THE PACKAGE FOR THE RECOVERY OF A DAMAGED SOURCE

The paper describes the repacking act1vtt1es performed on a radioisotopes generator prototype, charged on 1976 with a Sr 90 source and found damaged during the preparation for transport to an interim storage on 1994. The radsource was surrounded by metallic depleted uranium blocks, which, due to the high temperature and to the loss of inert gas after the long storage, had begun to oxidise, changing its structure with a big volume increase. The damage produced obliged to remove the source from the generator, modify the container and arrange a new package for a safe transport of the source.