IDENTIFYING RADIOACTIVE SCRAP

Identifying Radioactive Scrap
Be Safe. Look for it.
This flashcard set is designed to help you identify radioactive
materials in the recycling environment. If you find any items
that look like any of these—or that you think might possibly
be radioactive scrap, DO NOT TOUCH IT!
Evacuate the area immediately and keep people away.
Call your manager immediately.
Things to look for include:
• Round or dome-shaped objects
• Objects with a lifting eye
• Objects that are unusually heavy for their size
• C-shaped objects
• Anything displaying this symbol:
• Glow-in-the-dark dials
• Some kinds of smoke detectors
• Pipe scale
• Key words (radioactive, any word that ends in –ium,
“exposure device”, curie, bequerel)
Common sources of radioactive scrap include:
• Military/Defense facilities
• Medical/Hospital equipment
• Demolition
• Aviation
• Oil and gas productions facilities
• Highway construction
radioactive: GAUGE
Gauge
Indicador
(english)
(spanish)
• Contains Cs137
•C
ontiene Cs137
• Found in shipments of
unprepared steel
•E
ncontrado en cargamentos
de acero sin preparar
Be Safe. Look for it.
radioactive: gauge
Gauge
Indicador
(english)
(spanish)
• Contains Cs137
•C
ontiene Cs137
• Found in shipments of
unprepared steel
•E
ncontrado en cargamentos
de acero sin preparar
Be Safe. Look for it.
radioactive: AIRCRAFT PART
Aircraft Part
Pieza de avión
(english)
(spanish)
• Contains depleted uranium
•C
ontiene uranio empobrecido
• Found in aircraft scrap
•E
ncontrada en chatarra
de avión
Be Safe. Look for it.
radioactive: HYDRO PUMP
Hydro Pump
Bomba de agua
(english)
(spanish)
• Found in military aircraft
•E
ncontrada en avión militar
• Contains mag thorium
•C
ontiene una aleación de torio
y magnesio
Be Safe. Look for it.
radioactive: GAUGES
Gauges
Indicadores
(english)
(spanish)
• Found in scrap from
demolished textile mill
•E
ncontrados en chatarra
proveniente de fábrica
textil demolida
• Contains KR85
•C
ontiene KR85
Be Safe. Look for it.
radioactive: LIGHTNING ARRESTORS
Lightning Arrestors
Pararrayos
(english)
(spanish)
• Found in demolition scrap
•E
ncontrados en chattara
de demolición
• Contains Ra226
•C
ontiene Ra226
Be Safe. Look for it.
radioactive: MILITARY COMPASS
Military Compass
Brújula militar
(english)
(spanish)
• Found in virtually any
scrap shipment, usually
from peddlers
•E
ncontrada en casi todos los
cargamentos de chatarra, por
lo general provenientes
de vendedores ambulantes
• Contains Ra226
•C
ontiene Ra226
Be Safe. Look for it.
radioactive: MILITARY DASH PANEL
Military Dash Panel
Tablero militar
(english)
(spanish)
• Found in shipments of military
demolition, or of wrecked
military equipment
•E
ncontrado en cargamentos
de demoliciones militares
o de equipos militares
destrozados
• Contains Ra226
•C
ontiene Ra226
Be Safe. Look for it.
radioactive: DECK MARKER
Deck Marker
Boya de cubierta
(english)
(spanish)
• Found in shipments
of military scrap
•E
ncontrada en cargamentos
de chatarra militar
• Contains Ra226
• Contiene
Ra226
Be Safe. Look for it.
radioactive: ATTITUDE GAUGE
Attitude Gauge
Indicador de posición
(english)
(spanish)
• Found in military aircraft scrap
•E
ncontrado en chatarra
de avión militar
• Contains Ra226
• Contiene Ra226
Be Safe. Look for it.
radioactive: HELICOPTER PARTS
Helicopter Parts
Piezas de helicóptero
(english)
(spanish)
• Found in military scrap
•E
ncontradas en chatarra militar
• Contains mag thorium
•C
ontiene una aleación de
torio y magnesio
Be Safe. Look for it.
radioactive: OLD SMOKE DETECTOR
Old Smoke Detector
Detector antiguo de humo
(english)
(spanish)
• Found in demolition scrap
•E
ncontrado en chatarra
de demolición
• Contains Am241 or Ra226
•C
ontiene Am241 o Ra226
Be Safe. Look for it.
radioactive: WATER HEATER
Water Heater
Calentador de agua
(english)
(spanish)
• Found in peddler scrap
•E
ncontrado en chattara
de vendedores ambulantes
• Contains NORM, usually Ra226
•C
ontiene materiales radiactivos
de origen natural (Naturally
occuring radioactive material,
NORM), por lo general Ra226
Be Safe. Look for it.
radioactive: Unknown
Unknown
Material desconocido
(english)
(spanish)
• Found in peddler scrap
•E
ncontrado en chattara de
vendedores ambulantes
Be Safe. Look for it.
radioactive: UNKNOWN
Unknown
Material desconocido
(english)
(spanish)
• Found in demolition scrap
from mining operation
•E
ncontrado en chattara de
demolición proveniente de
operaciones de minería
• Contains NORM, usually
Ra226or Th252
•C
ontiene NORM, por lo
general Ra226 o Th252
Be Safe. Look for it.
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