The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) joined the governments of Georgia and the United Kingdom today in announcing the removal of more than 150 disused radioactive sources from Georgia’s Institute of Radiobiology.
This achievement is the culmination of a two-year project with Georgia’s Radiation Technology Safety Center to plan and execute the safe and secure removal of disused high activity sources from the Institute of Radiobiology to a more secure storage facility.
The project was implemented through the combined efforts of NNSA’s Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (DNN), Georgia’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection, and the United Kingdom’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
As part of NNSA’s broader cooperative effort to help prevent nuclear and radiological terrorism around the world, the removal of these radioactive sources supports efforts by Georgia’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection to implement international guidelines to protect and secure radiological materials.
The removal of the sources was made possible by a financial contribution from the United Kingdom.
“We are pleased to work with Georgia and the United Kingdom on important threat reduction projects such as this,” said NNSA Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Anne Harrington. “The removal of disused radioactive sources contributes to global security and is vital to the prevention of radioactive material being used for malicious purposes.”