Radioactive sources, both large and small, are used in many industries around the world. Some of these sources fall through the cracks of the radiation programs to which they belong and are misplaced or lost. Because their appearance rarely reveals what they really are, these sources often find their way to junkyards. Many steel mills recycle scrap from these yards by melting it into various bar and sheet products. If the mill were to melt one of these sources, the products they make will be contaminated. If the fountain is large enough or if there are multiple sources, this could pose a serious risk to the health of the public.
The RSO is generally responsible for the day-to-day activities of managing a company's health and safety program (this is an entry-level certification) RSO Cancer Treatment
To reduce the risk of receiving radioactive materials from scrap metal dealers, many steel mills have implemented radiation detection equipment on their property doors. These detectors are often large-area plastic scintillators designed to detect gamma radiation from sources. These systems generally consist of multiple detectors and a control box that is monitored by an operator at the front door. While these door monitors are well designed, it is still very difficult to detect a source within a scrap load. Oftentimes these sources are encapsulated in some form of protection, and to further complicate matters, the scrap metal and the sides of the container also act as protection.
Door scrap monitors are the first lines of defense for steel mills. Many of them have added secondary monitoring on cranes that collect the scrap to load it onto trucks or rail cars that carry the scrap to the actual mill. In addition, as the inboard cranes load the scrap into the loading buckets, which are then dumped into the furnace to be melted, they pass the scrap through another radiation monitoring system. If there is any source of radiation in the steel at this point, this is the steel mill's last chance to find it before it melts into the steel.
If the factory melts a radioactive source, it is important that the radioactive steel is not transferred to other equipment in the factory or worse, turned into a product and allowed to leave the site. The later in the process the radiation is discovered in the steel, the more costly/time-consuming it will be for the steel mill to clean it. Most steel mills have implemented testing of the steel after it has been melted by taking a sample and placing it under another radiation detector. This is done before the molten steel is placed in the foundry equipment.
One of the biggest problems for a steel mill Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) is the ability to monitor all of these systems. They are usually separate systems made by several manufacturers and therefore do not work together. Through training and procedures, the RSO determines what happens if one or more of the radiation monitoring systems are activated. Unfortunately, sometimes the RSO is not reported for hours, days, or not at all when the alarm is triggered. Recently this has been addressed and a system exists that can integrate multiple radiation detection systems to work together. Data can be recorded and monitored from a single location, such as the RSO office. Additionally, this system can be configured to notify the RSO of an alarm via email or you can send a message to your pager. This can be a great benefit for RSO. The system is called MillAlert and more information can be found via the link below.