Dealing
With Radioactive Scrap
A
decade ago, few scrap processors had heard of radioactive scrap, but today
hot scrap is a hot issue, posing serious health and financial
dangers to the industry. A recent ReMA seminar concluded that the problems
posed by radiated scrap must be solved through cooperation between scrap
processors, government regulators, and safety equipment professionals.
On
February 21, 1983, Auburn Steel Co. Inc. (Auburn, N.Y.) received a piece
of hospital equipment in some of the 1,800 tons of scrap it received that
day. The unit was not particularly conspicuous or notable, except that the
company's magnet had difficulty picking up the unit's head, which was no
larger than a basketball. No one realized that the unit was only sheathed
in steel and filled with a lead shielding that contained a significant
amount of cobalt-60, a radioactive material.
It
was only after the unit had been melted down and incorporated into new
steel that the company discovered the radiation contamination. This
disaster, which closed Auburn Steel for 28 days and cost $4 million to
clean up, was the first publicly documented incident of steel mill
contamination from a radiated scrap source. It sent shock waves through
the steel and scrap industries, and created a new area of radiation
concern--"hot" scrap--that was not addressed by government
regulations. All of a sudden, scrap processors started asking what they
could do to avoid or respond to radioactive scrap.
Ten
panelists grappled with this issue at a "Radioactivity in Scrap
Metal" seminar on Sept. 12 in Washington, D.C., organized by the
Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI). Cosponsors of the seminar
included the Aluminum Association, the American Iron and Steel Institute,
the Ferrous Scrap Consumers Coalition, the Specialty Steel Industry of the
United States, and the Steel Manufacturers Association.
The
panelists, who represented state and federal regulatory agencies, private
consulting firms, and industry members, provided a basic education for the
100-plus attendees and promoted cooperation between industry and
government to diminish the threat of radioactive scrap. Though there are
no easy answers, the seminar provided essential information to help scrap
processors and consumers face this new challenge.
Detection
Can Mean Protection
Following
the adage "The best offense is a good defense," panelists
recommended that scrap processors and consumers purchase some type of
radiation detection equipment. William C. Fisher, vice president of U.S.
plant operations for Steelmet Inc. (McKeesport, Pa.), asserted,
"Those scrap processors who do not put [radiation monitors] in their
plants are only kidding themselves, because sooner or later it's going to
come back on them."
Anthony
LaMastra, a certified health physicist with Health Physics Associates Inc.
(Lenhartsville, Pa.), agreed, stating, "The reason for putting a
system in is that you're trying to protect your workers and your facility.
Understand that you're really buying an insurance policy, and the amount
of money that you spend becomes a management decision."
Upper
management must totally support any equipment purchase, LaMastra stressed,
and be willing to invest in a system with the necessary sensitivity,
ensure that the equipment is used properly, and commit trained personnel
to maintain the equipment and respond effectively to an alarm. James A.
Dacey of Auburn Steel advised attendees that "when you set up a
system, you want to make sure that you're not doing it 75 percent or 80
percent--but 100 percent. We monitor everything that goes in and out of
our plant--even the vending machine company."
Detection
equipment ranges from handheld monitors that cost a few hundred dollars to
$300,000-plus units that can detect shielded sources in a pile of scrap.
In choosing equipment, LaMastra said, scrap processors must match the
detection equipment to their needs, taking into account their budgets, the
size of their operations, the types of scrap they process, in what types
of vehicles most scrap arrives, what they aim to detect (shielded or
unshielded sources), and the weather conditions at their plants.
Desirable
features in detectors are high sensitivity, with a low
background-radiation pickup and a low false-alarm rate. "If the
system keeps alarming," LaMastra pointed out, "it's going to be
turned off." To increase a monitor's effectiveness, he recommended
surrounding all sides except the front with lead shielding.
Panelists
noted the need for governments to establish testing and performance
standards for radiation detection equipment to help buyers make wise
purchases. Morning panel moderator Joel O. Lubenau, senior project manager
for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), responded by noting that
"even though we don't have standards for you, we can share some of
the techniques that we normally use to assure that the equipment you
purchase is performing the way it should."
As
a complement to radiation detection equipment, several panelists
recommended that scrap recyclers should establish a service contract with
a health physics consul ant to provide on-call services in emergency situations. Such
professionals can offer vital technical expertise and instruments, said
Kevin M. Ramsey, a nuclear safety engineer with the NRC, adding,
"They can analyze what's going on and relay information back to us or
other regulatory agencies involved." Contact information on these
consultants can be found in nuclear buyer's guides.
When
the Alarm Sounds
Advance
emergency planning is essential to a radiation response plan, panelists
advised. Personnel must know what they will do when the alarm sounds.
"Develop procedures before you have the system installed,"
LaMastra noted. "If you don't, you're going to be haggling over them
and developing them on the fly.
