ISO 2919/ANSI N43.6 Classification.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) provide a classification system of sealed radioactive sources based on test performance and specifies general requirements, performance tests, production tests, marking and certification; ISO 2919:2012(E) and ANSI/HPS 43.6-2007, respectively. This system provides manufacturers of sealed radioactive sources with a set of tests to evaluate the safety of their products.

The following table shows the list of environmental test conditions with class numbers arranged in increasing order of severity. Test results are expressed as a five-figure code to indicate the severity of the tests. The letter C or E precedes the figures to show whether the source activity is less than or greater than the limits specified in the code. These limits depend upon the toxicity, solubility, and reactivity of the active component of the source. C indicates that the activity level of the source does not exceed the prescribed limit, while E shows that the source has exceeded the limit. The letter X appears in place of a class number to indicate a special test. QSA Global, Inc. typically uses this X designation for tests exceeding the Class 6 requirements within a category. For example, an E6X646 rating on our Oil Well Logging Sources indicates we perform high-pressure testing up to 60,000 PSI (414 MPa), which is well beyond the Class 6 pressure requirement of 24,656 PSI (170 MPa).

Table 1: Classification of sealed radioactive source performance standards.

Test Class 1 Class 2 Class 3 Class 4 Class 5 Class 6 Class X
Temperature Class 1: No test Class 2: -40 °C (20 min) +80 °C (1 h) Class 3: -40 °C (20 min) +180 °C (1 h) Class 4: -40 °C (20 min) +400 °C (1 h) and thermal shock to 20 °C Class 5: -40 °C (20 min) +600 °C (1 h) and thermal shock to 20 °C Class 6: -40 °C (20 min) +800 °C (1 h) and thermal shock to 20 °C Class 7: Special Test
External Pressure Class 1: No test Class 2: 25 kPa absolute to atmospheric Class 3: 25 kPa absolute to 2 MPa absolute Class 4: 25 kPa absolute to 7 MPa absolute Class 5: 25 kPa absolute to 70 MPa absolute Class 6: 25 kPa absolute to 170 MPa absolute Class 7: Special Test
Impact Class 1: No test Class 2: 50 g from 1 m or equivalent imparted energy Class 3: 200 g from 1m or equivalent imparted energy Class 4: 2 kg from 1 m or equivalent imparted energy Class 5: 5 kg from 1 m or equivalent imparted energy Class 6: 20 kg from 1 m or equivalent imparted energy Class 7: Special Test
Vibration Class 1: No test Class 2: 3 times 10 min 25 Hz to 500 Hz at 49 m/s2 (5 g)a Class 3: 3 times 10 min 25 Hz to 50 Hz at 49 m/s2 (5 g)a and 50 Hz to 90 Hz at 0,635mm peak to peak and 90 Hz to 500 Hz at 98 m/s2 (10 g)a Class 4: 3 times 30 min 25 Hz to 80 Hz at 1,5 mm peak to peak and 80 Hz to 2 000 Hz at 196 m/s2 (20 g)a Class 5: Not Used Class 6: Not Used Class 7: Special Test
Puncture Class 1: No test Class 2: 1 g from 1 m or equivalent imparted energy Class 3: 10 g from 1 m or equivalent imparted energy Class 4: 50 g from 1 m or equivalent imparted energy Class 5: 300 g from 1 m or equivalent imparted energy Class 6: 1 kg from 1 m or equivalent imparted energy Class 7: Special Test
a    1 g = 9,8 m/s2.

Table 2: Sealed source classification and performance requirements for typical usage.

Sealed Source Usage Temperature Pressure Impact Vibration Puncture
Radiography-Industrial Sealed Source Temperature:4 Pressure:3 Impact:5 Vibration:1 Puncture:5
Source to be used in a device Temperature:4 Pressure:3 Impact:3 Vibration:1 Puncture:3
Medical Radiography Temperature:3 Pressure:2 Impact:3 Vibration:1 Puncture:2
Gamma teletherapy Temperature:5 Pressure:3 Impact:5 Vibration:2 Puncture:4
Brachytherapy a Temperature:5 Pressure:3 Impact:2 Vibration:1 Puncture:1
Surface Applicators b Temperature:4 Pressure:3 Impact:3 Vibration:1 Puncture:2
Gamma gauges (medium & high energy) Unprotected source Temperature:4 Pressure:3 Impact:3 Vibration:3 Puncture:3
Source in a device Temperature:4 Pressure:3 Impact:2 Vibration:3 Puncture:2
Beta gauges and sources for low-energy gamma gauges or x-ray fluorescence analysis b Temperature:3 Pressure:3 Impact:2 Vibration:2 Puncture:2
Oil-well logging Temperature:5 Pressure:6 Impact:5 Vibration:2 Puncture:2
Portable moisture and density gauge (including hand-held or dolly-transported) Temperature:4 Pressure:3 Impact:3 Vibration:3 Puncture:3
General neutron source application (excluding reactor startup) Temperature:4 Pressure:3 Impact:3 Vibration:2 Puncture:3
Calibration source activity > 1 MBq Temperature:2 Pressure:2 Impact:2 Vibration:1 Puncture:2
Gamma irradiation sourcesd Category 1 b  Temperature:4 Pressure:3 Impact:3 Vibration:2 Puncture:3
Categories II, III, IV c Temperature:5 Pressure:3 Impact:4 Vibration:2 Puncture:4
Ion generatorsc Chromatography Temperature:3 Pressure:2 Impact:2 Vibration:1 Puncture:1
Static eliminators Temperature:2 Pressure:2 Impact:2 Vibration:2 Puncture:2
Smoke detectorsb Temperature:3 Pressure:2 Impact:2 Vibration:2 Puncture:2
a) Sources of this nature may be subject to severe deformation in use. Manufactures and uses may wish to formulate additional or special test procedures.
b) Excluding gas-filled sources
c) "Source in device" or a "source assembly" may be tested.
d) For this International Standard, gamma irradiators have been divided into four distinct categories: Category I: Self-contained — Dry source storage, Category II: Panoramic — Dry source storage, Category III: Self-contained — Wet source storage, Category IV: Panoramic — Wet source storage.