Radioactive scrap metal

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Radioactive scrap metal is created when radioactive material enters the metal recycling process and contaminates scrap metal.

Contents

Overview

A "lost source accident" [1] [2] occurs when a radioactive object is lost or stolen. Such objects may appear in the scrap metal industry if people mistake them for harmless bits of metal. [3] The International Atomic Energy Agency has provided guides for scrap metal collectors on what a sealed source might look like. [4] [5] The best known example of this type of event is the Goiânia accident, in Brazil.

While some lost-source accidents have not involved the scrap metal industry, they are good examples of the likely scale and scope of a lost-source accident. For example, the Red Army left sources behind in Didi Lilo, Georgia. [6]

Another case occurred at Yanango where an 192Ir radiography source was lost and at Gilan, Iran a radiography source harmed a welder. [7]

Radioactive sources have a wide range of uses in medicine and industry, and it is common for the design (and nature) of a source to be tailored to the specific application. Hence, it is impossible to state with confidence what the "typical" source looks like or contains. For instance, antistatic devices include beta and alpha emitters: polonium containing devices have been used to eliminate static electricity in such devices as paint spraying equipment. [8] An overview of the gamma sources used for radiography can be seen at Radiographic equipment, and it is reasonable to consider this to be a good overview of small to moderate gamma sources.

Notable incidents

Physical and chemical compositions

The cleanup operation for the Goiânia accident [20] was difficult both because the source containment had been opened, and the radioactive material was water-soluble.

In 1983, a different incident in Mexico wherein cobalt-60 was spilled in an otherwise similar exposure led to a very different pattern of contamination, since the cobalt in such a source is normally in the form of cobalt metal alloyed with some nickel to improve the mechanical properties of the radioactive metal. If such a source is abused, then the cobalt metal fragments do not tend to dissolve in water or become very mobile. If a cobalt or iridium source is lost at a ferrous metal scrapyard then it is often the case that the source will enter a furnace, the radioactive metal will melt and contaminate the steel from this furnace. In Mexico, some buildings have been demolished because of the level of cobalt-60 in the steel used to make them. Also, some of the steel which was rendered radioactive in the Mexican event was used to make legs for 1400 tables. [15]

Source melting

In the case of some high-value scrap metals it is possible to decontaminate the material, but this is best done long before the metal goes to a scrap yard. [21] [22]

Ferrous scrap

In the case of a caesium source being melted in an electric arc furnace used for steel scrap, it is more likely that the caesium will contaminate the fly ash or dust from the furnace, while radium is likely to stay in the ash or slag. The United States Environmental Protection Agency provides data about the fate of different contaminating elements in a scrap furnace. [23] Four different fates for the element exist: the element can stay in the metal (as with cobalt and ruthenium); the element can enter the slag (as in lanthanides, actinides and radium); the element can enter the furnace dust or fly ash (as with caesium), which accounts for around 5%; or the element can leave the furnace and pass through the baghouse to enter the air (as with iodine).

The fates of different elements present in ferrous scrap which is melted in an electric arc furnace. The average of the two extremes is shown and the error bars indicate the possible limits Dirtyferrousscrap.png
The fates of different elements present in ferrous scrap which is melted in an electric arc furnace. The average of the two extremes is shown and the error bars indicate the possible limits

Aluminium scrap

It is normal to place silicon, aluminium scrap and flux in a furnace. This is heated to form molten aluminium. From the furnace three main streams are obtained, metal product, dross (metal oxides and halides which are skimmed off the molten metal product) and off gases which go to the baghouse. The cooled waste gasses are then allowed out into the environment.

The fates of different elements present in aluminium scrap which is melted in a furnace. The average of the two extremes is shown and the error bars indicate the possible limits Dirtyaluminiumscrap.png
The fates of different elements present in aluminium scrap which is melted in a furnace. The average of the two extremes is shown and the error bars indicate the possible limits

Copper scrap

It is normal that good-quality scrap copper, such as that from a nuclear plant, is refined in one furnace before being refined further in an electrochemical process. The furnace generates impure metal, slag, dust and gases. The dust accumulates in a baghouse, while the gases are vented to the atmosphere. The impure metal from the furnace may be further refined in an electrochemical process.

