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Radioactive Sealed Sources
Any radioactive material that is encased in
a capsule designed to prevent leakage or
escape of the radioactive material is defined
as a sealed source. It is imperative that
all radioactive sources sealed or encapsulated
are properly accounted for and are periodically
checked for leakage.
Registration of Sources: All sources
of radioactive material sealed
or encapsulated, regardless of the activity
must be registered
with EHS. This requirement
applies to sources such as low activity
check sources or sources
which are incorporated into
machines or devices. Be aware that all
Liquid Scintillation Counters contain
radioactive sources.
Leak Testing of Sealed Sources: All
sealed sources containing
100 µCi or more
of Beta or Gamma emitting
radionuclides or 10 µCi or more of alpha
emitting material in any form other
than gas will be tested
for leakage and contamination
by EHS at intervals not to
exceed six months. Exceptions
are
as follows:
- sources containing exclusively hydrogen-3
- sources containing radionuclides with
a half-life
of less than 30 days
- Iridium-192 seeds in
nylon ribbons
- sealed sources
that are no longer in use (i.e., in storage)
Inventory Control: A
physical inventory of all sealed sources
must be conducted at
least annually
by the individual authorized to possess the
source or a designee. The
inventory consists
of the model, serial number if any, location
(room, building) of the
source, and initials
of the individual conducting the inventory.
EHS conducts an annual physical
inventory of
sealed sources in its storage and either
a quarterly or a semi-annual inventory of
sources requiring leak tests.
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