DOE N 5400.9, Sealed Radioactive Source Accountability

U.S. Department of Energy NOTICE Washington, D.C. DOE N 5400.9 12-24-91 EXPIRES: 12-24-95 SUBJECT: SEALED RADIOACTIVE SOURCE ACCOUNTABILITY 1. PURPOSE. To establish Department of Energy (DOE) interim policy and to provide guidance for sealed radioactive source accountability. 2. SCOPE. The interim policy described in this Notice applies to all Departmental Elements and contractors performing work for the Department as provided by law and/or contract and as implemented by the appropriate contracting officer. 3. BACKGROUND. The need for issuing Departmental policy and guidance is based upon numerous reported improper storage, transfers, and loss of accountability of sealed radioactive sources at several Departmental facilities. This Notice sets forth interim features of a source accountability system that will be discussed in greater detail in a guidance document being developed for release in January 1992. 4. AUTHORITY. a. Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety and Health (EH). The Secretary of Energy, in SEN-6D-91, DEPARTMENTAL ORGANIZATIONAL AND MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS, of 5-16-91, delegated to the Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety and Health the authority to develop policy related to environmental protection, radiation safety, worker safety, and those aspects of public health and safety that deal with radiological protection. b. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Naval Reactors (NE-60). Executive Order 12344, statutorily prescribed by P.L. 98-525 (42 USC 7158, note), establishes the responsibilities and authorities of the Director, Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program (who is also the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Naval Reactors within the Department) over all facilities and activities which comprise the Program, a joint Navy-DOE organization. These responsibilities include prescribing and enforcing standards and regulations for the control of radiation and radioactivity (associated with Program facilities and activities) as they affect the safety and health of workers, operators and the general public. In view of these responsibilities, the provisions of this Notice do not apply to Naval Reactors. 5. DEFINITIONS. a. Accountable Sealed Radioactive Source is a sealed source with an activity equal to or greater than those listed in the attached Table 1. b. Exempted Radioactive Materials are radioactive materials exempted from accountability under this policy, but are subject to the requirements of DOE 5480.11, RADIATION PROTECTION FOR OCCUPATIONAL WORKERS. Exempted radioactive materials include: materials in process, activated shielding materials, liquid and gaseous sources. Materials defined as consumer products (e.g., exit signs, smoke detectors, welding rods, etc.) are not subject to DOE 5480.11. c. Exempted Sealed Radioactive Source is a sealed source with a half-life of less than 30 days or an activity less than the values for various radionuclides in the attached Table 1.

d. Sealed Radioactive Source is radioactive material that is contained in a sealed capsule, sealed between layers of nonradioactive material, or firmly fixed to a nonradioactive surface by electroplating or other means. The confining barrier prevents dispersion of the radioactive material under normal and most accidental conditions related to use of the source. e. Source Custodian is an individual that is responsible for physical control of the sealed source and for physical inventory of the sealed sources assigned to him. f. Source Integrity Test is a test to determine if a sealed radioactive source is leaking radioactive material. The test must be capable of detecting the presence of 0.005 micro Ci (200 Bq) or less of radioactive material on the test sample. 6. IMPLEMENTATION. a. Each facility that possesses or uses sealed radioactive sources shall establish procedures that will address inventory, receipt, labeling, control, storage, transfer, disposal, recordkeeping, training, surveying, and integrity testing consistent with the provisions of this Notice for sealed radioactive sources. In keeping with the Secretary's previous direction that line organizations are fully responsible for operating programs related to environmental protection, radiation safety, and worker and public health and safety, each program office shall maintain direct responsibility for ensuring the establishment of programs for sealed radioactive source accountability. b. DOE 5480.11 will be modified to incorporate the changes outlined in this Notice. 7. PROCEDURES. a. Source Inventory (1) The Radiation Protection Organization shall maintain or cause to be maintained the records related to the accountability of sealed radioactive sources for the facility. The Radiation Protection Organization shall as a minimum provide or cause to be provided to each source custodian an inventory, list of sources assigned to them, provide integrity testing, assist the source custodian in training users, survey storage areas, and provide guidance on control and disposal of leaking sources. (2) Records related to the accountability of sealed radioactive sources for a facility shall as a minimum be organized into a single filing system. A comprehensive system may require a combination of media (paper, microfilm, magnetic media, etc.). The system shall maintain both original and updated information related to the sealed sources including such data as: radionuclide, physical and chemical form, manufacturer, date of receipt, shipping records, source custodian (with local address, and telephone number), location of source, amount of activity, date of assay, source model and serial number (and device containing the source), amount of removable contamination (including original leak test results, if available), date of leak or integrity tests and results, and source accountability records (with dates of source inventory

