Radiation Source Acquisition

Industry News

Many people don’t realise that radiation sources are used in many industrial applications. One such example is web processing.

The web we are talking about here is a roll of material, such as plastic, film foil and cloth. Turning these materials into a product is called web processing, such as manufacturing plastic bags.

Plastic bag manufacturing

A radiation beam generated from an isotope source can be used in a density gauge to measure the density of a moving web material directly in grams per square centimetre.

It's fast, convenient and totally non-destructive. Passing any material through a density gauge does not make the material radioactive. It allows you to tune earlier production stages to control the density of your final product. By selecting an isotope with a long half-life you get stable measurements and long intervals between calibrations.

Because ionising radiation cannot be detected by any human sense, governments have been extremely cautious, creating rules and regulations about handling radioactive sources. All sources are licenced, require annual leak testing, and must be disposed of when the source reaches a nominal 15 year lifetime.

ADM Nuclear Technologies has over 20 years’ experience in radiation source acquisition, acquiring sources for commercial and industrial applications. In fact we have worked for a variety of organisations throughout Australia and New Zealand to assist them in procuring radiation sources. We are fully accredited by the Australian Government and satisfy all of their stringent requirements.

Once it is known what type of source is required, and the required licences in place, import approval can be sought. As a principal, all radioactive sources are banned imports to Australia.

Unless a Prohibited Import Release is obtained, you cannot import a radioactive source into Australia. No supplier of radiation sources will ship a source until they have sighted the Australian Prohibited Import Release for the source.

The source will arrive by air freight at the port of entry, and Australian Customs will hold it. If the Prohibited Import Release has been issued, Customs will release it so it can be transported to its new home.

There are Transport Regulations which depend on the activity level of a radiation source. Small sources with low potential for harm can be transported with some couriers. Larger sources require a truck that only carries the source, no other freight can be moved with it. Transporting very large radioactive sources involves complex security measures.

Once at the site where it will be used, radiation technicians will install it into the shielded housing, which will hold the source for the duration of its working life. That life will depend on how much activity is needed to penetrate the tested material and the half-life of the isotope chosen. After a long and useful lifetime, an older decayed source will be disposed of, making room for a new replacement.

Please contact ADM Nucelar Technologies, if you need to acquire a radiation source.