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Cradle to Grave Control of Radioactive Sources:

The ARCAL Regional Effort

J.M.R. Antoine1, C.N. Grant1, H.T. Dennis1

1International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences, Kingston, Jamaica

E-mail contact of main author:

Abstract.Several countries in the Caribbean and Latin America utilize sealed radioactive sources (SRS), in some cases with weak or no regulatory infrastructure. Through the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Regional Technical Cooperation Project“Strengthening Cradle-to-Grave Control of Radioactive Sources”, these member states are approaching the issue of disused SRS in a holistic manner. The desired outcomes of the project are the population and maintenance of a national registry of SRS, the collection of Disused SRS for safe and secure storage in a national repository; the establishment and/or improvement of legal and regulatory frameworks to address the control of radioactive sources, the raising of national awareness at all levels of SRS and the fostering of international cooperation among member states.

Key words:Orphan Sources, Disused Sealed Radioactive Sources,ARCAL, Cradle to Grave Control

  1. Introduction

Sealed radioactive sources (SRS) are used by almost every country in the world for a variety of beneficial uses. In agriculture radioactive sources are used to induce mutations in the seeds of plants leading to beneficial characteristics, food safety aspects such as destroying bacteria that may be harmful if consumed and irradiation to extend the post-harvest shelf life of produce. Industrial uses of radioactive sources include but are not limited to moisture and density gauges for various materials including soils and building materials, elemental analysis of materials, mineral and fuel exploration and smoke detection. Medical applications include well-known x-ray imaging but is also extends to computerized axial tomography (CAT) and computer tomography (CT) scans and further to brachytherapy for cancer treatment.

The life cycle of radioactive sources begins with production and should end with decommissioning, storage and disposal when the source becomes disused i.e. “cradle-to-grave.” At the beginning of the life cycle and when in use, radioactive sources are usually properly maintained and under strict administrative control. However, when a radioactive source becomes disused, as a result of being spent or otherwise, it is the most vulnerable part of the life cycle [1]. At this point, if there is not adequate administrative or regulatory control there is a distinct possibility that the source can become orphan. This is defined as “a radioactive source that poses sufficient radiological hazard to warrant regulatory control, but which is not under regulatory control because it has never been so, or because it has been abandoned, lost, misplaced, stolen or otherwise transferred without proper authorization [2].”

The Regional Co-operation agreement for the Promotion of Nuclear Science and Technology in Latin America and the Caribbean (ARCAL) unfortunately, is familiar with the consequences of orphan sources when an SRS is not managed appropriately. The radiological incident in Goiania, Brazil has been described as one of the worst radiological accidents in history. The inadvertent dispersal of a discarded 137Cs medical source resulted in casualties and fatalities [3,4]. Several countries in the Caribbean and Latin American region utilize SRS. Economies of scale have in part hindered the full development of appropriate controls in the use of these SRS, sometimes with disastrous results. Incidents of overexposure during cancer treatment in Panama and Trinidad and Tobago illustrated the need for increased capacity in the regulation and use of radioactive sources [5,6]. Furthermore, in this region several countries in the Caribbean and Central America have only recently become member states of the IAEA. Honduras (2003), Belize (2006), Dominica and Trinidad & Tobago (2012), Bahamas (2014) and Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda and Barbados (2015) are all recent member states [7] and therefore were unaware or unable to easily access the resources that could be drawn upon from regional and international experts, training courses and meetings to increase capacity and fill knowledge gaps.

Because of the small populations of many Caribbean countries and the consequent limited human capital with adequate knowledge and training, it would be unfeasible to maintain entirely individual programmes dedicated solely to the continuous control and management of radioactive sources throughout their life cycle. Realizing that a more efficient approach would be a regional effort, several Caribbean and Latin American countries, through an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Regional Technical Cooperation Project; “Strengthening Cradle-to-Grave Control of Radioactive Sources”, are approaching the management of SRS, disused SRS (DSRS) and radioactive waste management in a cooperative manner to ensure the safety and security of radioactive sources.

  1. Project Scope and Objectives

The project involves nine (9) member states including Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Honduras, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela, with Jamaica playing the role of lead country.

Various stakeholders from each member state will be approached at different stages to address the challenges key to their specific interests, related to the management of DSRS. Since the project follows a holistic approach this will not however be done in isolation. One of the key aspects of the project is its transparency and coordination. The project focuses firstly on policy and strategy in order to build a solid framework for regulators and operators to act and exercise their functions. Once this framework is established, the project targets in parallel, both operators and regulators. Depending on the specific needs of the country, more emphasis will be placed on the stakeholder with the greater need. The second focus of the project will be capacity building and knowledge exchange facilitated by training, experience sharing and expert support [8].

