Re: Smoke Detector shipment

[Tad Blanchard <Tad.M.Blanchard.1@gsfc.nasa.gov>]

Sue,

Back in 1995 when these were probably manufactured the A-2 limit for Am-241
was 8 millicuries.  Hence, 80 uCi for each detector shipped as an instrument.

You might need a special exemption now or you will have to ship them in a
DOT Type A container (this would be much easier than trying to get an
exemption).



At 09:07 PM 11/24/98 -0600, you wrote:
>RADSAFErs:
>
>We've been authorized to return several dozens of old smoke detector
>heads, each containing 80 uCi of Am-241, to the manufacturer.  The
>manufacturer is assuring me that I can ship these all back without
>problem as an excepted package for radioactive instruments and articles
>but it doesn't look so straightforward to me for two reasons:
>
>I'm concerned about the radiation level limit for limited quantity
>packages (don't have the detectors here in my building and haven't made
>any measurements yet but was suspecting that a package of 40 of them
>would be likely to exceed the 0.5 mrem/hr limit unless I went to special
>lengths to add shielding to the package)
>
>The manufacturer hasn't yet given me any documentation to the contrary
>so I'm assuming that the smoke detectors do not contain Am-241 in
>special form (when I spoke the manufacturer's rep he kept saying that it
>was OK to ship them because they were sealed sources - he didn't know
>the special form terminology).  If they're not special form, then the
>activity limit per package is 5.41 mCi and the limit per detector is
>54.1 uCi.  Consequently, unless there's a special exemption somewhere in
>the DOT regs, it doesn't look to me like I can easily ship these back. 
>I called DOT's Hazmat Information Center to see if there were any
>special exemptions for smoke detectors, and the person I spoke to
>referred to the excepted packages for radioactive instruments and
>articles reg (49CFR173.424).  
>
>What am I missing?  They got shipped here in the first place so I would
>really really hope I can ship them out of here without too much
>trouble.  Your suggestions, regulatory references, etc. are appreciated.
>
>Sue Dupre
>
>
>=======================================================
>Sue M. Dupre, Health Physicist
>
>Environmental Health and Safety Office      
>262 Alexander Street    
>Princeton University                           
>Princeton, NJ  08544
>
>E-mail: dupre@princeton.edu
>Phone:  (609) 258-6252
>Fax:    (609) 258-1804
>
>Visit the EHS Web site at http://www.princeton.edu/~ehs
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************************** /^\   /^\ ***********************************
Tad  Blanchard            /__ \ /___\   NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center
Parallax, Inc                  O         Code 205.9, Greenbelt, MD 20771
Sr Health Physics Tech        / \                    Phone: 301-286-9157
Assistant RSO                /___\                   Fax:   301-286-1618
                 mailto:Tad.M.Blanchard.1@GSFC.NASA.gov
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