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<br /> February t997 ~ Environment Hawai i ~ Page g . -
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<br /> " cesium irradiator wnsidered by the state will Proponents. Cobalt-6o is not radioactive
<br /> not keep cesium in water ac all. waste, they say, nor does is generate any. It is
<br /> from page 8 Opponents. Cesium-z37 is one of the most deliberately manufactured (by a Canadian
<br /> dangerous radioacriveby-products ofnudeaz Nordion) for use in gamma irradiators,
<br /> ample, states: "Stdtt regulations govern xhe weapons production. Because cesium chlo- 'nduding chose used in hospitals as well as
<br /> macePal.Irradiacito+tfaci~iesarefcon
<br /> c ~
<br /> d rideiswater-soluble,whenixentersthebody, pacneiatnulareacundiation~faciliu~tberauseno
<br /> ro withstand eaa 5quakes and other natural 'c is dlstdbuced to all the cells of the body, - radioactivity is produced.... At gamma irra-
<br /> disasxers without endangering the commu- tteanng `vhac Is tailed a whole-body dose. diarors, radionuclide sources, typically co-
<br /> niryorworkers.Radioactivematerialistrans- ~t°daunsrhacnoradiarioncanescape bait-6oormorerazelycesium-r37,azeusedas
<br /> ported in canisters tested to withstand colli- d"~ wnrainment structures, the history of the sources of radiation energy. These ele-
<br /> sions, fires, and pressure. Worker safety is nucleaz maxerials is rife with examples that is menrs decay over time xo non-radioactive
<br /> regulazly does just that. A x988 accident at
<br /> protected by a multifaceted protection sys- Radiation Sterilizers, Inc., in Decatur, Geor- nickel and non-radioactive barium, tespec-
<br /> temwirhintheplant.° gia,broughtahaltrotheuseofCesium-r37in nvely. The sources are removed from the
<br /> Opponen~.Thehistoryofaccidentsatirra- Irradiation facilides. That occurred when 'Radtat°rwhentheradioactiviryfallstoalow
<br /> diacion facilities belies claims of their safety. "supposedly `fail-proof cesium-z37 tapsliles level, usually between 6 percent and zz per-
<br /> Among rheexamples ofcontaminarionfrom leaked into the water storage pool. Officials o°rrt ofrhe initiallevei (this takes z6 ro zr years
<br /> irradiators is one right here in Hawaii. In found 'extensive' radiation wntamination for ~balo-6o). The elements are then re-
<br /> r967, ax a demonstration irradiator at Port throughout the facility. In addition, inspec- n'~'~'nashippingwntainertorhesupplier
<br /> Armstrong, Oahu, a shipment of wbalt-Go dons of plantworkers' homes and cars found who has the option of reactivating them in a
<br /> "pencils" corroded xhrough their wntainer, that tadioacdviry had been transported out- nucleaz reactor or storing them. Canada has
<br /> resulting in xhe leak of radiation from the. sidethefaciliry. Clean-upcostsexceededs47 ~~xedthatallrhecobalc-6oitsuppliedfor
<br /> shipping cask into the water srorage pool mIDion.'+ use in 2988 (about loo million curies) would
<br /> Orherexamplesofunsaft:practicesatirra- Constant bombazdment by high-radix-, require a storage space of about r.zs cubic
<br /> diacors include inadents at the Isomedix tionenergy,suchaswouldoccurinacesium= metres,roug~tlyegwvalenttothespaceoccu-
<br /> facility inNew Jersey, which was determined r37 irradiaxor, eventually causes the strength Pied by a small desk."'~
<br /> The use ofcesium-x37 won't create radio-
<br /> by the Nucteaz Regularory Commission co of surrounding metal to diminish and the active waste. Tt will actually reduce ic, since
<br /> have flushed radioactivelycontaminaxedwa- metal to became embtittled. This has cesium-r37 which is nowconsideredawaste,
<br /> xer into city sewers in r974. Another New curredinmanynucleazreattorsvesselsandin K,ouldbeconvercedincoausefulcommodiry.
