James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
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Commercial Radioactive Sources: Surveying the Security Risks

Charles D. Ferguson, Tahseen Kazi, and Judith Perera
January 2003

Appendices updated July 2003

This occasional paper focuses on the security of commercial radioactive sources, the sources that represent a significant category of radioactive materials that are widely used throughout the world for beneficial applications in medicine and industry, and--until recently--have not been considered high security risks.

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88 pages, 1.05 MB.

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Contents

• About the Authors
• Acknowledgements
• Acronyms
• Executive Summary
• Introduction: Setting the Security and Safety Context
• Radioactive Sources
  • Radioisotope Properties
  • Health Effects from Ionizing Radiation
  • Production Methods
  • Sealed and Unsealed Sources
  • Applications
• Ranking of Radioactive Sources and Radioisotopes by Security Risk
  • Orphan Sources
• Radiological Weapons--Radiological Dispersal Devices
  • Definitions
  • Consequences
  • Incidents
• Lifecycle of Radioactive Sources
• Overview of the Radioactive Source Production and Distribution Industry
  • Government Reactors and Enterprises
  • Commercial Distributors
  • Prominent Downstream Processors and Distributors
  • Disposal of Disused Sources
• Regulatory and Industry Efforts to Secure Radioactive Sources
  • Radioactive Source Regulatory and Security Efforts in the United States
  • The Radioactive Source Regulatory and Security System in Argentina
  • Radioactive Source Regulatory and Security Efforts in the European Union
  • International Atomic Energy Agency Efforts to Enhance Source Security
  • Export Controls
• Conclusions and Recommendations
• Appendix 1: Probable Health Effects from Exposure to Ionizing Radiation
• Appendix 2: Reactors Known to Produce Radioisotopes