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    Management of Disused Ionization Chamber Smoke Detectors: Approaches and Practical Experiences
    Management of Disused Ionization Chamber Smoke Detectors: Approaches and Practical Experiences
    Management of Disused Ionization Chamber Smoke Detectors: Approaches and Practical Experiences
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    Management of Disused Ionization Chamber Smoke Detectors: Approaches and Practical Experiences

    By IAEA

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    Ionization Chamber Smoke Detectors (ICSDs) contain relatively small amounts of radioactive material and pose little hazard on an individual basis, even when disposed of in municipal landfills. However, many Member States have taken the decision to collect all or many of their country's disused ICSDs in one or more locations. This often leads to the need for ICSDs to be managed as radioactive waste. The objective of this publication is to provide an overview of the management options for the ICSDs declared disused. It presents information on a variety of ICSD models. The approach and examples for landfill disposal of household ICSD, as consumer products exempted from regulatory control is discussed. It presents the management options for disused ICSD once they have been collected. Various options for the safe management of disused ICSDs are covered including advantages and disadvantages, based on Member State infrastructure and IAEA guidance and international safety standards.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherInternational Atomic Energy Agency
    Release dateMay 24, 2024
    ISBN9789201094247
    Management of Disused Ionization Chamber Smoke Detectors: Approaches and Practical Experiences

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      Book preview

      Management of Disused Ionization Chamber Smoke Detectors - IAEA

      1.png

      MANAGEMENT OF

      DISUSED IONIZATION

      CHAMBER SMOKE DETECTORS:

      APPROACHES AND

      PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES

      IAEA NUCLEAR ENERGY SERIES No. NW-T-1.26

      MANAGEMENT OF

      DISUSED IONIZATION

      CHAMBER SMOKE DETECTORS:

      APPROACHES AND

      PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES

      INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY

      VIENNA, 2024

      COPYRIGHT NOTICE

      All IAEA scientific and technical publications are protected by the terms of the Universal Copyright Convention as adopted in 1952 (Geneva) and as revised in 1971 (Paris). The copyright has since been extended by the World Intellectual Property Organization (Geneva) to include electronic and virtual intellectual property. Permission may be required to use whole or parts of texts contained in IAEA publications in printed or electronic form. Please see

      www.iaea.org/publications/rights-and-permissions for more details. Enquiries may be addressed to:

      Publishing Section

      International Atomic Energy Agency

      Vienna International Centre

      PO Box 100

      1400 Vienna, Austria

      tel.: +43 1 2600 22529 or 22530

      email: [email protected]

      www.iaea.org/publications

      © IAEA, 2024

      Printed by the IAEA in Austria

      May 2024

      STI/PUB/2083

      https://doi.org/10.61092/iaea.ve1k-bnjs

      IAEA Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

      Names: International Atomic Energy Agency.

      Title: Management of disused ionization chamber smoke detectors and their associated disused sealed radioactive sources / International Atomic Energy Agency.

      Description: Vienna : International Atomic Energy Agency, 2024. | Series: IAEA nuclear energy series, ISSN 1995-7807 ; no. NW-T-1.26 | Includes bibliographical references.

      Identifiers: IAEAL 24-01687 | ISBN 978-92-0-109224-3 (paperback : alk. paper) | ISBN 978-92-0-109324-0 (pdf) | ISBN 978-92-0-109424-7 (epub)

      Subjects: LCSH: Radioactive waste disposal. | Radioactive wastes — Management. | Radiation — Safety measures. | Ionization chambers.

      Classification: UDC 621.039.7 | STI/PUB/2083

      FOREWORD

      The IAEA’s statutory role is to seek to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world. Among other functions, the IAEA is authorized to foster the exchange of scientific and technical information on peaceful uses of atomic energy. One way this is achieved is through a range of technical publications including the IAEA Nuclear Energy Series.  

      The IAEA Nuclear Energy Series comprises publications designed to further the use of nuclear technologies in support of sustainable development, to advance nuclear science and technology, catalyse innovation and build capacity to support the existing and expanded use of nuclear power and nuclear science applications. The publications include information covering all policy, technological and management aspects of the definition and implementation of activities involving the peaceful use of nuclear technology. While the guidance provided in IAEA Nuclear Energy Series publications does not constitute Member States’ consensus, it has undergone internal peer review and been made available to Member States for comment prior to publication.  

      The IAEA safety standards establish fundamental principles, requirements and recommendations to ensure nuclear safety and serve as a global reference for protecting people and the environment from harmful effects of ionizing radiation.  

      When IAEA Nuclear Energy Series publications address safety, it is ensured that the IAEA safety standards are referred to as the current boundary conditions for the application of nuclear technology.  

      IAEA Member States have been using ionization chamber smoke detectors containing sealed radioactive sources for many decades. The main benefit of smoke detectors with ionization chambers is the potential to save lives by warning of fires. Although most Member States have laid down a proper regulatory framework to control sealed radioactive sources, there is no consistent approach to the management of the disused ionization chamber smoke detectors. 

      This publication provides an overview of a variety of ionization chamber smoke detector models. In addition, it discusses practices for the collection, dismantling and storage of disused ionization chamber smoke detectors and radioactive waste streams resulting from their management. Various options for the safe management of disused ionization chamber smoke detectors are discussed, including advantages and disadvantages based on Member State experiences and IAEA guidance and standards. 

