Considering the slapdash antics described, they might start by revising the approved vendor list. Or, hmm. If they intended to make Cs-137 handling look "risky" while making x-rays look clean, neat and dose-calibrated-simple, they made their point. (...if x-ray dosing / energetics "work" as well as gamma rays...) It is a form of virtualization which has turned out to be more configurable in many endeavors.
I'm not a fan of pre-qualification or approved vendor lists. Spec the job properly and then bid everybody, trust nobody. Competition is the best and really only way to keep vendors honest. And then stay on the top of the job and stop it if anything is not going according to plan. These seem to be foreign concepts to the nuclear world. Of course, in this case bassackwards regulation prevented the job from being speced properly.
Considering the slapdash antics described, they might start by revising the approved vendor list. Or, hmm. If they intended to make Cs-137 handling look "risky" while making x-rays look clean, neat and dose-calibrated-simple, they made their point. (...if x-ray dosing / energetics "work" as well as gamma rays...) It is a form of virtualization which has turned out to be more configurable in many endeavors.
Scott,
I'm not a fan of pre-qualification or approved vendor lists. Spec the job properly and then bid everybody, trust nobody. Competition is the best and really only way to keep vendors honest. And then stay on the top of the job and stop it if anything is not going according to plan. These seem to be foreign concepts to the nuclear world. Of course, in this case bassackwards regulation prevented the job from being speced properly.
Interesting story and technical content, thank you.