Re: Source Material Definition

[David W Lee <lee_david_w@lanl.gov>]

Mike:

        Under all of the Atomic Energy Acts and amendments thereto, "source" material has always been anything that the AEC/NRC says it is.  For example, even though tritium is now regulatated by the NRC as "byproduct" material (presumably because it is reactor-produced via ternary fission), in years past the AEC declared H-3 to be "source" material because it was considered a "source of fusion" back in the fifties when it was thought that some sort of fusion reactors might become a reality.  Best regards  David



At 03:48 PM 4/14/1999 -0500, you wrote:
>A good general source for historical background on the Atomic Energy Act is the
>"Legislative History of the Atomic Energy Act" prepared by the Commission about
>1955. To my knowledge it has not been updated to cover amendments to the Act
>since that time.  It should give the info you need. When I've needed it, I
>located it at a "Federal Documents Depository" at a local university.
>
>I don't have the Legislative History it at hand, but I agree with the
>explanation you received from the NRC staffer. Before the discovery of large
>Uranium deposits in Canada and the western US, there was great concern over
>assuring an adequate supply of Uranium.  If you look at Section 61 of the
>Atomic
>Energy Act, it specifies that the Commission may declare material to be source
>material if "such material is essential to the production of special nuclear
>material" and finds that "determination that such material is source
>material is
>in the interest of the common defense and security....".  There's not even a
>requirement that the material be radioactive! I seem to recall that there was
>discussion of declaring Cadmium to be source material at one time, though I do
>not have a reference.
>
>
>Mike Broderick
>Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality
>Mike.Broderick@deqmail.state.ok.us
>
>"This message does not represent the views or position of DEQ, and is
>disclaimed
>"
>
>************************************************************************
>The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
>information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html

DAVID W. LEE
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Radiation Protection Services, ESH-12
X-Ray/Source Control Team Leader
PO Box 1663, MS K483
Los Alamos, NM  87545
PH:   (505) 667-8085
FAX:  (505) 667-9726
lee_david_w@lanl.gov