Waste Technology Section
Management of Disused Sealed Radioactive Sources
Objective:
To increase the capability of Member States to implement safe and cost effective technologies for the management of disused sealed radioactive sources and to assist in the application of the technologies.
Responsible Officer : Mohamed Al-MUGHRABI
Projects:
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Conditioning Disused Sealed Radioactive Sources.
This project has started in 1995. Its main objective is to provide direct assistance to Member States. This is done by either providing an expert team and the required infrastructure (mobile kit) to condition and render sources safe and secure or by providing the technical know-how and missing equipment for a national team to conduct such operation(s). The project also deals with return of sources to suppliers for reuse or recycling. Details....
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Building Capacity in Member States to Manage Disused Sealed Radioactive Sources.
The project component that deals with building capacity concentrates on providing assistance to Member States to help erect the right sealed sources processing facility in the country. A generic design exists and can be modified according to the specific technical status and requirements of the Member State. The project also concentrates on training local experts to be able to conduct sealed sources conditioning operations and provide them with the technical procedures, know-how and the software that allows them to keep track of the sources. Under this project a number of activities to help other stakeholders to identify and properly deal with such sources are being carried out. Examples of these steak holders are customs authorities, boarder controls, etc. Details....
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Borehole disposal of Sealed Radioactive Sources (BOSS).
A perspective issue that is being currently evaluated is the assessment of potential disposal options for disused radioactive sources, paying particular attention to the borehole technology. The most benefit of this technology is seen in safe disposal of disused sealed sources, but it may be recommended to any country without any other disposal option that generates small volume of radioactive waste. Taking into consideration high radioactivity and content of long lived radionuclides typical for certain types of sealed sources, some Member States consider boreholes as an additional disposal facility co-located to a near surface repository. The technology is being transmitted with TC support to a number of Member States from several regions, including Africa, South America and Asia. Details ...