The IAEA has conceived an idea of employing mobile hot cell facility to handle radioactive sources in developing countries. The idea was successfully employed for the first time in a real field operation in Sudan in early May to process high-activity disused radioactive sources. This was the first operation of its kind undertaken by IAEA in a developing country.
Disused/decayed high-activity radioactive sources, used for diagnosing and treating medical patients, sterilizing blood and medical appliances or protecting stored crops, need to be handled before its safe disposal. Unlike in developed countries, developing countries may not have the specialized infra-structure for handling such sources.
The project in Sudan was performed at the radioactive waste storage site of the country´s Atomic Energy Commission. The inventory included disused sources that had been used in research and medical teletherapy machines containing high-activity Cobalt 60 sources. Inside the mobile hot cell, the disused radioactive sources were removed from the original equipment and transferred into a stronger storage container that was designed for their safe and secure storage.
The creation of the mobile hot cell and its successful operation illustrates an excellent example of technical cooperation between developing countries. It is an opportunity to extend disused source recovery and conditioning work to cover other developing countries (source: IAEA News).
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