Conditioning Operation by an Encapsulation and Shielding of Spent Sealed Radium Sources

In order to avoid accidents that could result from an improper storage of spent radium sources, it is necessary to condition and store them safely. The program for a safe conditioning of spent radium sources by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) has been established to assist the developing countries. The main object of this paper is to summarize the technology that was adapted by the IAEA for the conditioning of spent radium sources in the national inventory of Ra-226 sources in member states and the actions performed by the Korean expert team as a part of the IAEA’s project titled as ‘Radium Conditioning in Southeastern Asia’. The whole inventory of the spent radium sources of 8,671.13mCi was safely conditioned by the Korean expert team according to the guidelines under the supervision of the IAEA’s technical officer. The 1,821 sources of spent radium were encapsulated, welded, and conditioned into 18 concrete-shielded drums.