Decision-Making Framework to Support the End-of-Life Management of High-Activity Radioactive Sources

Sealed radioactive sources are used for an extremely wide range of applications, including at various nuclear facilities, universities, hospitals, and biomedical and industrial organizations, as well as for geological prospecting and exploration. However, proper management of these sealed radioactive sources after they have reached their end-of-life (EOL) remains a global challenge. Very few field-tested mobile hot cells (MHCs) exist to support the EOL management of disused high-activity radioactive sources. One critical challenge encountered by source recovery teams at each site is that of finding adequate space–as well as access to that space—to complete the staging and recapture process by using a MHC. This process is tedious, uncertain, and time-consuming, thus making it essential to properly understand how to plan and manage the setting up and taking down of the MHC. However, no tool currently exists that can serve as an effective medium for making such plans, or for informing, educating, and communicating to source recovery teams important knowledge about the environment in which the MHC will be deployed. In this report, we present a novel approach to planning and managing the deployment of MHCs, and apply it to several different sites that rely on such technology. Furthermore, this planning tool will support collaboration, promote information sharing, and foster better decision-making processes, enabling MHCs to be more efficiently and reliably set up and used for source recovery purposes.