Michael
S. Peters, environment and energy manager of Structural Metals Inc. (SMI)
(Seguin, Texas), said his company has established a standard radiation
response plan for most scenarios.
If
a detector is triggered, SMI runs the load through again to check for a
false alarm. If the alarm does not sound again, the load may proceed. If
the alarm sounds a second time, the company notes the radiation reading on
the detector. For low-level readings, the load is sorted to locate the
contaminated piece, in accordance with a protocol established with Texas.
For medium-level readings, the company notifies the state's department of
health and asks for guidance. For high-level readings, the company
isolates the load, immediately notifies the state, and waits for
assistance. In all cases, the scrap supplier is informed of the radiation
found in the material.
SMI
began monitoring its loads in 1986 and is into its second generation of
detection equipment. Since that time, the company has detected radiation
in approximately one out of every 1,000 loads. Key to SMI's response plan,
Peters pointed out, is contacting the appropriate state and/or federal
authorities as needed, taking advantage of their monitoring and assistance
roles. Scrap recyclers do not have to confront a radiation problem alone.
Calling
In the Government
Once
a recycler has detected radioactive scrap, the question remains: What do
you do with it?
Steelmet's
Fisher observed, "There are still people out there who, when they
find out they have a radiation problem, they literally bury it. They're
afraid of what's going to happen. They're afraid of calling someone.
They're afraid of what it's going to cost them."
There
are extensive resources available to them, however, through federal
agencies like the NRC, the Department of Transportation (DOT), and the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as their state's department
of environmental resources and local police and fire departments. Most
agency services are paid for by tax dollars and are provided free. "I
hate to use the adage 'I'm from the government, I'm here to help you,' but
that is the attitude my agency takes," said James G. Yusko of
Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Resources. "If there's a
problem, we try to determine what we can do to solve it. And I think
that's what you'll find with most of the agencies that respond.
Afternoon
panel moderator Michael E. Wangler, chief of DOT's radioactive materials
branch, echoed that sentiment. "We in the federal sector attempt to
help you as much as we can. One of the jobs of my group is to provide as
much assistance as possible, short of providing 100-percent consulting
services to an individual."
The
first concern of any state or federal regulatory agency is to control
public exposure to the radiation source. Then agencies can:
advise
scrap processors by telephone how to respond to a radioactive material;
ill send inspectors to the site;
coordinate
the efforts of several government agencies;
provide
direct surveys and lab analyses;
assist
with paperwork;
suggest
the proper consultants;
help
recyclers decide how to proceed; and
provide
exemptions from certain regulations.
The
NRC also offers field monitoring, aerial monitoring, and medical
assistance.
G.
Wayne Kerr of Illinois's Department of Nuclear Safety said that when scrap
processors and consumers discover a contamination, they should call their
state regulators and describe the event in detail, tell how the material
was detected, provide radiation readings (if available), and give the
names and contact numbers of all parties involved. Regulatory agencies
generally do not actually handle or dispose of radioactive material, but
they can assist in arranging for such disposal.
Establishing
Guidelines
The
Auburn Steel contamination incident surprised everyone, including the
government's regulatory agencies, which have been playing a game of
regulatory catch-up since 1983. "When this problem first came to
light, it really caught the regulatory community off guard," the
NRC's Ramsey said. He added that agencies are increasingly having to step
beyond their normal monitoring roles into a more active, physical response
role.
Radioactive
scrap does require regulation, yet no standardized rules have been
established as yet. On the transportation front, DOT's Wangler said,
"Contaminated scrap presents a bit of a unique situation."
Ramsey noted, "Presently there's no formal guidance on scrap material
contaminated with naturally occurring radioactive materials, so there are
complications there." And Allan Richardson of the EPA said, "The
EPA doesn't have any regulations that directly tie to the radioactive
materials that scrap processors deal with."
Agencies
and recyclers recognize the need for standardized response procedures for
scrap processors, steel mills, health physics consultants, and government
agencies that are confronted with radioactive scrap. "Coordination
and communication are still critical areas," Pennsylvania's Yusko
said. Together the groups can disperse the information and guidance
necessary to make radiation emergencies a rarity.
As
the NRC's Lubenau soberly pointed out, "Until such time that these
studies, educational programs, and regulatory programs are developed and
take effect, the bottom line is that radioactive material in metal scrap
will continue to be a problem for the metal scrap industry.
Steelmet's
Fisher concluded by saying, "None of us wants to have the experience
that Auburn had, and we don't want to contribute to anything like that.
Try to get some detection devices. Buy what you can afford, but buy
something. Find out who your regulators are and get in touch with them.
And if you do have some radiation, don't be afraid to go to somebody who
can at least try to help you. It's better dm sticking your head in the
sand."
