BARC Newsletter

Founders Day Special Issue

Development of Type B(U) Package for Cobalt-60

Teletherapy Source Transportation
D.C. Kar, K. Jayarajan and Manjit Singh
Division of Remote Handling and Robotics

Dr. D.C. Kar is the recipient of the DAE Scientific & Technical Excellence Award
for the year 2009

Qualified package is essential, for the transportation of the source capsule between the manufacturers site and the
location of the cobalt-60 teletherapy unit. During transportation, consequences of any shielding failure can be catastrophic.
The package has to fulfill the stringent safety requirements for normal operating conditions, as well as for accidental
situations, as per the national and IAEA Safety Standards. Recently, we have developed a Type B(U) package, for the
indigenously developed teletherapy machine Bhabhatron. This paper highlights some of the design and test procedures,
followed during the development and qualification process of this package.

Introduction
Teletherapy source transportation packages are used, for
transportation of Cobalt-60 source capsules, between the
manufacturers site and the cancer hospitals. As the sources
are transported through public domain, consequences of
any breach of shielding can be severe. Therefore, utmost
care has to be exercised, to protect the people and the
environment from the harmful effects of radiation. As
part of our indigenous radiotherapy programme, we have
developed a transportation package (Fig.1) for transporting
the cobalt-60 radioactive sealed sources, for our
Bhabhatron series of indigenous teletherapy units. It is
certified as Type B(U), which means that it is approved
for international shipments as well. Here, important design
challenges and regulatory issues are discussed in brief.

Background
Teletherapy is one of the established modes for the
treatment of localized cancers. In cobalt teletherapy units,

Fig. 1: Teletherapy Source Transportation Package

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Abstract

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gamma radiation emitted from cobalt-60 radioisotope is

utilized, for destroying cancerous tissues. Tiny pellets of
cobalt-60 radioisotope are encapsulated and securely
fastened, inside a source drawer. The radioactivity content
of each fresh source capsule may be as high as 15000Ci.
The source drawer is a part of the teletherapy machine
and needs to be transported to the machine site (typically
a hospital), for loading into the therapy unit.
The source transportation package is meant to:
i)

transport the drawer containing the source capsule

safely from source fabrication facility to the hospital,

ii)

facilitate transfer of this drawer into the machine in

hospital environment without undesired exposure,

Fig. 2: The Flask and Operating details

replaced, and
iv) transport the decayed source to the designated
disposal facility.

Package Design

The fire-shield is a box-like structure with open bottom.

In the inner side, it has a layer of ceramic wool, protected
by steel sheets. Its role is to prevent excessive heating of
the flask during accidental fire. The structure on the outer

As per the IAEA Regulations for the Safe Transport of

surface of the fire-shield is made of thin tubes. These

sacrificial tubes form a protective grid and absorb impact

Radioactive Material [1, 2], radioactive material

transportation packages are classified according to their

energy, to maintain the integrity of the fire-shield, during

any accidental impact. During transportation, the fire-

activity contents. For Type-A package, quantitative limits

on the contents are prescribed, and cant be used for the

shield remains securely fastened to the flask.

present application. We need Type-B package for which

contents limits are indirectly restricted, by the need to
comply with requirements relating to radiation emission,
heat dissipation, internal pressure, criticality etc.
Additionally, Type-B package is required to retain adequate
shielding and containment, in case of severe accidents.

Type-B package is capable of satisfying a sequence of tests,

representing accident conditions on the same specimen.
Most important among these are:
i) free drop test from a height of nine metres onto an
unyielding target, in an orientation causing maximum
damage,

We have finalised the basic design of the package, based

free drop from one metre onto a steel punch of

150mm in diameter and 200mm long, mounted on

on the application requirements and the Transport

Regulations of the IAEA. It has mainly two major sub-

a rigid target, and

iii) thermal test, in which the package is exposed to a

assemblies: a transport flask and a fire-shield(Fig. 2). The

transport flask is a cylindrical lead-shielded steel container
with two identical channels: one for the source drawer
and the other for a dummy drawer. It is closed on either
side by shielded detachable doors, attached to the body
by hinges. These doors can be physically locked, to prevent
any accidental exposure.

ii)

fully engulfing fire at 800 C for 30 minutes.

It is postulated, that during hypothetical accident
conditions, the vehicle (carrying the package) speed will
be limited to the regulatory test velocity (48 km per hour),
which is equivalent to the speed at the end of nine-metre
free drop. In practice, the equivalence to these hypothetical
conditions is achieved, by placing control on carrier

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iii) serve as safe storage of the decayed source being

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movements viz. speed, amount of fuel, escort vehicle

