Surface contaminated objects groups

For transportation Surface-contaminated objects (SCOs) are of special interest SCO means a solid object which is not itself radioactive but which has radioactive material distributed on its surfaces. SCO is classified in one of two groups ... 

Radioactive materials are grouped according to their form and/or characteristics. These include Special Form Low Specific Activity (LSA) Surface Contaminated Object (SCO) Fissile Other Form. A radioactive material may meet the definition of one or more of the above. lATA 10.3.3... 

Measurements have been made by a Joint Norwegian-Russian Expert Group of the release of activity at the disposal sites for reactor compartments at Novaya Zemlya. Surface sediment samples at the sea bottom taken close to the dumped reactor compartments and the sunken submarine showed in a few cases activities of up to about 10 kBq/kg, but in most cases the activity of the samples was 100 Bq/kg or lower. At some distance from the dumped objects the level of radionuclides in sediments was close to the range obtained in the open Kara Sea [2]. It may also be mentioned that the activity of fish from the Baltic, measured in Bq/kg is more than a factor of 10 higher than the activity of fish from the Barents Sea. Thus the contamination caused by the dumped reactor compartments has so far been quite limited. Corrosion of the seawater will of course gradually increase the release of fuel and activated materials to the environment, but at the same time the activity will decrease due to radioactive decay... 

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