Projects
Project Capabilities
- ARS assisted with a review of the regulatory responsibilities with respect to ionising radiation for a hospital construction. In its review ARS had to make sure there were no gaps in the design plans and worked closely with the design and construction team to ensure that all regulatory responsibilities had been addressed. Services provided included radiation shielding design and assessment for medical X-ray facilities and radioisotope laboratories.
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Characterisation of radionuclides within un-labelled in-stream analysis (ISA) probes. On disassembly of the ISA probes the radionuclides installed within these devices could not be identified from the inscriptions on the source holder assemblies as this information had not been marked on the holder. The activity of each source was also unknown. A field characterisation was undertaken to identify the radionuclides within the source holders. The characterisation work involved conducting gamma ray spectrometry measurements to identify the radionuclide within a capsule and dose rate measurements at set distances to estimate the activity. This was a difficult project to undertake as the X-ray emissions from the different installed radionuclides had similar energies and problems arose due to contradictory documents held by the client and jurisdictional radiation regulator.
Outcome: Successfully identified radioisotopes and activities and assigned source serial numbers and other information so that the ISA probes could be labelled for regulatory compliance.
- Since 2007 ARS has successfully planned for and organised the disposal of several hundred sealed source capsules from clients throughout Australia. Some of these disposal projects have included developing management strategies for dealing with source capsules that are leaking radioactive material, in particular Am-241 and Cm-244. When a source capsule containing a transuranic material, such as Am-241, is leaking then the special form certificate associated with the design and construction of that capsule is no longer valid. Consequently, more stringent transportation requirements apply to a disposal shipment when a source has an activity above a prescribed limit and there is no special form certificate for it. For example, instead of shipping the source in a Type A transport container, a Type B container is required.
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ARS dealt with a leaking Am-241 capsule in early 2010. This work involved pre-planning the health physics requirements for the safe handling of the leaking source, over encapsulating the leaking capsule within another capsule, and arranging the overseas transfer of the source to the recipient facility within a Type B transport container. Other capsules, having expired special form certificates, were also consolidated within the Type B container.
Outcome: the leaking radioactive material was successfully contained, there was no spread of radioactive contamination during the source handling or containment, effectual decontamination of the instrument the source was removed from, the disposal project was completed within budget and within the required time frame.
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ARS provides a comprehensive range of client services for the testing of natural and/or anthropogenic radionuclides in a range of matrices, such as soils, sediments, environmental and potable water, waste and process materials, vegetation, food, and airborne dust. In the past, ARS analytical services have supported clients from industry, government and research institutions, in projects which typically have included:
- analysis and information on the radiological quality of drinking water, bore water, and waste water;
- analysis of soils and vegetation from contaminated sites for classification and impact assessment in accordance with relevant regulations;
- radioanalysis of soils, vegetation, water and airborne particulates as part of studies for environmental background assessment or for the development of environmental impact statements;
- assessment of the radiological impact of enhanced levels of naturally occurring radionuclides in raw materials, intermediate products and waste materials arising during mineral processing;
- analysis and assessment of terrestrial and airborne radioactivity levels for compliance with specific environmental and occupational regulations;
- analysis of radionuclides in marine and terrestrial animals to determine biological uptake factors.
- Facilitate the decontamination of processing equipment contaminated with NORM scale, investigate and facilitate a means of legal disposal of the waste, provide advice on storage and transport.
- Conduct annual audits of fixed radiation gauges for compliance with licence conditions.
- Conduct annual audits of cabinet X-ray unit for compliance with licence conditions.
- ARS conducted comprehensive radiological surveys for hospital sites where there was a suspected increase in the incidence of cancer amongst staff members when compared to the general population. The surveys were conducted to determine if radiation exposure from either medical or natural sources of radiation may have been a contributor to the apparent increase in incidence of cancer. Using both real-time low level and long-term passive radiation measurement method, it was determined that in all cases the ambient radiation levels were not statistically greater than known levels of background radiation in Australia and therefore were unlikely to be a contributor to the apparent increase in incidence of cancer.
In addition to our range of analytical and measurement capabilities, we can also assist client requirements with independent data review, advice and expert opinion on the radiological aspects and environmental impacts of a specific project.