The project will have five main outputs for each participating member state, each covering different aspects of the management of radioactive sources:

1. Inventoryincluding current status (in use, decommissioned, etc.) of all radioactive sourcesis developed and in place

2. DSRS collected, conditioned, and safely and securely stored

3. Appropriate governmental, legal and regulatory framework on radioactive sources is established and/or improved

4. International Cooperation mechanisms promoted

5. Awareness raised on the benefits and risk of SRS

  1. Project Approach and Challenges

The IAEA’s Technical Cooperation Project INT/9/176, “Strengthening Cradle to Grave Control of Radioactive Sources in the Mediterranean Region” has already established a template for the ARCAL project [9]. The scope and approach of the project seeks to address gaps in the national legislative and regulatory frameworks, policies and strategies of the member states in order to effectively control and manage radioactive sources throughout their life cycle. An integrated strategy engages all relevant stakeholders including regulators, operators and policy makers along with experts in a forum that allows for capacity building and the exchange of knowledge and experience. This platform is expected to result in the development of national policies and strategies appropriate to the needs and circumstances of each member state to achieve sustainable “cradle-to-grave” control of radioactive sources while also addressing the issue on a regional level. The project also provides a platform for international cooperation between Caribbean countries to address matters of common interest and allowing member states to meet their specific needs while developing a strategy that does not conflict with regional goals [8].

Many Caribbean countries have weak or no legal or regulatory framework governing the use of ionizing radiation and by extension radioactive sources. The IAEA have given guidance in relevant documents such as the Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources [10], although this document is not legally binding. None of the English speaking Caribbean countries have policies for the decommissioning, storage, disposal or repatriation of radioactive sources at the end of their life cycle. Despite the existence of regional cooperation bodies such as CARICOM for example, there is still a need for greater awareness among Caribbean countries to address common problems such as the regulated and unregulated movement of sources and radioactively contaminated materials, inter alia, notification, authorization and denial of shipments, import and export of sources, repatriation of contaminated material detected at borders and transit conditions [8]. Because of the relatively small landmass of many Caribbean countries and resultant proximity to sensitive environments and ability to provide adequate security, the storage and disposal of radioactive sources, may have particular challenges. It is also possible that aspects of cooperation could extend to the en bloc negotiation of repatriation of DSRS rather than as individual member states.

  1. Concluding Remarks

It is expected that the implementation of the project will result in the improvement of the capacity to manage radioactive sources throughout their life cycle. This outcome is expected through the establishment of national policies and strategies and where appropriate the enactment of legal instruments and regulations to enforce such policies especially with regard to disused sealed radioactive sources. Since the Caribbean has several countries that have little or in some cases no regulatory capacity, another outcome that is expected is the establishment of regulatory bodies for the management of DSRS where there were previously none and the enhanced capacity of regulatory bodies that were in existence prior to the project. This improvement in capability should be as a direct result of training of the regulators and other relevant stakeholders including radioactive waste managers in methods of pre-disposal, disposal and storage as well as safety and security assessment measure. The use of SRS has several important benefits for society; this is no different for the Caribbean and Latin America. The use of SRS in many cases has predated the establishment of laws, regulations and other management tools to ensure their safe and secure operation, use, transport and disposal. However, the consequences of improperly controlled SRS are well documented and so it is imperative that radioactive sources are brought under proper administrative control from cradle-to-grave. The need for this control is even more necessary when considering DSRS and the potential in the weakly regulated or unregulated system for the DSRS to become an orphan source. A proper, harmonized and comprehensive control of DSRS is fundamental to ensure the safe use of radioactive sources in the Caribbean region and this project can provide an initiating step towards this goal.

Appendix 1: References

[1]DIXIT, A. “Advocating for Strong ‘Cradle to Grave’ Control of Radioactive Sources” IAEA Office of Public Information and Communication.

[2]INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Strengthening Control over Radioactive Sources in Authorized Use and Regaining Control of Orphan Sources -National Strategies, IAEA-TECDOC-1388, Vienna (2004).

[3]INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, The Radiological Accident in Goiânia, IAEA Publications, Vienna (1988).

[4]INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Dosimetric and medical aspects of the radiological accident in Goiânia in 1987, IAEA-TECDOC-1009, Vienna (1998).

[5]INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Investigation of an Accidental Exposure of Radiotherapy Patients in Panama, IAEA Publications, Vienna (2001).

[6]BAAL, R. “IAEA to conduct radiation tests on TT cancer patients” Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.

[7]INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY. IAEA Member states,

[8]GRANT, C.N. et al, “Strengthening Cradle-to-Grave Control of Radioactive Sources in the Caribbean Region.” X Latin American Regional IRPA Congress on Radiation Protection and Safety, 12 to 17 April, 2015, Buenos Aires, Argentina

[9]RECIO, M. Strengthening Cradle-to-Grave Control of Radioactive Sources in the Mediterranean Region” Technical Cooperation Project INT/9/176, 57th IAEA General Conference Side Event, Vienna (2013).

[10]INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources, IAEA/CODEOC/2004, Vienna (2004).