Re: DOT Regulations

[webber@micf.nist.gov (W.R.Webber)]

You better check your units again.

"49CFR173.403(y) Radioactive material means any material having a specific
activity greater than 0.002 microcuries per gram (uCi/g) (see definition of
specific activity).

(aa) Specific activity of a radionuclide, means the activity of the
radionuclide per unit mass of that nuclide. The specific activity of a
material in which the radionuclide is essentially uniformly distributed is
the activity per unit mass of the material."

>I have a query for all of you on Radsafe:
>
>We might need to ship several 1 liter poly bottles of water sampled
>from a contaminated site.  Most isotopes are far below concern,
>however, Sr-90 might be as high as 0.5 uCi/L.
>
>It seems to me that 49CFR173.403(y) applies here, which defines
>radioactive material as "any material having a specific activity
>greater than 0.002 mCi per gram."  and further defines specific
>activity one way as: "a material in which the radionuclide is
>essentially uniformly distrubuted is the activity per unit mass of
>the material."
>
>Since the samples are from a well and the radioisotopes are
>uniformly distributed, then I would assume this
>infers that anything lower than 2 uCi/g or ml of water would be below
>regulatory concern.   Right? [grin]
>
>Besides the precautions for shipping a liquid would the above
>assumption cover this situation?
>
>Thanks for your time,
>
>Troy D. Taylor
>Health Physicist
>Idaho State University
>Technical Safety Office
>
William R. Webber, Health Physicist ( Warp Factor OS/2)
The opions expressed above are those of the author alone and do not
represent those of the National Institute of Standards and Technology nor
the US Department of Commerce.
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