Background/Case Studies: In 2019, the United States government tasked the Department of Energy (DOE) and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) with removing all radioactive Cesium-137 blood irradiators used within the country by 2027. This was issued in the form of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, or John McCain Act. These organizations have made great progress towards achieving this goal by creating programs that help facilities dispose of their radioactive irradiators and, if needed, replace them with machine-generated X-ray irradiators. Their goal is to reduce the security risk of maintaining such large quantities of radioactive materials and their next update report to Congress is due in September 2023.
Study
Design/Methods: We have reviewed recent progress reports from DOE and international programs regarding Cesium irradiator disposal and literature discussing the experiences of facilities that have transitioned to X-ray technology to evaluate how effective the program has been. We also reviewed the risks associated with maintaining gamma irradiators and evaluated what mitigation strategies are available for an institution, such as insurance policies in the case of an accidental release of radioactive material.
Results/Findings: Our investigations show that the DOE program has successfully replaced more than 50% of Cesium-137 blood irradiators with X-ray alternatives since this task was assigned to them. Meanwhile, countries such as Norway and France have already removed all irradiators from use with more on their way. Institutions such as Mount Sinai Health System and the University of California have already successfully replaced many irradiators with documented success. Our risk investigations showed that many insurance policies exclude nuclear, chemical, biological, or radiological events, including accidental radioactive release events or dirty bombs. Recent radiological accidents, such as the one in University of Washington, show that the costs of an accident can exceed the coverage of this insurance as well. The costs of replacing radioactive irradiators is much cheaper, especially when making use of the DOE program’s financial support. Conclusions: We conclude that facilities that no longer use their Cesium-137 source or use it for applications that an X-ray source can substitute, should participate in the DOE program for assistance. Other facilities that are not able to dispose their source should instead consider participating in government-funded programs to improve their security measures and closely reviewing their insurance policies to ensure they are covered in case of radiological events involving their source.
Importance of research: This research is a useful to organizations that own radioactive irradiators and is intended to make them aware of the risks and options available to them so that they can safely manage their sources.
