Speaker
Description
An inspection team from the National on Nuclear, Radiation, Chemical and Biological Regulatory Commission inspected the shipment of radioactive sources arriving via Baghdad International Airport - air cargo and supervised the process of transporting these radioactive sources from the airport to the site of the installation at the Martyr Ghazi Al-Hariri Hospital in the Bab Al-Muadham area - Medical City Complex on 5 April 2023. The purpose of escorting a radioactive source during transport is to ensure compliance with radiation safety and security requirements during transport, at the work site, and at the installation site of the Gamma Knife system.
The package of radioactive sources that the Authority supervised the transfer of includes a large cylindrical container with a diameter of (85 cm) and a height of (160 cm) made of steel and lined with a thick layer of lead that acts as a radiation shield. The package contains 192 radioactive sources of type Co-60 with a radioactivity rate of (24 Ci) or (0.9 TBq) per source, and the total radioactivity of the radioactive sources is (4738.9 Ci) or (175.3 TBq) on the date of manufacture on 28 February 2023, as reported in the inspection document for the radioactive source attached to the report affixed to the package of the radioactive source. The transport mark affixed to the surface of the package was Class II with Transport Index 1.2 and the transport package type B(U) bearing the number UN2916 according to the United Nations classification.
After completing customs procedures for the clearance of the shipment of radioactive sources arriving via the Baghdad International Airport air cargo terminal on March 29, 2023, under shipping document number 501-13893552 (Stockholm - Baghdad), the customs clearance procedures for this shipment were completed by Alkata Instruments on Wednesday, April 5, 2023. The transportation process was carried out with the facilities of the following entities:
1- The Iraqi Authority for the Control of Radioactive Sources, represented by Mr. Qais Abdul Amir, Mr. Hassanein Hekmat Muhammad, Mr. Mustafa Karim, and Mr. Ihab Sabah.
2- Al-Sager Security Protection Company.
3- In addition, Alkata Instruments staff, under the supervision of Mr. Muhammad Ammar Nasser, the company's radiation protection officer, and Mr. Muhammad Bashir Alwan (engineer).
The transportation route included air freight, the airport road, the expressway to the Amiriya area, the expressway to the Al-Adl neighborhood, the intersection of Al-Liqa' Square, Al-Iskan, Ali Al-Saleh Bridge, Al-Atifiya, Al-Sarafiya Bridge, Bab Al-Muadham, the Medical City Complex, and the Martyr Ghazi Al-Hariri Hospital, which was considered the secure way for the transport of the shipment. The radioactive source was transported by a large 5-ton truck.
Radiation measurements were performed on the sides of the radioactive source package and the transport wheel after loading the radioactive sources and were as shown in the table below:
Instrument used Dose rate (µSv/h) Measurement site
MiniTrace 173 The package surface contacts the sides of the metal container.
MiniTrace 9.3 60 cm from the surface of the container at the sides
MiniTrace 4.9 1 meter from the container surface at the sides
MiniTrace 15.5 30 cm from the surface of the container at the sides
MiniTrace 0.49 Driver's side cockpit
MiniTrace 0.42 Cockpit for the driver's side of the passenger's side
MiniTrace 9.87 Right side of the transmission wheel
MiniTrace 8.85 Left side of the transmission wheel
MiniTrace 1.79 Behind the vehicle of transport
It was concluded that the measured dose rates for the workers were well within the recommended dose constraint for this mission.
