Where Do Radioisotopes Come From and Who Regulates Their Use?
Radioisotopes come from three sources:
(1) from nature, such as radon in the air or radium in the soil;
(2) from machine-produced nuclear interactions in devices, such as linear accelerators and cyclotrons;
(3) from nuclear reactors.
A linear accelerator is a long, straight tube in which charged particles gain energy through oscillating electromagnetic fields. A cyclotron is an accelerator in which charged particles travel in an almost circular path, rather than in astraight path as in a linear accelerator. Radioisotopes produced in linear accelerators are used in some modern nuclear medicine procedures.
The nuclear reactors that produce radioisotopes bombard atoms with high-energy neutrons. The research reactors used for this purpose do not produce electricity and are much smallerin size and power than large power reactors. Reasearch reactors are mostlyused for training and for identifying the composition of certain elements.
Forty-seven research reactors are licensed by the NRC to operate in the United States. They are located mostly at large universities.
Because of the potentially hazardous properties of radioisotopes, their use must be closely regulated to ensure that public health and safety are protected.
The licensing and regulation of radioisotopesin the United States are shared by the NRC, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and many State governments. The EPA is alsoresponsible for, among other things, setting air emission and drinking water standards for radionuclides. The States regulate radioactive substances that occur naturally or are produced by machines, such as linear accelerators or cyclotrons. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the manufacture and use of linear accelerators; the States regulate their operation.
What Is the Role of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission?
The NRC is the Federal agency given the task of protecting public health and safety and the environment with regard to the safe use of nuclear materials. Among its many responsibilities, the NRC regulates medical, academic, and industrial uses of nuclear materials generatedby or from a nuclear reactor. Through a comprehensive inspection and enforcement program, theNRC ensures that these facilities operate in compliance with strict safety standards.
The NRC has relinquished its authority to regulate certain radioactive materials, including some radioisotopes, to most of the States. These States, which have entered into an agreement assuming this regulatory authority from the NRC, are called Agreement States and are shown on the map below. Agreement States like the NRC, regulate reactor-produced radioisotopes within their borders and must provide at least as much health and safety protection as the NRC.
List of current regulations and supporting documents in Malaysia
• Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984
• Radiation Protection (Licensing) Regulations 1986
• Radiation Protection (Basic Safety Standard) Regulations 1988
• Radiation Protection (Transport) Regulations 1989.
• Code of Practice for Radiation Protection (Medical X ray Diagnosis) MS838:1985
• Code of Practice on Radiation Protection in Industrial Radiography (LEM/TEK/33:1995)
• Guide for Safe Transportation of Radioactive Minerals in the Amang Upgrading Industry (LEM/TEK/32:1994)
• Statistics on facilities, inspections, number of radiation workers, etc
• Inspection Procedures
• Inspection checklists
• Enforcement procedures
• Prosecution procedures
• Licence application forms
• Atomic Energy Licensing (Exemption Order) 2001 – Scanning Electron Microscope
• Atomic Energy Licensing (Exemption Order) 2001 – Zirconium Silicate
• Atomic Energy Licensing (Exemption Order) May 2002 – Low Level Radioactive Sources
• Atomic Energy Licensing (Exemption Order) May 2002 – Irradiating Apparatus With Energy Below 5 keV
Source: Country Report on Status of Radiation Protection in Malaysia by Mohf Yusof Mohd Ali
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