The fates of different elements present in copper scrap which is melted in a furnace. The average of the two extremes is shown and the error bars indicate the possible limits. The elements present in the scrap end up in different proportions in the impure metal, the slag, the baghouse dust or the exhaust gases that leave the plant via the stack Dirtycopperscrap.png
The fates of different elements present in copper scrap which is melted in a furnace. The average of the two extremes is shown and the error bars indicate the possible limits. The elements present in the scrap end up in different proportions in the impure metal, the slag, the baghouse dust or the exhaust gases that leave the plant via the stack

If the copper refinery includes an electrochemical process after the furnace, then unwanted elements are removed from the impure metal and deposited as anode slime.

The fates of different elements present in copper scrap which is melted in a furnace and then electrorefined. The average of the two extremes is shown and the error bars indicate the possible limits. The elements in the scrap end up in different proportions in the refined copper metal, the slag, the baghouse dust, the exhaust gases that leave the plant via the stack, or the anode slime Dirtycopperwholescrap.png
The fates of different elements present in copper scrap which is melted in a furnace and then electrorefined. The average of the two extremes is shown and the error bars indicate the possible limits. The elements in the scrap end up in different proportions in the refined copper metal, the slag, the baghouse dust, the exhaust gases that leave the plant via the stack, or the anode slime

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear and radiation accidents and incidents</span> Severe disruptive events involving fissile or fusile materials

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radioactive contamination</span> Undesirable radioactive elements on surfaces or in gases, liquids, or solids

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goiânia accident</span> 1987 radioactive contamination incident in Brazil

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cobalt-60</span> Radioactive isotope of cobalt

Cobalt-60 (60Co) is a synthetic radioactive isotope of cobalt with a half-life of 5.2714 years. It is produced artificially in nuclear reactors. Deliberate industrial production depends on neutron activation of bulk samples of the monoisotopic and mononuclidic cobalt isotope 59
Co
. Measurable quantities are also produced as a by-product of typical nuclear power plant operation and may be detected externally when leaks occur. In the latter case the incidentally produced 60
Co
is largely the result of multiple stages of neutron activation of iron isotopes in the reactor's steel structures via the creation of its 59
Co
precursor. The simplest case of the latter would result from the activation of 58
Fe
. 60
Co
undergoes beta decay to the stable isotope nickel-60. The activated cobalt nucleus emits two gamma rays with energies of 1.17 and 1.33 MeV, hence the overall equation of the nuclear reaction is: 59
27
Co
+ n → 60
27
Co
60
28
Ni
+ e + 2 γ

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">1962 Mexico City radiation accident</span> Mexican incident with four fatalities

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samut Prakan radiation accident</span> 2000 radiation accident in Thailand

A radiation accident occurred in Samut Prakan Province, Thailand in January–February 2000. The accident happened when an insecurely stored unlicensed cobalt-60 radiation source was recovered by scrap metal collectors who, together with a scrapyard worker, subsequently dismantled the container, unknowingly exposing themselves and others nearby to ionizing radiation. Over the following weeks, those exposed developed symptoms of radiation sickness and eventually sought medical attention. The Office of Atomic Energy for Peace (OAEP), Thailand's nuclear regulatory agency, was notified when doctors came to suspect radiation injury, some 17 days after the initial exposure. The OAEP sent an emergency response team to locate and contain the radiation source, which was estimated to have an activity of 15.7 terabecquerels (420 Ci), and was eventually traced to its owner. Investigations found failure to ensure secure storage of the radiation source to be the root cause of the accident, which resulted in ten people being hospitalized for radiation injury, three of whom died, as well as the potentially significant exposure of 1,872 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radioactive source</span>

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A radioactive contamination incident occurred in 1984 in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, originating from a radiation therapy unit purchased by a private medical company and subsequently dismantled for lack of personnel to operate it. The radioactive material, cobalt-60, ended up in a junkyard, where it was sold to foundries that inadvertently melted it with other metals and produced about 6,000 tons of contaminated rebar. These were distributed in 17 Mexican states and several cities in the United States. It is estimated that 4,000 people were exposed to radiation as a result of this incident.

References

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