Re: sealed sources

[NSSIHOU@aol.com]

If one goes by the regulations, there is no exemption from the routine leak 
testing of  sealed sources. If one practices good ALARA, he would consider 
requesting a license amendment to forgoe the periodic testing so long as the 
source is not being used.

The other parameter you should consider relates to who manufactured the 
sources, how old they are, and what the radionuclide is. As an example, most 
agencies would probably have little hesitancy to extend the leak test period 
for Cesium sources manufactured within the last 10 years when the Cs-137 is 
held in microspheres, ceramic, or glass matrices. Cesium chloride souces 
manufactured before the use of glass and ceramics should be wiped frequently. 
The same is true of thin window Am241 and xray fluorescence sources. The 
windows are thin and gas pressure from alpha decay can cause these sources to 
leak. 

Without a license condition allowing you to not do the periodic leak tests, I 
think you have little choice. 

ROBERT D GALLAGHER
NSSI
713 641-0391
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