The National Academies will appoint an ad hoc committee of experts to carry out principal tasks

1. to review (using the 2008 National Academies report “Radiation Source: Use and Replacement” as a baseline) the current industrial, research, and commercial (including medical) applications of radioactive sources, including Categories 1, 2, and 3 sources as defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s “Categorization of Radioactive Sources,” IAEA-TECDOC-1344; and

2. to identify uses for which a radioactive source can be replaced with an equivalent (or improved) non-radioisotope alternative technologies that are already available in the market and could become available in the market as next-generation or emerging technologies in the next 10 years, and assess applications for which alternative technologies do not currently exist, but which could significantly mitigate the risk associated with current technologies using high-risk radionuclides.

The assessment will examine domestic and international developments in radioactive source applications and feasible alternative technologies. In addition, the assessment will use criteria to assess the overall technical feasibility and maturity of those technologies, including the Department of Energy Technology Readiness Level (TRL). Moreover, the assessment of alternative technologies will evaluate their attractiveness and practicality to organizations in consideration of adopting or transitioning to them.