Re: GC and Ni-63

[HAENCHEN@SLUVCA.SLU.EDU]

When I was at Washington University in St. Louis, we had several Ni-63 GC
our broad scope license.  It seems that sometime in the mid to late 1980s
(as recollection serves me) they began "showing up", having been purchased
with GCs, and issued under the manufacturer's general license.  Although it was my understanding that the generally licensed Ni-63 sources were not tied
to the broad scope license, we did include them in our inventory and took 
responsibility for the semi-annual leak tests.  We notified all researchers
to account for Ni-63 G.C. sources on their inventory returns to help identify
all units.  We also contacted the manufacturer's, asking that they provide info
on sources shipped to our institutions, and keep us updated.  We did manage 
to get some info from one vendor on units sold, but updating fell through the
cracks.
Here at Saint Louis University, we have one generally licensed Ni-63 source.  Weleak test it and include it on the inventory.  It has been my experience that
researchers often forget they have the source, and almost always are unaware of the semi-annual leak test requirement.  Letting the RSO staff assume this 
responsibility, ssures compliance


including inventory tracking, keeps the University in complianceand minimizes the possibility of a missing source several years down the road.

Hope this info is helpful!

Mark Haenchen
Radiation Safety Officer
Saint Louis University