The University of Connecticut Storrs campus and UConn Health recently removed a total of four cesium source irradiators from campuses through the Cesium Irradiator Replacement Project (CIRP), an initiative of the U.S. Department of Energy, according to Radiation Safety Manager Amy B. Courchesne.
Three of the irradiators were removed from UConn Health facilities, along with the only irradiator on the Storrs campus. The irradiators are scheduled to be replaced by newer X-ray models in the coming months.
Irradiators are historically used to expose substances to controlled amounts of gamma radiation for research and medical purposes, ranging from blood irradiations and pathobiology to physics and plant sciences.
“Past research at UConn with the cesium source irradiator includes cell research, geological samples, plants, seeds and pollinations” said Courchesne in an email interview. Departments who have had authorized users of the cesium source irradiator include Allied Health, Molecular & Cellular Biology, Nutritional Science, Pathobiology, Pharmaceutical Science, Physiology and Neurobiology (PNB), Physics and Plant Science according to Courchesne.
Cesium irradiators have been the target of replacement across the country due to safety and security risks they pose, containing a sealed source isotope of cesium (cesium-137), which have a half-life of roughly 30 years.
Following 9/11, additional security orders were put in effect by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, according to Courchesne.
“We weren’t able to publicly disclose that we had this equipment on campus,” said Courchesne. “Anyone interested in research using the irradiator would need to seek it out and were required to take a safety exam with me before use. X-ray irradiators would no longer require these restrictions.”
However, both the removal of the old irradiators and installation of the new ones pose great logistical challenges. Irradiators were disassembled, their shielded containers housing the radioactive material exposed and removed via crane at a loading dock, according to UConn Today. Each container weighed up to several thousand pounds.
When asked how long researchers will have to wait until the replacements are installed Courchesne said new irradiators should be installed within “the next couple of months.” Installation of new x-ray irradiators also requires further modifications to the room in which it will be housed on the Storrs campus. These modifications are ongoing, according to Courchesne. Researchers will also need to be trained in how to properly use new equipment, further delaying new research at Storrs. UConn Health’s new research irradiator was installed prior to the removal of the old cesium source irradiators according to UConn Today.
Considering the time sensitive nature of radiation based research, a working group of researchers at the Storrs campus was convened by Courchesne and Jeremy Balsbaugh, director of UConn’s Center of Open Research Resources (COR2E), according to Courchesne.
“We worked closely with researchers to ensure that this was a project worth pursuing,” Courchesne said. “Any researchers actively involved in using the old irradiator were given notice months in advance to ensure their data collection would not be interrupted.”
The total $2.622 million cost of removing the four irradiators was covered through CIRP, in addition to another $450,000 to $500,000, in reimbursements for the new x-ray replacements, covering roughly half the cost of each new irradiator, according to a UConn Today article. CIRP is also providing $16,000 in funds for modifications to the room which will house the new irradiator.
“We’re very excited about the new equipment because we can talk about it now, we can publicly list that we have access to these devices,” said Courchesne. “This opens a wide range of opportunities for possible researchers.”