Dealing
With Radioactive Scrap
A
decade ago, few scrap processors had heard of radioactive scrap, but today
hot scrap is a hot issue, posing serious health and financial
dangers to the industry. A recent ReMA seminar concluded that the problems
posed by radiated scrap must be solved through cooperation between scrap
processors, government regulators, and safety equipment professionals.
On
February 21, 1983, Auburn Steel Co. Inc. (Auburn, N.Y.) received a piece
of hospital equipment in some of the 1,800 tons of scrap it received that
day. The unit was not particularly conspicuous or notable, except that the
company's magnet had difficulty picking up the unit's head, which was no
larger than a basketball. No one realized that the unit was only sheathed
in steel and filled with a lead shielding that contained a significant
amount of cobalt-60, a radioactive material.
It
was only after the unit had been melted down and incorporated into new
steel that the company discovered the radiation contamination. This
disaster, which closed Auburn Steel for 28 days and cost $4 million to
clean up, was the first publicly documented incident of steel mill
contamination from a radiated scrap source. It sent shock waves through
the steel and scrap industries, and created a new area of radiation
concern--"hot" scrap--that was not addressed by government
regulations. All of a sudden, scrap processors started asking what they
could do to avoid or respond to radioactive scrap.
Ten
panelists grappled with this issue at a "Radioactivity in Scrap
Metal" seminar on Sept. 12 in Washington, D.C., organized by the
Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI). Cosponsors of the seminar
included the Aluminum Association, the American Iron and Steel Institute,
the Ferrous Scrap Consumers Coalition, the Specialty Steel Industry of the
United States, and the Steel Manufacturers Association.
The
panelists, who represented state and federal regulatory agencies, private
consulting firms, and industry members, provided a basic education for the
100-plus attendees and promoted cooperation between industry and
government to diminish the threat of radioactive scrap. Though there are
no easy answers, the seminar provided essential information to help scrap
processors and consumers face this new challenge.
Detection
Can Mean Protection
Following
the adage "The best offense is a good defense," panelists
recommended that scrap processors and consumers purchase some type of
radiation detection equipment. William C. Fisher, vice president of U.S.
plant operations for Steelmet Inc. (McKeesport, Pa.), asserted,
"Those scrap processors who do not put [radiation monitors] in their
plants are only kidding themselves, because sooner or later it's going to
come back on them."
Anthony
LaMastra, a certified health physicist with Health Physics Associates Inc.
(Lenhartsville, Pa.), agreed, stating, "The reason for putting a
system in is that you're trying to protect your workers and your facility.
Understand that you're really buying an insurance policy, and the amount
of money that you spend becomes a management decision."
Upper
management must totally support any equipment purchase, LaMastra stressed,
and be willing to invest in a system with the necessary sensitivity,
ensure that the equipment is used properly, and commit trained personnel
to maintain the equipment and respond effectively to an alarm. James A.
Dacey of Auburn Steel advised attendees that "when you set up a
system, you want to make sure that you're not doing it 75 percent or 80
percent--but 100 percent. We monitor everything that goes in and out of
our plant--even the vending machine company."
Detection
equipment ranges from handheld monitors that cost a few hundred dollars to
$300,000-plus units that can detect shielded sources in a pile of scrap.
In choosing equipment, LaMastra said, scrap processors must match the
detection equipment to their needs, taking into account their budgets, the
size of their operations, the types of scrap they process, in what types
of vehicles most scrap arrives, what they aim to detect (shielded or
unshielded sources), and the weather conditions at their plants.
Desirable
features in detectors are high sensitivity, with a low
background-radiation pickup and a low false-alarm rate. "If the
system keeps alarming," LaMastra pointed out, "it's going to be
turned off." To increase a monitor's effectiveness, he recommended
surrounding all sides except the front with lead shielding.
Panelists
noted the need for governments to establish testing and performance
standards for radiation detection equipment to help buyers make wise
purchases. Morning panel moderator Joel O. Lubenau, senior project manager
for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), responded by noting that
"even though we don't have standards for you, we can share some of
the techniques that we normally use to assure that the equipment you
purchase is performing the way it should."
As
a complement to radiation detection equipment, several panelists
recommended that scrap recyclers should establish a service contract with
a health physics consul ant to provide on-call services in emergency situations. Such
professionals can offer vital technical expertise and instruments, said
Kevin M. Ramsey, a nuclear safety engineer with the NRC, adding,
"They can analyze what's going on and relay information back to us or
other regulatory agencies involved." Contact information on these
consultants can be found in nuclear buyer's guides.
When
the Alarm Sounds
Advance
emergency planning is essential to a radiation response plan, panelists
advised. Personnel must know what they will do when the alarm sounds.
"Develop procedures before you have the system installed,"
LaMastra noted. "If you don't, you're going to be haggling over them
and developing them on the fly.
