Radioactive Material in Scrap Metal
Sometimes radioactive materials are disposed of improperly and end up in scrap metal yards.
• You will probably never come into contact with contaminated scrap metal.
• If you think you have found contaminated scrap metal, do not touch it. Immediately contact your state
radiation office.
About Radioactive Material in Scrap Metal
Sometimes radioactive materials are disposed of improperly and
end up in scrap metal yards. There are several types of
radioactive materials that can end up in scrap metal yards. For
example, some industrial devices contain a small quantity of
safely enclosed radioactive material called a sealed source.
Found or abandoned radioactive sources are called orphan
sources when their identifying marks have been removed or
damaged. Orphan sources do not have owners to dispose of
them properly.
If radioactive materials are disposed of improperly or sent for
recycling as scrap metal, they can end up at a facility that is not
licensed to handle them. Recycling facilities have devices called
portal monitors (shown in the photo to the right) that can detect
radiation in batches of scrap metal.
Portal monitors detect radiation in batches of
scrap metal.
If a scrap metal yard or recycling facility unknowingly melts a
sealed or orphan radioactive source, it contaminates the metal, the processing equipment and the facility. More
importantly, workers can unknowingly be exposed to radiation.
Officials at scrap metal yards and disposal sites use sensitive radiation scanners on incoming shipments to
discover unwanted radioactive materials before they can cause widespread contamination. In a few cases,
radioactive materials have been unknowingly chopped up, sent to steel mills and melted. In those cases, all the
metal in the batch and the equipment used was contaminated and could no longer be used. Cleaning up the
facility cost millions of dollars.
Rules and Guidance
THE STATES
Each state sets rules to protect citizens from radiation, including responding to and investigating suspected
radioactive materials at scrap metal facilities.
State radiation organization representatives assemble as the Conference of Radiation Control Program
Directors (CRCPD) to discuss radiation issues that they all face. CRCPD's Source Collection and Threat
Reduction (SCATR) project helps find orphan sources and dispose of them properly.
United States Environmental Protection Agency | Office of Radiation and Indoor Air (6608T) | EPA 402-F-14-003 | August 2014 | p. 1
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U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)
EPA has developed training for workers who could come into contact with orphan sources'. Workers in the
metal processing and demolition industries can learn more about recognizing sealed sources and equipment
that may contain them.
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (NRC) AND AGREEMENT STATES
NRC protects people and the environment from sealed radioactive sources by requiring licensing for
manufacturers of sealed sources. More than half of U.S. states have signed agreements with NRC to take over
this licensing responsibility, these states are called Agreement States.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (DOE), NATIONAL NUCLEAR SECURITY ADMINISTRATION (NNSA)
NNSA helps recover sealed sources in the United States and other countries. Securing sealed sources helps
protect people from accidental exposure and keeps them from falling into the hands of terrorists. NNSA
encourages people who no longer need their sealed sources to register them. NNSA also may help owners of
registered sources with disposal.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (DOT)
DOT oversees the safety and security of hazardous materials during transport. DOT'S Office of Hazardous
Materials Safety (OHMS) writes rules for shipping hazardous materials by highway, rail, air and sea. DOT
works with the NRC to ensure that these materials are shipped safely.
What you can do
It is highly unlikely that you would come into contact with radioactively contaminated scrap metal. However, if
you think you have found contaminated scrap metal, do not touch it. Immediately contact your state radiation
office11.
Until you know differently, treat the suspected radioactive material as though it were a radioactive source and
limit your exposure. Three basic ways to limit possible exposure include:
Time - Limit the time spent near the radiation source.
Distance - Increase the distance between you and the radiation source.
Shielding - Put something (the heavier and thicker, the better) between you and the radiation source.
Where to learn more
You can learn more about radioactive material in scrap metal by visiting the resources available on the
following webpage: http://www.epa.qov/radtown/scrap-metal.htmltflearn-more.
http://www.epa.qov/radiation/source-reduction-manaqement/traininq.html
1 http://www.crcpd.org/Map/RCPs more.aspx
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