Orphan sources pose a risk to people and the environment. The IAEA recently held a regional training course in the Philippines on searching for radioactive orphan sources, with the goal to ensure the safety and health of workers exposed to orphan sources in the field.
Nuclear technologies involving the use of radioactive sources have useful applications in many areas such as agriculture, industry, medicine, research, and education. An orphan source is a radioactive source that is not under regulatory control, usually because it has been abandoned, misplaced, stolen or transferred without proper authorization. Orphan sources pose a risk to people and the environment.
When radioactive sources reach the end of their useful life, they must be properly managed to prevent them from harming people or the environment.
In October 2016, the IAEA held a regional training course in Quezon City, Philippines, on searching for radioactive orphan sources. The week-long training course brought together participants from IAEA Member States and entities in the Asia and Pacific region.
The training course was held within the framework of the ongoing regional IAEA technical cooperation project RAS/9/062, ‘Promoting and Maintaining Regulatory Infrastructures for the Control of Radiation Sources’. The project is being supported in part by financial contributions from the European Union, under a partnership arrangement with the IAEA.
The project is one of five safety-related regional TC projects in the Asia and the Pacific region that are supported by the European Commission through the Nuclear Safety Cooperation Instrument, as part of a larger European Commission initiative to enhance nuclear safety around the world.
The training course covered a wide range of areas, including the methodology for orphan source searches, radiation protection for search teams, and post-discovery actions. It consisted of classroom lectures, desktop analyses and computations, as well as a day-long field exercise during which participants used radiation detection equipment to locate actual radioactive sources.
Thirteen participants from Cambodia, Fiji, Lao P.D.R, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and Territories under the Jurisdiction of Palestine took part in the training, as well as from the Philippines, the host and resource country. The course was implemented by the IAEA’s technical cooperation programme, in collaboration with the Philippines Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI).
“…The eight modules and five exercises were very effective teaching and learning tools that were relevant and constructively aligned with the learning outcomes of the course. I found the field exercise at PNRI to be a very important activity in translating theoretical knowledge about orphan sources and radiation detection equipment into practical know-how.”
- Mr. Raymond Keshwan, Fiji
Through advisory expert missions, training of regulatory personnel and supply of equipment, the IAEA helps Member States to improve their nuclear regulatory infrastructure. The IAEA seeks to foster international cooperation between countries and supports the development of a harmonized approach to radioactive sources management that is consistent with the IAEA Safety Standards, legal instruments and international best practices.
Lectures covered topics such as the categorization and field identification of radioactive sources, administrative and physical searches for orphan sources, basic radiation protection, and the actions to be taken upon finding a source, in particular recovery, transport and conditioning.
The participants had the opportunity to measure radiation doses, identify radioisotopes, calculate radioactivity and estimate shielding, as well as to search for sources and retrieve them safely during the field exercise. They also shared their experiences in radioactive source control. Here, a participant in the training course practices the safe handling of an orphan source.
The training course will increase the safety of workers who are handling radioactive sources in the field.
