SECURITY OF RADIOACTIVE SOURCES FRANCE IAEA ...gnssn.iaea.org/CSN/Abu Dhabi Conference/Shared Documents...Some 3000 cat 1 and 2 sources are still used or stored: Some 1800 are Cobalt-60

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON

THE SAFETY AND SECURITY OF

RADIOACTIVE SOURCES

ABU DHABI, OCTOBER 27-31, 2013

SECURITY OF RADIOACTIVE SOURCES

FRANCE – IAEA COOPERATION

FRANCE REPATRIATION POLICY

| PAGE 1

FRANÇOIS BONINO & BERNARD SEVESTRE, CEA FRANCE

Content of Presentation

Examples of Operations

Support Plan

Conclusions

F. Bonino CEA/DRI | PAGE 2



Repatriation of LISA III device from Ivory Coast in October 2003




Repatriation of Alcyon Device from Madagascar in October 2011

Alcyon device with a 60Co source

CC33 Cisbio cask

(type B(U))




French assistance to Ukraine for sources conditioning & transportation



FRANCE – ACTION THROUGH THE G8 GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP

•Several hundreds of sources stored in poor

conditions

•Common project with USA, UK, D to

concentrate the storage on Vector II

• Fabrication of container type B

•Manipulator for the extraction of the sources

Actual situation at Radon

Removal of all RTGs from the Baltic sea

in 2011: France, Norway, Finland and

Sweden

France/IAEA Support Plan: Scope

Priority to Category I and Category II

which are DSRS (disused sealed radioactive sources)

and which are not secured




France/IAEA Support Plan: Objectives

Improve the safety and security of DSRS:

Collect available information about relevant DSRSs

Verify and complete the collected information;

Determine what, if any, actions need to be taken

Provide French expertise (including equipment, tools, and facilities)

Ensure the safety and security of sources




France/IAEA Support Plan: Activities

Planning

Preparation for activities in a particular country

Fact finding missions

Evaluation of results, decision on follow-up activities

Field operations

Follow-up on mission(s), if necessary.




France/IAEA Support Plan: Implementation

In 2011, repatriation of a radiotherapy Alcyon device from

Madagascar

In 2012, inventory of category 1 and 2 Sealed Radioactive Sources

exported from France

In 2012, contribution to two fact finding missions organized by IAEA

In 2013, an on-site operation and a fact finding mission were carried

out

Other operations are under preparation, and realization is planned in

late 2013 or 2014




France/IAEA Support Plan: Information on Sources

Category 1 and 2 sources produced in France were

manufactured by CEA and CIS bio international. Both

organizations now stopped production and supply of

sealed radioactive sources.

Some 3000 cat 1 and 2 sources are still used or stored:

Some 1800 are Cobalt-60 sources, including above 500 in

Alcyon / CIRUS radiotherapy heads;

Some 1200 are Cesium-137 sources, including some 770 in

IBL437 blood irradiators.

Any feedback from user countries is welcome




France/IAEA Support Plan: Know-how on devices

Know-how on devices is a key issue,

CIS bio international has a good knowledge on many types of

devices: IBL 137/437/637; SV68, ICO 4000/20, Alcyon/CIRUS and

other radiotherapy heads.

In the case of companies that no longer exist, such as

Conservatome, GAAA or Massiot-Philips, some documentation can

be found in the IRSN records

Knowledge needed includes expertise and on-site operation capacity.




France/IAEA Support Plan: DSRS Management

Interim storage after repatriation is not a final solution.

CEA has developed a strategy for the management of all

high activity Cobalt-60 and Cesium-137 sources.

Some batches of sources are exported for recycling by

producing companies.

Cobalt 60 packages will be optimized, stored for some 5 years

and sent to surface disposal operated by ANDRA;

Cesium-137 packages will be stored for some 10 to 40 years by

CEA and should be sent to the geological disposal site planned

by ANDRA




France/IAEA Support Plan: Funding

The typical cost is between 150 k€ and 250 k€ per operation

For a first batch of operations, a sharing of the funding was

agreed:

IAEA finances repatriation, using EU voluntary contributions to

the IAEA Nuclear security fund

France provides cost free experts for technical missions and

takes care of the costs of the future management of DSRS and

devices after repatriation.

A second batch of operations has recently be funded by an

agreement between France and USA




Conclusions

The support plan between France and IAEA opens the

way for a safe storage or repatriation of French origin

sources or devices.

Nevertheless, the first responsibility rests with the country

where the sources are used or were used: knowledge on

used and disused high activity sources and devices,

national strategy, planning and funding issues: funding by

the country of origin should remain an exception.

Funding and transports are the key pending issues for

effective and efficient implementation.


