Mobile Cobalt-60 Irradiator

In order to demonstrate the beneficial effects of ionizing radiation in extending the storage life of potatoes and on products that will not stand many days in transport, such as strawberries. Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. has developed a mobile cobalt-60 irradiator. The irradiation unit has been taken to several farming areas, and in the case of a potatofarming area this had led to a fixed plant being built. 

These photo aphs of the Mobile Cobalt-60 Irradiator show it... 

The demonstration irradiator was an idea that Nordion had already tried out in Canada. It had pioneered the concept with its Mobile Cobalt-60 Irradiator back in the 1960s. Later, in the mid-1980s, Nordion had b un discussions about a shared food-irradiation facility with the Centre for Applied Research in Food Science, part of the Institut Armand-Frappier at the University du Quebec. The centre s mandate was to... 

The mobile irradiator incorporates a compact cobalt source of 20,000 curies in a small irradiation chamber shielded by lead. The method of feeding the plant and handling the boxes during irradiation is shown in Fig. 6. The boxes travel two circuits around the source to obtain an equalized dose. 

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