      The IAEA wishes to acknowledge the assistance provided by the contributors to drafting and review listed at the end of the publication. The IAEA officer responsible for the publication was J.C. Benitez-Navarro of the Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology. 

      The authoritative version of this publication is the hard copy issued at the same time and available as pdf on www.iaea.org/publications. To create this version for e-readers, certain changes have been made, including a the movement of some figures and tables.

      CONTENTS

      1. Introduction

      1.1. Background

      1.2. Objective

      1.3. Scope

      1.4. Structure

      2. Overview of Smoke Detectors

      2.1. Smoke detectors: optical and ionization chamber

      2.2. Identification of ICSDs

      3. Safety and Safeguard CONSIDERATIONS for ICSDs

      3.1. Safety considerations

      3.2. Radiation protection and industrial safety

      3.3. Safeguards considerations

      4. Management Options for disused ICSDs

      4.1. General approach

      4.2. Disposal of ICSDs in landfills

      4.3. Collection of disused ICSDs

      4.4. Management of disused ICSDs at a conditioning and/or storage facility

      5. ICSDs Dismantling Procedures and Long term Management of recovered DSRS

      5.1. General dismantling procedure

      5.2. Conditioning and packaging

      5.3. Storage and disposal of dsrs and secondary radioactive waste

      6. Lessons Learned

      7. Conclusions and further considerations

      7.1. Conclusions

      7.2. Further considerations

      REFERENCES

      Annex I: INFORMATION FOR THE ANNEXES

      Annex II: MEMBER STATE EXPERIENCE (ALBANIA)

      Annex III: MEMBER STATE EXPERIENCE (ARGENTINA)

      Annex IV: MEMBER STATE EXPERIENCE (BULGARIA)

      Annex V: MEMBER STATE EXPERIENCE (CANADA)

      Annex VI: MEMBER STATE EXPERIENCE (CHILE)

      Annex VII: MEMBER STATE EXPERIENCE (CHINA)

      Annex VIII: MEMBER STATE EXPERIENCE (CUBA)

      Annex IX: MEMBER STATE EXPERIENCE (FRANCE)

      Annex X: MEMBER STATE EXPERIENCE (ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN)

      Annex XI: MEMBER STATE EXPERIENCE (MONGOLIA)

      Annex XII: MEMBER STATE EXPERIENCE (MONTENEGRO)

      Annex XIII: MEMBER STATE EXPERIENCE (PHILIPPINES)

      Annex XIV: MEMBER STATE EXPERIENCE (ROMANIA)

      Annex XV: MEMBER STATE EXPERIENCE (SERBIA)

      Annex XVI: MEMBER STATE EXPERIENCE (SLOVAKIA)

      Annex XVII: MEMBER STATE EXPERIENCE (SLOVENIA)

      Annex XVIII: MEMBER STATE EXPERIENCE (SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC)

      Annex XIX: MEMBER STATE EXPERIENCE (THAILAND)

      ABBREVIATIONS

      CONTRIBUTORS TO DRAFTING AND REVIEW

      STRUCTURE OF THE IAEA NUCLEAR ENERGY SERIES

      1. Introduction

      1.1. Background

      Sealed radioactive sources (SRS) are used worldwide in medicine, agriculture, industry and research, in mobile as well as stationary devices. Their use provides many benefits to millions of people, in diagnosing and treating diseases, in assuring consistent food supplies and in improving the quality of manufactured products. The IAEA Safety Standards Series No. GSR Part 3, Radiation Protection and Safety of Radiation Sources: International Basic Safety Standards [1] defines an SRS as a radioactive source in which the radioactive material is (a) permanently sealed in a capsule or (b) closely bonded and in a solid form.

      If a source is no longer needed (e.g. replaced by a different technique) or it becomes unfit for the intended application (e.g. the activity becomes too weak, the equipment containing the source malfunctions or becomes obsolete, or the source is damaged or leaking) it is considered disused. Disused sealed radioactive sources (DSRS) are typically conditioned and disposed of, if a disposal facility is available. If the disposal option is not available, conditioned DSRS might be stored under proper conditions. In some cases, the radionuclide(s) in DSRS can be recovered/recycled or more often the DSRS can be repurposed/reused for other applications. Some examples are shown in the annexes.

      Smoke detectors are devices used to detect fires by sensing the smoke they cause. There are different types of smoke detectors:

      — Non-ionizing: optical detectors that use a photoelectric sensor;

      — Ionizing: ionization chamber smoke detectors (ICSDs) that contain SRS and share many management options with other devices containing an SRS.

      Millions of all types of smoke detectors have been used in private and public places for decades and while many are still in use, large numbers of disused smoke detectors have arisen.

      Until recently, ICSDs have been the most common type of smoke detectors [2]. These devices use a small amount of radioactive material, usually ²⁴¹Am. Other radionuclides such as ⁶³Ni, ⁸⁵Kr, ²²⁶Ra, ²³⁸Pu and ²³⁹Pu have also been used.

      Some facts to note for smoke detectors are:

      — Householders may install one to several ICSDs in their homes, but a much larger number of ICSDs may be used as part of a fire protection system in commercial settings such as an office block, shopping mall or hotel. ICSDs installed as components of fire detection systems of this nature are not consumer products as defined in GSR Part 3 [1], since they are not made available to members of the public [2].

      —The application of the provisions for exemption to consumer products are not straightforward and this has resulted

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