About This Project
THE NEED FOR PROPER MANAGEMENT AND DISPOSITION
Project Details
The US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) asked the LLW Forum’s Disused Sources Working Group (DSWG) to evaluate the impact that the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) 2015 revision to the Branch Technical Position (BTP) on Concentration Averaging and Encapsulation has had on the disposal of radioactive sealed sources.
A disused source is any sealed source of radioactive material that is not currently being utilized and will never be utilized again for the original intended purpose.
There are approximately 2 million sealed sources and tens of thousands of disused sources in the United States.
Due to the increasing use of radioactive sources within the United States along with the lack of a comprehensive database and tracking system, it has become relatively easy to obtain sealed sources. The sources could be utilized individually or in aggregate in a radiological dispersion device or in a radiation exposure device.
In September 2011, at the request of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration/Global Threat Reduction Initiative (NNSA/GTRI), the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Forum (LLW Forum) formed the Disused Sources Working Group (DSWG). The working group, which was comprised of eight Directors of the LLW Forum, solicited input from a broad range of stakeholders at 19 meetings over a 30-month period.
The DSWG has developed 24 recommendations to be considered by States, Federal agencies and industry representatives in implementing individual contributions towards a timely and comprehensive solution.