RDRS addresses the problem of replacement of dangerous radiological sources. Early in the project, we identified the first challenge problem as follows. Oil well logging tools are used around the world and, typically, contain curie-level Am-Be and Cs-137 sources. Our challenge problem is to find a suitable replacement for these radioisotope sources.

The replacement of currently used radioisotope sources in oil well logging tools was chosen as a first objective because the sources are fairly long-lived, exist in thousands of tools used around the world with minimal security, and typically have multi-curie activities. These sources were identified by a National Academy of Sciences report as being “Category 1” dangerous radiological sources.