Nevada National Security Site, Nye County, Nevada

This Unreviewed Disposal Question Evaluation assesses whether the Perma-Fix Environmental Services Macroencapsulated Sealed Sources is suitable for shallow land burial at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site on the Nevada National Security Site. Disposal of the waste stream meets all performance objectives in DOE M 435.1-1, “Radioactive Waste Management Manual,” Chapter IV, Section P. The Perma-Fix Environmental Services Macroencapsulated Sealed Sources waste stream is recommended for acceptance without conditions.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2026

Financial Exposure After a Sealed-Source Release: Insurance Limits, Federal Cost Pathways, and Implications for Gamma Irradiator Substitution

This report assesses whether private insurance and existing federal authorities would likely provide meaningful financial protection to private operators of self-shielded gamma irradiators after a major sealed-source release. It does not answer this question quantitatively because publicly observable data on premiums, limits, uptake, and claims outcomes for this risk class appear sparse. Instead, it uses a qualitative structural analysis based on prior literature, review of relevant federal authorities, limited observable insurance-market evidence, expert outreach, and historical analogs. The analysis finds that available public and private mechanisms do not combine into a clear, dependable, or readily verifiable compensation structure for ordinary private sealed-source operators. Institutions therefore should not assume that either insurance or government response will make them financially whole after a severe incident. Source reduction and replacement remain more dependable than post-event financial mechanisms for reducing institutional exposure and broader radiological risk.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Development of New Type-B Containers and the 'Alternative Approach' Disposal of High-Activity Sealed Sources - 17385

The DOE/NNSA Office of Radiological Security (ORS) is undertaking two projects to enable the recovery and disposal of high-activity sealed sources. First, ORS has completed the development, certification, and fabrication of a new Type B package to support the recovery and transportation of high-activity sources commonly used in irradiators and cancer treatment devices. A second design is currently undergoing certification. The new containers will enable DOE/NNSA shipment of nearly 100 percent of all commercially used devices containing Cs-137 and Co-60, which are particularly significant from a National security, public health, and safety standpoint. Second, ORS and the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD) Source Collection and Threat Reduction (SCATR) are piloting the commercial disposal of a high-activity device under the NRC's revised guidance on concentration averaging and encapsulation. The Cs-137 blood irradiator is being proposed for disposal at the U.S. Ecology facility in Richland, WA. The project is intended to serve as a model for commercial disposal of similar Class C sources that for decades have been without a commercial disposal pathway. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2017

End-of-Life Management for Disused Sealed Sources - 17343

This presentation will examine the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Radiological Security's efforts both domestically and internationally to facilitate proper end of life management strategies for disused sealed sources, as well as present day opportunities and challenges. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2018

Richard Hodes Memorial Award Lecture - Development and Certification of New Type-B Containers for the Recovery of High-Activity Sealed Sources - 18710

The US Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Off-Site Source Recovery Program (OSRP) has successfully completed a project to design, test, and certify two new Type-B transportation packages. Since about 2011 a shortage of these containers has significantly constrained the recovery and disposal of commercially licensed high activity radioactive sealed sources. These new packages will enable NNSA/OSRP to transport a majority of the high-activity Cs-137 and Co-60 devices encountered in the coming years and decades. The 435-B is an unshielded, leak-tight container, which can be used to ship common shielded devices, such as the teletherapy source drawers and irradiators that contain high-activity Co-60 and Cs-137 sources. The 380-B is a much larger, leak-tight, lead-shielded Type B cask capable of transport by truck, rail, ship, or air. Additionally, to encourage and facilitate the development of transportation capacity, DOE/NNSA intends to make the design documentation available at no cost to commercial vendors. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2020

Summary of Forensic Examinations in Support of Breach Sealed Source Event at Harborview Medical Facility on 2 May 2019

On May 2, 2019, International Isotopes, Inc. (INIS), a subcontractor to Triad National Security, LLC (contractor for Los Alamos National Laboratory) breached a sealed radioactive source containing ~2800 Ci of the radioactive isotope cesium-137 ( 137 Cs) at the University of Washington Harborview Research and Training (HRT) Building in downtown Seattle while attempting to recover the source for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA’s) Off-site Source Recovery Program (OSRP). The breach of the source resulted in the contamination of 13 personnel, all 7 floors of the building, and a release of material to the environment. A summary of root and contributing causes of the event was investigated and published by a joint investigation team (JIT) co-led by NNSA and Triad National Security, LLC. That investigation was supported by forensics examinations provided by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. This report summarizes the results of those forensic examinations.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Retrieval, Disposal, and Disposition of Legacy 252 Cf Sealed Sources

In this article, we describe work performed on behalf of the US Department of Energy (DOE) to disposition 467 government-owned, sealed californium-252 ( 252 Cf) sources located at 52 academic and government research sites. These sources are the legacy of the DOE 252 Cf Loan/Lease Program, which operated from the late 1960s until 2008, when the loan program closed abruptly. Although the DOE took decades to fabricate and distribute the sources, best safety and nuclear accountability practices demanded retrieval or disposition of all loaned sources as soon as achievable after the loan program was closed. An adaptable disposition approach was developed, and disposition of the sources was pursued. The approach involved a combination of source retrievals, disposal actions, and source ownership transfers. A new shielded shipping container was designed and deployed to aid in source retrievals. In a couple cases, incomplete source fabrication and shipping records prevented shipment, and those sources were left indefinitely with the customer in a safe configuration. Lastly, all the sources in the inventory were safely dispositioned in some way, and lessons learned from this effort are provided.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