Radioactive Material Classifications

Radioactive materials are classified in one of the following six categories.

• Special form radioactive material (A₁) include materials in a non-dispersible solid form or in a sealed capsule, manufactured to precise specifications and test requirements, and accompanied by a competent authority approval.
• Other form radioactive material (A₂) includes radioactive material that does not meet the definition of special form material.
• Low Specific Activity (LSA) material has limited specific activity. It is classified into one of three groups: LSA-I, II, or III.
• A Surface Contaminated Object (SCO) is a solid object that is not itself radioactive but has radioactive material distributed on its surfaces. SCOs are classified as either SCO-I or SCO-II.
• Low dispersible radioactive material is defined as either a solid radioactive material or a solid radioactive material in a sealed capsule that has limited dispersibility and is not in powder form.
• Fissile material is defined as a material that contains any of the following fissile nuclides: Uranium-233, Uranium-235, Plutonium-239, and Plutonium-241.

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