Michael
S. Peters, environment and energy manager of Structural Metals Inc. (SMI)
(Seguin, Texas), said his company has established a standard radiation
response plan for most scenarios.
If
a detector is triggered, SMI runs the load through again to check for a
false alarm. If the alarm does not sound again, the load may proceed. If
the alarm sounds a second time, the company notes the radiation reading on
the detector. For low-level readings, the load is sorted to locate the
contaminated piece, in accordance with a protocol established with Texas.
For medium-level readings, the company notifies the state's department of
health and asks for guidance. For high-level readings, the company
isolates the load, immediately notifies the state, and waits for
assistance. In all cases, the scrap supplier is informed of the radiation
found in the material.
SMI
began monitoring its loads in 1986 and is into its second generation of
detection equipment. Since that time, the company has detected radiation
in approximately one out of every 1,000 loads. Key to SMI's response plan,
Peters pointed out, is contacting the appropriate state and/or federal
authorities as needed, taking advantage of their monitoring and assistance
roles. Scrap recyclers do not have to confront a radiation problem alone.
Calling
In the Government
Once
a recycler has detected radioactive scrap, the question remains: What do
you do with it?
Steelmet's
Fisher observed, "There are still people out there who, when they
find out they have a radiation problem, they literally bury it. They're
afraid of what's going to happen. They're afraid of calling someone.
They're afraid of what it's going to cost them."
There
are extensive resources available to them, however, through federal
agencies like the NRC, the Department of Transportation (DOT), and the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as their state's department
of environmental resources and local police and fire departments. Most
agency services are paid for by tax dollars and are provided free. "I
hate to use the adage 'I'm from the government, I'm here to help you,' but
that is the attitude my agency takes," said James G. Yusko of
Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Resources. "If there's a
problem, we try to determine what we can do to solve it. And I think
that's what you'll find with most of the agencies that respond.
Afternoon
panel moderator Michael E. Wangler, chief of DOT's radioactive materials
branch, echoed that sentiment. "We in the federal sector attempt to
help you as much as we can. One of the jobs of my group is to provide as
much assistance as possible, short of providing 100-percent consulting
services to an individual."
The
first concern of any state or federal regulatory agency is to control
public exposure to the radiation source. Then agencies can:
advise
scrap processors by telephone how to respond to a radioactive material;
ill send inspectors to the site;
coordinate
the efforts of several government agencies;
provide
direct surveys and lab analyses;
assist
with paperwork;
suggest
the proper consultants;
help
recyclers decide how to proceed; and
provide
exemptions from certain regulations.
The
NRC also offers field monitoring, aerial monitoring, and medical
assistance.
G.
Wayne Kerr of Illinois's Department of Nuclear Safety said that when scrap
processors and consumers discover a contamination, they should call their
state regulators and describe the event in detail, tell how the material
was detected, provide radiation readings (if available), and give the
names and contact numbers of all parties involved. Regulatory agencies
generally do not actually handle or dispose of radioactive material, but
they can assist in arranging for such disposal.
Establishing
Guidelines
The
Auburn Steel contamination incident surprised everyone, including the
government's regulatory agencies, which have been playing a game of
regulatory catch-up since 1983. "When this problem first came to
light, it really caught the regulatory community off guard," the
NRC's Ramsey said. He added that agencies are increasingly having to step
beyond their normal monitoring roles into a more active, physical response
role.
Radioactive
scrap does require regulation, yet no standardized rules have been
established as yet. On the transportation front, DOT's Wangler said,
"Contaminated scrap presents a bit of a unique situation."
Ramsey noted, "Presently there's no formal guidance on scrap material
contaminated with naturally occurring radioactive materials, so there are
complications there." And Allan Richardson of the EPA said, "The
EPA doesn't have any regulations that directly tie to the radioactive
materials that scrap processors deal with."
Agencies
and recyclers recognize the need for standardized response procedures for
scrap processors, steel mills, health physics consultants, and government
agencies that are confronted with radioactive scrap. "Coordination
and communication are still critical areas," Pennsylvania's Yusko
said. Together the groups can disperse the information and guidance
necessary to make radiation emergencies a rarity.
As
the NRC's Lubenau soberly pointed out, "Until such time that these
studies, educational programs, and regulatory programs are developed and
take effect, the bottom line is that radioactive material in metal scrap
will continue to be a problem for the metal scrap industry.
Steelmet's
Fisher concluded by saying, "None of us wants to have the experience
that Auburn had, and we don't want to contribute to anything like that.
Try to get some detection devices. Buy what you can afford, but buy
something. Find out who your regulators are and get in touch with them.
And if you do have some radiation, don't be afraid to go to somebody who
can at least try to help you. It's better dm sticking your head in the
sand."