Radioactive Material in Scrap Metal

Radiation Facts

If radioactive material is improperly disposed, it can contaminate and shut down an entire facility. The cost of cleaning up can easily exceed a million dollars.
You will probably never come into contact with contaminated scrap metal. However, if you think you have found contaminated scrap metal, do not touch it. Immediately contact the manager of the scrap yard and your state radiation office.

Sometimes radioactive materials are disposed of improperly and end up in scrap metal yards or landfills. Melting radioactive sources with non-radioactive materials scrap metal can create recycled metal that is now radioactive.

On this page:

About Radioactive Material in Scrap Metal
What you can do
Where to learn more

About Radioactive Material in Scrap Metal

Radioactive materials should not be disposed of in the same manner as regular trash or recycling. There are special handling and disposal requirements for radioactive materials to keep radioactive materials out of regular junk yards and scrap metal yards.

Sometimes items containing radioactive sources are disposed of improperly. Although they are usually small, different types of radioactive material have different amounts of radioactivity that they emit. This can also include metals such as piping from facilities that process oil and gas, from water treatment facilities, and from mining operations, may be contaminated with Technically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (TENORM). This may be because the radioactive material is not marked properly, or the owner of the material does not follow proper disposal guidelines. These are often referred to as abandoned or orphaned sources.

a crane picking up trash at a scrap metal yard — Image of equipment at a scrap metal yard.
Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

If radioactive materials are disposed of improperly or sent for recycling as scrap metal, they can end up at a facility that is not licensed to handle them. If a scrap metal yard or recycling facility unknowingly melts an item that contains radioactive material, the radioactive materials contaminate the metal, the processing equipment and the facility. Recycling radioactive materials at unlicensed facilities also exposes the workers to radiation.

To help detect incoming materials that should not be processed, recycling facilities have devices called portal monitors. These devices detect radiation when scanning batches of scrap metal. It is important to detect incoming radioactive materials before they are processed at a scrap metal yard because radioactively contaminated sites pose a health risk to workers and cleaning up processing equipment and processing sites can cost millions of dollars.

What You Can Do

claw grabbing scrap metal — Mechanical claw grabbing from a pile of scrap metal.

Be aware. It is highly unlikely that you would come into contact with radioactively contaminated scrap metal. However, if you think you have found contaminated scrap metal, do not touch it. Immediately contact the manager of the scrap yard and your state radiation control office. The CRCPD maintains a special permit from the DOT to allow the return of the shipment to its origin without additional paperwork.
Limit your exposure. Until you know differently, treat the suspected radioactive material as though it were a radioactive source and limit your exposure. Three basic ways to limit possible exposure include:
- Time: Limit the time spent near the radiation source.
- Distance: Increase the distance between you and the radiation source.
- Shielding: Put something (the heavier and thicker, the better) between you and the radiation source.

Where to Learn More

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

The NRC protects people and the environment from sealed radioactive sources by requiring licensing for manufacturers of sealed sources.

Additionally, most states have signed formal agreements with the NRC, providing the states regulatory responsibility over small quantities of special nuclear material and its source and byproducts. These states are known as Agreement States. The radioactive materials license can be issued either by the NRC or the appropriate Agreement State.

The NRC Agreement State Program
This webpage provides information about the NRC Agreement State program and lists links to additional information.

How the NRC Protects You
This webpage provides information about how the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulates and inspects sites where radioactive materials are used.

Sealed Source and Device Registry
This webpage provides information on how to register a sealed source.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

The NNSA helps recover sealed sources in the United States and other countries. Securing sealed sources helps protect people from accidental exposure and keeps them from falling into the hands of terrorists. The NNSA encourages anyone who no longer need their sealed sources to register them (if the sources have not already been registered). The NNSA also may help owners of registered sources with proper disposal.

The NNSA Home webpage
This webpage provides information on the NNSA program and mission

The NNSA Emergency Response
This webpage provides information on the NNSA’s role during radiological and nuclear emergency response efforts.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

The CBP inspects shipments of scrap and recycled metal entering the United States from other countries. Inspection includes radiological scans. Detection of radiation above designated limits can result in confiscation of the shipment or return of the shipment to the country of origin.

CBP’s Radiation Detection Systems
This fact sheet provides information on the CBP’s radiation detection systems that are used to screen materials entering the United States from other countries.

The Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD)

The CRCPD is a nonprofit non-governmental professional organization dedicated to radiation protection.

State Radiation Protection Programs
This webpage provides links and contact information for each state's Radiation Control Program office.

SCATR Program (Source Collection and Threat Reduction)
This webpage provides information about the CRCPD program that helps protect people from unnecessary exposure to radiation.