Water Quality

Why is it important to test the storage water?

The effects of storage pool water chemistry on the integrity and security of sealed sources used in wet storage irradiators have become more apparent in recent years. The highly ionised chemical microclimate surrounding radioactive Co-60 sealed sources immersed in water is quite untypical of the chemistry of the bulk water in the storage pool. REVISS scientists have learned how to understand and characterise this in terms of a practical set of specifications and measurements. Only by regularly testing the critical attributes of bulk water samples is it possible to ensure that the warranty conditions are met throughout the lifetime of the source.

What if I buy sources from more than one supplier?

REVISS, in collaboration with users and other leading manufacturers of Co-60 sources, has championed a programme of testing on sealed sources in service and has subsequently announced a unified set of requirements, endorsed and approved by all the major suppliers, for water chemistry of storage pool irradiators.

Water surveillance includes:

• water sampling
• wipe tests
• underwater video recording
• metallurgical monitoring

PURIDEC cobalt-60 sources are used routinely in the same source rack as sources from other major suppliers.

Read more about Surveillance and Water Quality