radioactive isotopes: REGULATION

Monday, July 26, 2010

REGULATION

Regulation Of Radioisotopes

In The United States

In the United States,The licensing and regulation of radioisotopes are shared by the NRC, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and many State governments. The States regulate radioactive substances that occur naturally or are produced by machines, such as linear accelerators or cyclotrons.

The NRC is the Federal agency given the task of protecting public health and safety and the environment with regard to the safe use of nuclear materials. Among its many responsibilities, the NRC regulates medical, academic, and industrial uses of nuclear materials generated by or from a nuclear reactor. The NRC has relinquished its authority to regulate certain radioactive materials, including some radioisotopes, to most of the States. These States, which have entered into an agreement assuming this regulatory authority from the NRC, are called Agreement States.

The NRC maintains approximately 6,000 licenses for the use of radioactive materials, and the Agreement States maintain approximately 16,000materials licenses. Every license specifies the type, quantity, and location of radioactive material that may be possessed and used. Every licensee is inspected periodically either by the NRC or the Agreement State to ensure that radioactive materials are Being used and transported safely. Violators of regulatory requirements are subject to fines and other enforcement actions, including loss of license.

sources:

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Washington, DC 20555-0001

Office of Public Affairs

NUREG/BR-0217 Rev. 1 APRIL 2000

Regulation Of Radioisotopes

In The Malaysia

Malaysia, through the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) has adopted nearly 50 documents that provide guidelines, codes and standards concerning peaceful and safe nuclear activities. Issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), these safety related documents include the IAEA Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources and the Code of Conduct on the Safety of Research Reactors.

These documents will be used by AELB in the implementation of national nuclear regulations and licensing requirements. In doing so, Malaysia has the moral advantage and sets the benchmark for the neighbouring countries to follow. In addition, Malaysia has also taken the initiatives to further improve the national infrastructure for monitoring aspects of safety, security and safeguarding the peaceful use of nuclear energy in the country. A National Radiological Emergency Centre for radiological emergency preparedness and response as well as a National Detection System will also be set up in the country.

The system monitors natural and released radioactivity and ensures the safety level in the environment. In addition, it also tracks any illicit trafficking activities of radioactive and nuclear sources to combat inappropriate use Of nuclear energy that threatens national and global security.

sources:

MOSTI

Ministry of Science, Technology

And Innovation Malaysia

Launch Issue / February 2008

NUCLEAR REGULATORY Newsletter

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Types of radioactive isotopes by origin

1) Long-lived radioactive nuclides

Some radioactive nuclides that have very long half lives were created during the formation of the solar system (~4.6 billion years ago) and are still present in the earth. These include ⁴⁰K (t½ = 1.28 billion years), ⁸⁷Rb (t½ = 48.8 billion years), ²³⁸U (t½ = 447 billion years), and ¹⁸⁶Os (t½ = 2 x 106 billion years, or 2 million billion years).

2) Cosmogenic

Cosmogenic isotopes are a result of cosmic ray activity in the atmosphere. Cosmic rays are atomic particles that are ejected from stars at a rate of speed sufficient to shatter other atoms when they collide. This process of transformation is called spallation. Some of the resulting fragments produced are unstable atoms having a different atomic structure (and atomic number), and so are isotopes of another element. The resulting atoms are considered to have cosmogenic radioactivity. Cosmogenic isotopes are also produced at the surface of the earth by direct cosmic ray irradiation of atoms in solid geologic materials.

Examples of cosmogenic nuclides include ¹⁴C, ³⁶Cl, ³H, ³²Si, and ¹⁰Be. Cosmogenic nuclides, since they are produced in the atmosphere or on the surface of the earth and have relatively short half-lives (10 to 30,000 years), are often used for age dating of waters.

3) Anthropogenic

Anthropogenic isotopes result from human activities, such as the processing of nuclear fuels, reactor accidents, and nuclear weapons testing. Such testing in the 1950s and 1960s greatly increased the amounts of tritium (³H) and ¹⁴C in the atmosphere; tracking these isotopes in the deep ocean, for instance, allows oceanographers to study ocean flow, currents, and rates of sedimentation. Likewise, in hydrology it allows for the tracking of recent groundwater recharge and flow rates in the vadose zone. Examples of hydrologically useful anthropogenic isotopes include many of the cosmogenic isotopes mentioned above: ³H, ¹⁴C, ³⁶Cl, and ⁸⁵Kr.

4) Radiogenic

Radiogenic isotopes are typically stable daughter isotopes produced from radioactive decay. In the geosciences, radiogenic isotopes help to determine the nature and timing of geological events and processes. Isotopic systems useful in this research are primarily K-Ar, Rb-Sr, Re-Os, Sm-Nd, U-Th-Pb, and the noble gases (⁴H, ³H-³He, ⁴⁰Ar).

Because of their stable evolution in groundwater, such naturally occurring isotopes are useful hydrologic tracers, allowing evaluation of large geographic areas to determine flowpaths and flow rates. Consequently, they are helpful in building models that predict fracturing, aquifer thickness, and other subterranean features.

http://www.sahra.arizona.edu/