Regulatory TTests
ests

etc. It is essential to demonstrate, that the package is

capable of satisfying the requirements as per IAEA

The regulatory tests under accident conditions were carried

regulations, which permits any of the following methods

or combinations thereof:
i)
ii)

physical tests on prototype,

physical tests on a scaled model,

iii) simulation using various computational tools and

iv) reference to similar package successfully
demonstrated earlier.
We have used analytical/software tools to validate the
design. Subsequently, physical tests were carried out on
full-scale package, to demonstrate safety during accident
conditions of transport as stipulated in the regulations.
During thermal performance analysis, it was observed that
retaining the thermal shield is necessary, to prevent any
loss of shielding (lead melting) during the regulatory fire
test of the package. Initial design of the package is
simulated and analysed using Nonlinear Dynamic FE Code
PAM-CRASH for safety against accidental collision.
Detailed analyses for stresses, deformations, energy
absorbed by various structural components of the package

out at the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI),

a research institute of the Automotive Industry with the
Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises,
Government of India.
For the nine-meter drop test, the package was instrumented
with two accelerometers and 24-channel strain gauges
(eight rosettes) at different positions of the package, to
record the acceleration and strain information during the
impact on the unyielding target. Two high-speed (3000
fps) cameras positioned orthogonally, captured the impact
for visual understanding of the collision. A gantry type
crane equipped with quick-release mechanism was used
for lifting, positioning and dropping the specimen on to
the target. The instrumented package (Fig. 3) was dropped
in such a way that one of the sides (perpendicular to the
source drawer axis) hits the target. This orientation was
chosen, because FEA results indicated, that it is the most
damaging one of all the possible drop orientations.

were performed. Primary objective was to ensure the

integrity of the containment as well as the thermal
insulation, during the regulatory tests of the package.
After a series of iterations, the fire-shield was finalized to
retain the integrity during nine-meter free drop test,
irrespective of the orientation of the package while hitting
the unyielding target.

Package Fabrication
After design finalization, two packages were fabricated
under strict quality control. Wherever applicable, chemical
analyses of the materials were performed. Non-destructive
testing of all the welded joints of the lead containment
was performed. Dye penetration testing and hydro testing
were conducted, to ensure leak-tightness of the lead. The
package was solution annealed to remove the residual
stresses introduced during the fabrication process. Lead
pouring was performed as per guidelines. After lead
pouring, radiometry was performed to ensure the shielding

Fig. 3: Package before 9m free drop

integrity of the package.

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After the drop, detailed visual inspections were performed

between the flask and the fire-shield) faced the furnace

for physical damages of the package. No damage was

detected on the flask. However, a few bolts used for the

bottom. During tests, it was ensured that average furnace

wall temperature was maintained at 8500C for the entire

assembly of the flask and the thermal shield were sheared

off during the impact. The hitting surface of the sacrificial

duration of the test. After required preheating of the

furnace, the package was placed inside the furnace and

structure has deformed significantly by absorbing part of

the impact energy. It was important to note that, the

furnace door was closed. It was found that the package

surface temperature reached 8000C within six minutes after

thermal insulation of the fire-shield was fully protected.

The recorded parameters were analysed and found to be

closing the door. After 36 minutes, the furnace door was

opened, the package was taken out to an open area and

in line with the simulation results. Punch test was

performed on the same package after this 9-m drop, using

was left for natural cooling (Fig.5).

from reaching the thermal insulation layer. A photograph

of the package after the 9-m drop test and the punch test
is shown in Fig.4.
Thermal Testing was conducted in diesel-fired furnace at
ARAI, Pune. For the fire test, the package was instrumented
with16 thermocouples at various locations of the fireshield and the flask. The package was painted with
PyroMark, to achieve the thermal emissivity and
absorptivity properties, as prescribed in the regulations.
The package was placed on a stand in such an orientation
that the most damaged portion of the package (interface

Fig. 4: Package after 9m drop and punch test

The temperature profiles of the package during heating

and cooling are shown in Fig.6. A maximum temperature
of 2800C was observed on the flask surface, near the flask
door. The temperature at the source capsule location
reached its maximum at 50 minutes after the removal
from the furnace. No lead leakage was observed in the
package.
Radiometry test was performed on the package, which
was subjected to drop test, punch test and fire test. No
significant deviation in leakage radiation levels was
observed, compared to the test performed before these
regulatory tests.

Fig. 5: Immediately after fire test

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the remaining bolts. No significant damage was observed

in punch test. The tube structure prevented the punch

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Acknowledgement
Authors sincerely acknowledge the contributions of the
Refuelling Technology Division and the Reactor Safety
Division of BARC, in modelling, simulation and analysis
of the package.

References
1.
Fig. 6: Temperature profile during fire test
A: at flask door outer surface;
B: at source capsule location

Regulatory Approval

Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive

Material, Safety Series No.TS-R-1, 2005 Edition,
IAEA, Vienna,

2.

Advisory Material for the IAEA Regulations for

the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material, IAEA
Safety Guide No. TS-G-1.1 (ST-2).

DAE Excellence Award

Design details, safety analysis report, QA programme,

operation and maintenance details, production controls,
test results during fabrication and test results before the
first shipment were submitted to the Atomic Energy
Regulatory Board (AERB). Subsequently, presentations were
made to relevant committees. After thorough scrutiny and
independent analyses by AERB, the package was granted
Type B(U) certification, under the provision of the IAEA
regulations.

Conclusion
Development of the source transportation package was
essential for our indigenous teletherapy programme.
Starting with the basic design, a number of modifications
were implemented leading to the present model. Finally,
regulatory tests were performed and the performance was
demonstrated successfully. The process took around two
years. Since its approval, a number of transportations were
carried out between Trombay and various cancer hospitals
in the country. One shipment was made to Vietnam along
with the Bhabhatron, that India has donated through the
Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy (PACT) initiatives
of the IAEA.

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