California's Radiological Threat Reduction Initiative

The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) has been working with various entities throughout the State of California to bring awareness to the threat of high-activity radiological sources, as well as build support for the protection and/or removal and replacement of these sources with safe and effective alternative technologies. Considerably more prevalent than nuclear materials, radiological sources are used throughout the world for medical, industrial, agricultural, research, and other purposes. California, specifically, has a significant number of irradiators used for medical and research purposes that contain cesium-137, a highly-radioactive isotopethat exists in a dispersible salt powder form. Replacing these irradiators with certified alternative x-ray technologies of equivalent effectiveness, where possible, would thereby significantly reduce the threat of these dispersible cesium sources being used to create a ‘dirty bomb.’ Over the past year, strategic partnerships were built with the Office of the Governor of California, the California Department of Public Health, and the University of California system, which has led to a series of four workshops throughout the state. These workshops have included participation from the executive offices of the various University of California branches, the University of California Office of the President, California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr., the California Department of Public Health, many of the medical workers and researchers that use cesium irradiators, along with senior NTI and Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) Office of Radiological Security leadership. This work is being done as part of a broader initiative to create permanent threat reduction by removing, replacing, and disposing of cesium-based irradiators throughout the United States.