SYSTEM OF PHYSICAL PROTECTION DURING TRANSPORTATION OF SOURCES OF IONIZING RADIATION OF THE FIRST CATEGORY

Abstract

The discovery of radioactivity by Antoine Henri Becquerel in 1896 was a major achievement. Today, radioactive substances are used in medicine, agriculture, heavy industry, and power generation. But while radioactivity has a wide range of useful applications, this discovery also has a flip side - the misuse of ionizing radiation that can lead to burns, radiation sickness, death, cancer, tumors and genetic mutations. A source of ionizing radiation (IRS) is a physical object containing radioactive material or a technical installation that generates or is capable of generating ionizing radiation under certain conditions. In order to ensure compliance with the permissible limits of radiation exposure of people, the population and the natural environment, as specified in codes, rules and safety standards, there is a national regulatory body. In Ukraine, since 2007, state registration of sources of ionizing radiation has been a part of licensing activities in the field of nuclear energy use. Those radioactive sources that are not or have never been under regulatory control, or are left unattended, lost, misplaced, diverted without proper government authorization, or stolen, are called "abandoned sources." The problem with "abandoned sources" is their potential danger to public health and the difficulty of detection. As a rule, sources of ionizing radiation are located in metal containers with thick walls, which makes it difficult to identify the presence of a radioactive source inside with the help of appropriate equipment. Furthermore, they are objects of different shapes and sizes, and as such they are often objects of interest to different groups of people with different purposes. Getting an "abandoned source" into the hands of ordinary citizens can have catastrophic consequences. An example of a similar situation is the radioactive contamination of the Brazilian city of Goiânia in 1987. After the theft, the perpetrators dumped radiation therapy equipment components containing the radioactive isotope cesium-137 into the trash. Later, this source was discovered by a local resident, whose actions and careless handling led to the spread of radioactive contamination, as a result of which four people died from radioactive contamination, and the area where this source is located is not suitable for life. the next 300 years.