<br /> Jerseyirndiator,RadiationTechnology,Inc., casks scoring high-level nudeaz waste (and Here is what one investor in the Gray'Star
<br /> lost is NRC license in z986 for repeated cesium-r37isclassifiedasahigh-levelnucleaz company, which is proposing to build ce-
<br /> worker safety violations. "RTI was cited 3z waste):
<br /> t slum-r37 irradiators, says: `They [Gray*Starl
<br /> timesforvatiousviolations,includirlgdrrow- Cesium-r37isstoredintapsulesdlatazezr are ro s ro` tivatize'allofthecesiumac
<br /> ing radioactive garbage out with the regulaz inches long, z.6 inches in diameter, and P P° ~ P
<br /> trash.Themostseriousviolacionwasbypass- which weigh io pounds apiece. A r6-con Hanfordand5avannahRiver[twoofrheU.S.
<br /> ing a safety device to prevent people from stainless steel taskcarried on acus~om-made Department of Energy nucleaz facilities] as a
<br /> entering the irradiadonchamber during op- trailer bed was needed to transport just z6 One of several scenazios is that the
<br /> eration,resultinginaworkerreceivinganeaz cesium capsules when rile Deparvnent of g°veminent(DOE)payrhem,ortheirassoci-
<br /> lethaldoseofradiation."Atldlese accidents EnergyretalledcesiumtapsulesfromaColo- azed matlufac[urer> an appropriate sum of
<br /> occurredatirradiationfacilitiesusingCobalo- radoirradiacorinr99426 moneytorakeridetorhecesium,andremove
<br /> Go. it from govertunentsites.Ineffecr, thiswould
<br /> Radioactive Waste remove the material from the government's
<br /> E¢vlrorrmemal Safety: Cesrum
<br /> tg7 Background. One of the unresolved issues in ledger' and eventually eliminate the cost and
<br /> Bat/cground.ThestateofHawai`ihassigned any discussion ofindusrrybasedonnudear "skofmaintainingtheisotopes....Ultimately,
<br /> an agreement chat gives is right of first refusal sources is waste. There is no permanent re- d'e ride will be transferred co licensed users
<br /> to purchase the seventh unit to be built of a pository for high-level waste in the United wrrhm the food industry much in the same
<br /> new cesium-z37-sourced irradiator. States. ~Y drat cobalt-6o~is now transferred in
<br /> normal commerce.
<br /> Proponents. There aze many advantages to
<br /> usingcesium-r37 as asourceof ionizing radix- Opponents. Since the production of cobalo-
<br /> cion. Cesium-r37 isabundant as abyproduct ='Gofman, op.t,<. p. 5 t. 6o does require the use of nudeaz reactors,
<br /> one cannot truthfully say that is production
<br /> of the nuclear weapons manufatturing in- "Quotes are From Meeker-I.owty, op.nt, pp. 37-38. does not generate radioactive waste. All reac-
<br /> duscry. In contrast xo cobalt-6o's half-life of ThrAtGmmJourrd/Ai/anw Caraaar;nn repotted the tors Hecate hi level nudeaz waste, For
<br /> about five years, cesium-r37 has ahalf--life of 34.7 million clean-up costs paid for by th< Fcderat ~
<br /> more than 3o years, meaning the radioactive §°YftnmG6C which no-safe, long-term solution has been
<br /> source does not need co be replenished as „ste, for example, c.t_ Edgemnn and R.r. "Saf<ry'; pag< t0
<br /> oftenasacobak-Go source. Whilethesto a Anantatmu6."HanfordWasmTankSysremDegtada- s
<br /> ~ lion Mechanisms." prepared by Wescinghouu Hanford ' U.S. Departmem oFEnergy, hap://
<br /> of cesium sale capsules in cooling pools of tvww.em.doe.gov:80/trans2/cesium.html ("Transport-
<br /> Co., for the U.S. Department of Fsergy duly 1995).
<br /> water can ose environmental roblems, the ing Cesium-1377 and... svww.em.doc.gov:Nfll
<br /> p P Thev write: "ILlon§-term, high<nergy gamma radiation
<br /> can produce atomic displacements... Rad'ution emprog/summer/94/emprog4.htm1 ("Hanford's
<br /> ""\lalung Good Decisions." RarheG t.'nviromm~u tr embrinlement oFetr6on sarols resulrs in a reduttian in Cesium Capsule Recovery Prngmm ticy;inx'1.
<br /> Nr,+ld ll"rekly. `o. 470 (Novcmlxr 3(1.1 )75). Juetiliry of the stccl." = IGCFh op.rrt. page 13.
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