checks, integrity test, and transfers or loss). Records missing prior to the date of this Notice may be noted as not available (N/A). The records related to source accountability shall be auditable. b. Source Custodian. A source custodian must be trained or instructed (prior to designation as a source custodian) as a radiation worker in accordance with DOE 5480.11 and in site-specific source accountability procedures and this Notice. The source custodian shall notify the Radiation Protection Organization of major changes in the use of a sealed source, onsite transfer to a new permanent storage location, modification of a device containing a sealed source, disposal or offsite transfer of a sealed source, and any procurement or acquisition of additional sealed sources. The source custodian shall be responsible for insuring tests to establish the integrity of a sealed source are conducted and inventory checks are performed at least every 6 months. The source custodian shall know the storage and use location of all sources assigned to them. c. Labeling and Storage (1) Storage containers and devices containing a sealed source shall be clearly marked with the radiation symbol and a durable label/tag with the following data: radionuclide, amount of activity, date of assay, model and serial number, and source custodian's name and telephone number. Storage rooms or cabinets containing sealed sources shall be locked, posted according to DOE 5480.11, chosen to minimize damage from fire, free of flammable substances, isolated from occupied areas or located in radiological areas, and selected such that in continuously occupied controlled areas the radiation level at the closest approach is as low as reasonably achievable and does not exceed 0.5 mrem (5 micro Sv) per hour on average. (2) Sealed sources not in storage containers or devices and not labeled by the manufacturer should have a durable label/tag attached that identifies the source as a radioactive source. The label/tag should also contain the following information; radionuclide, amount of activity, name of manufacturer, date of assay, model and serial numbers (where available). d. Source Integrity A test of source integrity shall be made at least every 6 months or whenever damage might have occurred. The integrity of the sealed source may be established by a wipe test or other leak test procedures. A wipe test may be made of the surface of the source, except for the active surface of an electroplated source. The integrity of a source contained in a shield or device may be checked by wiping the area of the shield or device, where contamination is most likely to occur from a failure of the source integrity. Sources in storage, for periods longer than 6 months, need only to have their integrity determined when they are removed from storage and before being placed in use. The integrity test

must be capable of verifying the removable activity is less than 0.005 micro Ci (200 Bq) per 100 cm. A test result that reveals the presence 0.005 micro Ci (200 Bq) or more of removable radioactive material shall be an indication the source has lost its integrity and the source shall be removed from service and treated as a nonsealed source. An integrity test is not required if the source contains a radioactive material with a half life of less than 30 days, tritium or a noble gas, or a radionuclide with an activity smaller than the value listed in the attached Table 1. 8. INQUIRIES. Questions on this Notice should be directed to the Office of Health, EH-40, on (301) 903-5865 or FTS 233-5865. BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY: JOHN J. NETTLES, JR. Director of Administration and Human Resource Management TABLE 1. Values for exemption of sealed sources from inventory* 7 Less than 300 micro Ci (1 x 10 Bq) H-3 Be-7 C-14 S-35 Ca-41 Ca-45 V-49 Mn-53 Fe-55 Ni-59 Ni-63 As-73 Se-79 Rb-87 Tc-99 Pd-107 Cd-113 In-115 Te-123 Cs-135 Ce-141 Gd-152 Tb-157 Tm-171 Ta-180 W-181 W-185 W-188 Re-187 Tl-204 6 Less than 30 micro Ci (1 x 10 Bq) Cl-36 K-40 Fe-59 Co-57 Se-75 Rb-84 Sr-85 Sr-89 Y-91 Zr-95 Nb-93m Nb-95 Tc-97m Ru-103 Ag-105 In-114m Sn-113 Sn-119m Sn-121m Sn-123 Te-123m Te-125m Te-127m Te-129m I-125 La-137 Ce-139 Pm-143 Pm-145 Pm-147 Sm-145 Sm-151 Eu-149 Eu-155 Gd-151 Gd-153 Dy-159 Tm-170 Yb-169 Lu-173 Lu-174 Lu-174m Hf-175 Hf-181 Ta-179 Re-184 Re-186 Ir-192 Pt-193 Au-195 Hg-203 Pb-205 Np-235 Pu-237 5 Less than 3 micro Ci (1 x 10 Bq) Be-10 Na-22 Al-26 Si-32 Sc-46 Ti-44 Mn-54 Fe-60 Co-56 Co-58 Co-60 Zn-65 Ge-68 Rb-83 Y-88 Zr-88 Zr-93 Nb-94 Mo-93 Tc-95m Tc-97 Tc-98 Ru-106 Rh-101 Rh-102 Rh-102m Ag-108m Ag-110m Cd-109 Sn-126 Sb-124 Sb-125 Te-121m I-129 Cs-134 Cs-137 Ba-133 Ce-144 Pm-144 Pm-146 Pm-148m Eu-148 Eu-150 Eu-152 Eu-154 Gd-146 Tb-158 Tb-160 Ho-166m Lu-176 Lu-177m Hf-172 Ta-182 Re-184m Os-185 Os-194 Ir-192m Ir-194m Hg-194 Pb-202 Bi-207 Bi-210m Cm-241 4 Less than 0.3 micro Ci (1 x 10 Bq) Sr-90 Cd-113m La-138 Hf-178m Hf-182 Po-210 Ra-226 Ra-228 Pu-241 Bk-249 Es-254 3 Less than 0.03 micro Ci (1 x 10 Bq) Sm-146 Sm-147 Pb-210 Np-236 Cm-242 Cf-248 Fm-257 Md-258 2 Less than 0.003 micro Ci (1 x 10 Bq) Gd-148 Th-228 Th-230 U-232 U-233 U-234 U-235 U-236 U-238 Np-237 Pu-236 Pu-238 Pu-239 Pu-240 Pu-242 Pu-244 Am-241 Am-242m Am-243 Cm-243 Cm-244 Cm-245 Cm-246 Cm-247 Bk-247 Cf-249 Cf-250 Cf-251 Cf-252 Cf-254 1 Less than 0.0003 micro Ci (1 x 10 Bq) Ac-227 Th-229 Th-232 Pa-231 Cm-248 Cm-250 * These activities were selected to yield a committed effective dose equivalent to 10 mrem (100 usv) or less for a credible incident to a member of the general public.