Orphan source

{{Short description|Radioactive device under improper control}}{{Over-quotation|date=March 2026}} An '''orphan source''' is a self-contained radioactive source that is no longer under regulatory control.

It is defined by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission as:<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/materials/miau/miau-reg-initiatives/orphan.html |title=NRC: Orphan Sources |publisher=Nrc.gov |date= |accessdate=2014-03-05}}</ref>

<blockquote>...a sealed source of radioactive material contained in a small volume—but not radioactively contaminated soils and bulk metals—in any one or more of the following conditions:

*In an uncontrolled condition that requires removal to protect public health and safety from a radiological threat *Controlled or uncontrolled, but for which a responsible party cannot be readily identified *Controlled, but the material's continued security cannot be assured. If held by a licensee, the licensee has few or no options for, or is incapable of providing for, the safe disposition of the material *In the possession of a person, not licensed to possess the material, who did not seek to possess the material *In the possession of a State radiological protection program for the sole purpose of mitigating a radiological threat because the orphan source is in one of the conditions described in one of the first four bullets and for which the State does not have a means to provide for the material's appropriate disposition</blockquote>

Most known orphan sources were, generally, small radioactive sources produced legitimately under governmental regulation. They were used for a variety of purposes including gauges, static eliminators, and various devices used in nuclear medicine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Radioactive Scrap - Be Aware! |url=https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2401/ML24010A078.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250317120741/https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2401/ML24010A078.pdf |archive-date=March 17, 2025 |access-date=January 16, 2026 |website=US Nuclear Regulatory Commission}}</ref> These sources were then "abandoned, lost, misplaced or stolen" and so no longer subject to proper regulation.<ref>{{cite web |author=Joint Committee on Environment and Local Government |date=23 September 2003 |title=Scrutiny of EU Proposals |url=http://www.irlgov.ie/committees-29/c-environment/20030923-J/Page1.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041001154250/http://www.irlgov.ie/committees-29/c-environment/20030923-J/Page1.htm |archive-date=October 1, 2004 |access-date=2024-05-16 |publisher=Parliament of Ireland}}</ref> Sources that were never under regulatory control can still be considered orphan sources.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-06-19 |title=Addressing Radiological Risks Posed by “Orphan Sources” |url=https://www.nti.org/risky-business/addressing-radiological-risks-posed-orphan-sources/ |access-date=2026-03-30 |website=The Nuclear Threat Initiative |language=en}}</ref>

They can be accidentally incorporated into scrap metal, contaminating the resulting recycled metal. This necessitates expensive cleanup measures, and can expose manufacturing workers or the users of the metal products to harmful doses of ionizing radiation.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012 |title=Control of Orphan Sources and Other Radioactive Material in the Metal Recycling and Production Industries |url=https://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/Pub1509_web.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251218002407/https://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/Pub1509_web.pdf |archive-date=December 18, 2025 |access-date=January 17, 2026 |website=International Atomic Energy Agency}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}{{Nuclear-stub}}

Category:Radiation accidents and incidents