(a) A licensee in possession of any sealed source or brachytherapy source shall follow the radiation safety and handling instructions supplied by the manufacturer.

(b) A licensee in possession of a sealed source shall—

(1) Test the source for leakage before its first use unless the licensee has a certificate from the supplier indicating that the source was tested within 6 months before transfer to the licensee; and

(2) Test the source for leakage at intervals not to exceed 6 months or at other intervals approved by the Commission or an Agreement State in the Sealed Source and Device Registry.

(c) To satisfy the leak test requirements of this section, the licensee shall measure the sample so that the leak test can detect the presence of 185 Bq (0.005 µCi) of radioactive material in the sample.

(d) A licensee shall retain leak test records in accordance with §35.2067(a).

(e) If the leak test reveals the presence of 185 Bq (0.005 µCi) or more of removable contamination, the licensee shall—

(1) Immediately withdraw the sealed source from use and store, dispose, or cause it to be repaired in accordance with the requirements in parts 20 and 30 of this chapter; and

(2) File a report within 5 days of the leak test in accordance with §35.3067.

(f) A licensee need not perform a leak test on the following sources:

(1) Sources containing only byproduct material with a half-life of less than 30 days;

(2) Sources containing only byproduct material as a gas;

(3) Sources containing 3.7 MBq (100 µCi) or less of beta or gamma-emitting material or 0.37 MBq (10 µCi) or less of alpha-emitting material;

(4) Seeds of iridium-192 encased in nylon ribbon; and

(5) Sources stored and not being used. However, the licensee shall test each such source for leakage before any use or transfer unless it has been leak tested within 6 months before the date of use or transfer.

(g) A licensee in possession of sealed sources or brachytherapy sources, except for gamma stereotactic radiosurgery sources, shall conduct a semi-annual physical inventory of all such sources in its possession. The licensee shall retain each inventory record in accordance with §35.2067(b).