The K910B Contraband Detector radioactive source is:

Barium 133

All sources are supplied in a sealed stainless steel capsule, epoxied into a shielding shutter mechanism permanently located in the contraband detector housing.

Sources should never be removed from their mountings and no attempt should ever be made to repair them.

NEVER DISASSEMBLE THE SOURCE/SHUTTER MECHANISM.

NEVER TOUCH THE EXPOSED SOURCE.

In terms of relative use, Barium 133 is the optimum radioactive source. For example, Cobalt 57 is weak with a half life of only 9 months. Cobalt 60 is to powerful and over penetrates, while Barium 133 has a half life of 9.8 years and is not too weak nor too powerful.

TRANSPORTATION OF EXCEPTED RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL - (K910B CONTRABAND DETECTOR)

The K910B when packed in its plastic transport case, meets the special requirements of  49 CFR 173.421 for "Excepted Radioactive Material" and does not require radiation symbol labels on the exterior of the transport case. This is because of the combination of small source, efficient shielding, and design of the case.

This device can be transported on any common carrier when packed in its plastic transport case, with or without a cardboard protective overpack, without radiation symbol labels on the outside of the package provided that the following label is attached to the transport case:

Radiation in a variety of forms is familiar to all of us. Light is radiation we can see. Heat is radiation we can feel. Ultraviolet and X-Ray we neither see nor feel. None of the four can be heard or smelled. All are like light, because they do not continue after the source (bulb) is turned off or removed.

Radiation is as old as the universe. Stars are intensely radioactive; our earth now only slightly so. Ever since his first appearance, man has been exposed to both visible and invisible radiation from the sun. Like sunshine and rain, thunder and lightning, radioactive substances until very recently occurred only in nature.

Radiation from radioactive material is stream of fast flying particles or waves, which come from tiny units of matter called atoms. Atoms of a single element often consist of different kinds which behave alike chemically, yet have slightly different weights. These varieties are called "isotopes". The atoms of stable isotopes are not radioactive, but those of unstable or radioactive substances give off portions of themselves, and change into other isotopes in the process.

Shortly after the discovery of radium, man learned that for millions of years another form of invisible radiation had been coming at him from outside the earth’s atmosphere. The source of these particles, called "cosmic rays", is still unknown. We do know, however, that they are stopped to some extent by the earth’s atmosphere, and that if we were to live in Denver, Colorado, or elsewhere at high elevation, cosmic radiation would be two or four times as intense as it is at sea level. This is why scientists investigating cosmic rays, employ balloons and aircraft to collect information at high altitudes.

Natural radioactive substances are widely distributed. They exist in minute quantities in our bodies, in the water we drink, the air we breathe, the soil we cultivate, even in the materials we use for building. Along with the cosmic radiation from outer space, these tiny sources have been sending out invisible radioactive signals for millions of years. It is against this background of natural radiation that man has lived in the past and lives today. This so-called "background radiation" varies slightly from one locality to another, and also with rain or snowfalls.

Within ten years of their discovery, practical uses were found for both x-rays and radium. X-rays proved valuable in locating bone fractures, in identifying diseases, and as a supplement to radium in the treatment of cancer. You probably have had a chest x-ray recently or a picture of your teeth. If so, you have been exposed to a relatively harmless amount of x-radiation administered by your own doctor or dentist.

Within the past fifteen years, man has learned to take naturally stable atoms and make them artificially radioactive. It is these radioactive varieties, or "radioisotopes", which are proving to be among the most useful tools in the entire history of science. Because they are radioactive, their radiation tells where they are, even if the amount us extremely small. Their location, or movement within the plant or animal tissues and in industrial and chemical processes, can , therefore be traced by sensitive recording instruments. Used in this manner, radioisotopes are spoken of as "tracers".

Radioactive materials differ widely in the rate at which they lose their radioactivity. The length of time they are kept in the body also varies. Radium and Plutonium remain active for thousands of years and may be retained for long periods in the body, while such elements as radiosodium will be quickly eliminated and decay in a few days. Naturally, you must be careful to avoid taking even small amounts of the more poisonous materials into your mouth or lungs. This is why eating or smoking is forbidden in some radiation areas.