RE: Shipping Question

[BRZGV@CCMAIL.CECO.COM (Glen Vickers)]

Why would you not take credit for the entire weight of the plate source?  The
activity is inseparable from the plate.  The source may as well be a piece of
metal with fixed contamination, in which case you'd have to considered the
weight of the entire piece.  I understand that when considering the 0.002 uCi/g
you should only consider the material and not the package.  I can't quite
understand the logic with only the simple sentence supplied.  Further
clarification would be helpful.

Does your logic have anything to do with the fact that the material is a
"source" (~massless activity) and not just a contaminated item with considerable
mass?  Would you just go straight to the A2 fractions for LQ and not even
consider mass?  Would you just go up in shipping class from LQ straight to RAM
n.o.s. since A2/g would be neglected?  I would only ship a source as LQ or RAM
n.o.s., but would like to understand some of the logic behind your decisions.

Sincerely,
Glen

-----Original Message-----
From:     "Roy A. Parker" <70472.711@compuserve.com> at INTERNET
Sent:     Thursday, August 20, 1998 11:57 AM
To:     Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu> at INTERNET
Subject:     Shipping Question

Keith,

1. The mass  of the  disc may not be used to determine the applicability
   for the 0.002 uCi/g definition of radioactive material.

2. The source  will be  "fissile  excepted"  which  is  now  the  proper
   terminology; and  that means  it  may  be  classified  as  any  other
   radioactive material.

3. That in  turn means  that it  may be easily be shipped as Radioactive
   Material, Excepted Package - Limited Quantity of Material, UN2910.

Roy A. Parker, Ph.D.
Radiation Physics Consultant to
Federal Express Corporation
E-Mail: 70472.711@compuserve.com
Tel: 225-924-1473
Fax: 225-924-4269
-------------( Forwarded computer archived letter follows )-------------
    20-Aug-98 10:45 CDT
From: Keith Welch <welch@jlab.org>
Subject: Shipping question

Group,

Several questions regarding shipping very small quantity of U234/U235.
I have a small electroplated disc source with about 50 pCi activity.  I
don't know the enrichment or ratio of isotopes.  The disc weighs about
3g.  I don't know the mass of the actual material deposition.  Now...

1. 49CFR says if it's less than .002 uCi/g it's not RAM.  Am I allowed
to use the total weight of the disc?  The rule says it has to be
"essentially uniformly distributed" in the material.  Does this
configuration qualify for uniformly distributed?  AND...

2.  The definition of fissile material is not based on a quantity.  So
by definition if there is ANY U235 in it, it would appear to be fissile.
However, there are excepted quantities (15 grams seems to apply here).
Now, this appears to give me no choice but to call it either fissile or
fissile exempt.

So:  Which definition drives the classification of the material?
Assuming I can say it's uniformly distributed, do I claim it's not RAM,
and stop there? or do I still have to consider the fact that it contains
U235 and call it fissile exempt since there seems to be no "deminimus"
exclusion that lets you say it's not RAM if it contains U235.

Stated briefly: Can something be below the threshold for classifying as
RAM, yet still have to be classed as fissile exempt?


Keith Welch
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility
Newport News VA
welch@cebaf.gov
Ph: (757)269-7212
FAX:(757)269-5048


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