Cea and CISBIO-international create the -GIP sources HA- and revise their strategy for the management of disused sealed sources

According to French regulation, CEA and CISBIO, who have distributed many sealed sources in the past, have to recover all the disused sources. During 2009, CEA and CISBIO created the 'groupement d'interet public (GIP) sources HA', with the objective of recovering and managing high-activity sealed sources (HASS), mainly cobalt-60 and caesium-137, distributed in France. CEA and CISBIO can also recover and repatriate similar sources or any other types of sealed sources distributed by them in foreign countries, when the user has no national solution, or when international organisations, such as the IAEA, identify a security issue. With the objective of optimising this mission, GIP, CEA and CISBIO are ready to cooperate with the present source suppliers who may need the use of hot cells in France, may contribute to some repatriation operations, or may recycle some batches of recovered sealed sources not yet conditioned as waste packages. (authors)