Retrieval and conditioning of radium sources-containing package in Panama

Abstract

A team of CNEN experts successfully conducted an operation in Panama to recover and condition disused radioactive sources stored in an unsafe condition. The sources, containing the Ra-226 isotope, were used in the past to treat tumors using the technique known as brachytherapy and were immobilized in a complex package buried in an old hospital wing destined for demolition. The compartment where the package stayed for decades, built under the floor of a hospital laboratory, was contaminated with radon and daughters, including Pb-210, responsible for the contamination found. The operation consisted of extracting the package from this compartment, placing it in a cylindrical metal overpack, transporting it to the temporary storage site and carry out site decontamination. Besides the package with the sources, three 200L drums containing contaminated debris from the demolition of walls and floor were generated. No relevant event of radiological protection, such as occupational dose above the established limits, contamination of personnel or place, etc, was observed. The package produced, together with those containing the contaminated debris, was transferred to the facilities of the National Oncology Institute.