Radiological emergencies due to postulated events of melted radioactive material mixed in steel reaching public domain

Radioactive materials are used widely in various applications, which in turn have resulted in its large scale availability to the various end users. Though in India, there is strict regulatory control on obtaining radioactive material and their use, there have been reported cases of radioactive material detected as steel contaminant in the public domain elsewhere. This led to the analysis on estimation of the radiation field during the postulated event of radionuclides 60 Co and 137 Cs getting into the alloys of steel. The postulated cases of radioactive material getting mixed during the alloy making are studied for two case studies to ascertain the detection and capability of identifying the radioactive material even in trace levels, are presented in this paper. For 60 Co and 137 Cs nuclides - either by design or unintentionally, as low as 10 mg gaining entry into the matrix of 100 kg of the alloy during its making, it is estimated and shown that the radioactive materials can easily be detected. It is feasible due to the use of sensitive radiation monitors available at the Emergency Response Centers-Department of Atomic Energy, which are capable of detecting radiation field above the natural radiation background, the event can be detected, and the consequences can be minimized.