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Lab helps secure radiological sources in Africa

Want to see the world and travel to exotic places? Don’t join the Navy — become a health physicist. That’s what Carolyn Mac Kenzie did.

Mac Kenzie, who joined the Lab in 1996, currently leads the LLNL team that is securing radiological sources in Africa. The team is part of the International Nuclear Materials Protection Program within Global Security’s Nonproliferation Division. Their work is supported by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Global Threat Reduction Initiative (NA-21).

Mac Kenzie recently returned to the Laboratory after a leave of absence during which she worked first at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna for three years and then at NNSA headquarters in Washington D.C. for NA-21 for another year.

While in Vienna, she led the IAEA Orphan Source Search and Secure Program and worked in more than 35 countries to establish strategic plans for locating and securing orphan and legacy radiological sources. "Orphaned sources are a serious concern because they are outside regulatory control," Mac Kenzie said. "We’re particularly focused on the large, highly radioactive sources —100s to 1,000s of curies — that can seriously injure or kill people." 

The initial effort was focused on the former Soviet Union countries because they had the largest number of sources. The effort then moved into the Balkans, China (in preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games) and now Africa.

"Often there are few if any source records, so we look at a country’s industries, its hospitals, any research reactors, etc., to see where sources would most likely be used and what kinds they might be," Mac Kenzie explained. "From this, we develop a country-specific plan for searching for the sources and securing them. The goal is to establish a verified inventory and to secure the big sources."

After three years of working at the IAEA, she was offered a change of station assignment in NA-21 in Washington D.C. to continue her efforts to locate and secure sources in Africa, but now doing the work for the United States.

Mac Kenzie returned to the Laboratory this past October and brought some of her Africa source security work with her. The LLNL Africa team currently is working in seven countries: Ghana, Burkina Faso, Namibia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Mauritius and Madagascar.

The team consists of Mac Kenzie (team lead and health physicist), Con Turner (physical protection specialist), Tim Horgan (contracting officer), Kathy Bertolini (analyst support) and Nori Adair (administrative support). Backup staff are available for each function to cover the duties when needed due to the heavy travel schedule associated with the work.

Mac Kenzie noted that, at times, the team’s work takes them into or close to "hot spots" in Africa. "We carefully follow the State Department’s travel restrictions and go with the permission of the U.S. embassy in the country. Sometimes this involves restricted movement, confinement to our hotel, and travel with special vehicles, drivers and guards.  We’ve had these conditions in Nigeria and THE Democratic Republic of Congo, yet we have not had any significant incident throughout our travels. Our hosts and the U.S. Embassy in-country staff have consistently made a real effort to take good care of us."

Mac Kenzie and her team work closely with the country’s regulators to locate and visit sites with large radiological sources, such as teletherapy machines used for cancer treatment or industrial irradiators used in research. They also visit locations with large accumulations of smaller sources, such as mining sites, major ports or oil-drilling areas where many radioactive industrial gauges or well-logging sources typically are present. They also visit source storage facilities or research reactors, if the country has any. If any of the sites meet GTRI trigger levels, the team is able to offer physical protection upgrades to the facilities and assistance to move sources into secure locations. In addition, they also are able to frequently offer portable radiation detection equipment and training in "search and secure" to help the country obtain a verified inventory of sources.

"Most of the time, we are very well received," Mac Kenzie observed. "Even in countries that are wary of the United States, once they learn that we can help them with training and donations of new radiation detection equipment and will fund security upgrades to their facilities as well as possible construction of new source storage facilities when needed, they are very open to our assistance."

Typically the team conducts an initial visit to assess what radiological sources are in the country and to evaluate the status of the regulatory control environment. Mac Kenzie explained that some countries do not have regulators or regulations in place, or they are new and people are learning on the job. "We’ve found that in Africa, people may understand the safety concerns of nuclear sources, but they’re not as aware of the threat of diversion and the need for physical protection."

Based on what they find, the team makes recommendations for security improvements, "search and secure" training and equipment, movement of sources or upgrades to storage facilities. If the country agrees to the work, the team establishes contracts and hires local security firms to implement the work. "Search and secure" workshops are arranged, and a U.S. team arrives at a later date to deliver the new equipment and provide training on its use.

Mac Kenzie emphasized that the team takes a holistic approach, adapting the security program to the cultural realities and emphasizing sustainability. "We always hire the local security firms, and the contracts call for the development of security procedures and for regular security drills and exercises. Sometimes we have to provide the guards with flashlights, radios, desks or even uniforms to help give them some stature and the basic tools to do their job."

Despite some of the highly publicized removals of nuclear materials from at-risk situations, airlifts are prohibitively expensive. Mac Kenzie explained that their main focus in Africa is to get the sources collected and into secure storage. "We would like to be able to repatriate the big sources back to their country of origin but, in most cases, that isn’t realistic."

Mac Kenzie and her team rack up the frequent flyer miles, traveling one to two weeks every month. February takes them to Mauritius for an initial assessment visit, March will find them in Gabon and a trip to Madagascar is planned for late spring.

When asked if she ever gets tired of traveling, Mac Kenzie smiled and confessed that although it’s exhausting at times, she’s always had the wanderlust bug. "I backpacked through Africa in the 1970s as a student."

Despite the grueling travel schedule, Mac Kenzie and her team are committed to the program’s mission. "I’m motivated to do this work because I really want to help these countries and they really need the help. It’s a special feeling to know that our work really is helping make the world, at least pieces of it, safer and more secure."

 

Feb. 13, 2009

Contact

Lauren DeVore
[email protected]