DS556 - Safe Use of Unsealed Sources

Status: STEP 3

Neues Dokument

Beteiligte IAEO-Komitees: RASSC, EPReSC, TRANSSC, WASSC, NSGC

Specific Safety Guide

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Background Information

Unsealed radioactive sources are used for various purposes in medicine, industry, agriculture, education and research. Unlike sealed sources, in which the radioactive material is permanently sealed in a capsule, or closely bound and in a solid form, unsealed sources are in a liquid, gas or dispersible solid form and can pose radiation exposure risks if not handled properly. Therefore, it is essential to provide recommendations to ensure protection of people and the environment, and safety of unsealed sources.

The first IAEA Safety Series publication was a manual on Safe Handling of Radionuclides, issued as IAEA Safety Series No. 1 in 1958 (SS-1). It was updated in 1962 and 1973 but it is now superseded, predominantly by IAEA Safety Standards Series No. GSR Part 3, Radiation Protection and Safety of Radiation Sources: International Basic Safety Standards, but also by other safety standards.

However, the part of SS-1 covering unsealed sources is not fully addressed in any existing safety standards. Several Safety Guides have been published that provide recommendations on implementing the requirements of GSR Part 3 on radiation protection and safety of facilities and activities, including some recommendations on unsealed sources, such as GSG-7, Occupational Radiation Protection; GSG-8, Radiation Protection of the Public and the Environment; SSG-46, Radiation Protection and Safety in Medical Uses of Ionizing Radiation; SSG-59, Radiation Safety of Accelerator Based Radioisotope Production Facilities; and SSG-87, Radiation Safety in the Use of Sources in Research and Education. However, the existing Safety Guides do not provide recommendations for all facilities and activities involving unsealed sources.

The objective of the proposed Safety Guide is to provide recommendations on implementing the requirements of GSR Part 3 in relation to the protection of people and the environment from the use of unsealed sources, in accordance with a graded approach. The aim is to support consistency in protection and safe use of unsealed sources, in a varied range of facilities and activities.

The proposed Safety Guide will provide recommendations for implementing the requirements in GSR Part 3 in relation to facilities where unsealed sources are produced, processed or used in medicine, industry, agriculture, education and research. An unsealed source is defined in GSR Part 3 as a radioactive source in which the radioactive material is neither a) permanently sealed in a capsule nor b) closely bonded and in a solid form. The scope of the proposed Safety Guide includes the use of unsealed sources in the form of liquid, gas, or dispersible solids (with the exception of bulk amounts of naturally occurring radioactive material).

The proposed Safety Guide will not duplicate specific recommendations provided in other Safety Guides but will provide necessary reference to these Guides and give context in the overall framework.