Over theborder - the problems of uncontrolled radioactive materialscrossing national borders

Abstract

Cross-border movement of radioactive materials and contaminateditems, in particular metallurgical scrap, has become a problemof increasing importance. Radioactive sources out of regulatorycontrol, now often called `orphan sources', have frequentlycaused serious, even deadly, radiation exposures and widespreadcontamination. The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission reportedover 2300 incidents of radioactive materials found in recycled metal scrap and more than 50 accidental smeltings of radioactivesources. A further potentially serious problem is illicit trafficking in nuclear and other radioactive materials. In 1995the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) started a programme to combat illicit trafficking innuclear and other radioactive materials, which includes aninternational database on incidents of illicit trafficking, receiving reports from some 80 member states. For the period 1993-2000 the IAEA database includes 345 confirmed incidents. While from 1994-1996 the frequency declinedsignificantly, this trend has been reversed since 1997, largelydue to radioactive sources rather than nuclear material.This paper compares monitoring techniques for radioactivematerials in scrap applied at steel plants and scrap yards withmonitoring at borders, a completely different situation. Itdiscusses the results of the `Illicit Trafficking RadiationDetection Assessment Program', a large international pilotstudy, conducted in cooperation between the IAEA, the AustrianGovernment and the Austrian Research Centre Seibersdorf. The aim of this exercise was to derive realistic and internationallyagreed requirements for border monitoring instrumentation.Finally the present extent of border monitoring installationsis discussed.