Slang for a shielded container, usually cast lead in a steel shell, used to hold check sources, radiopharmaceutical vials, high-activity samples and small sealed sources. RP and lab staff move sources in pigs to cut dose during handling, and an empty pig left lying around still gets surveyed before anyone trusts it.
Put the check source back in the pig and lock it in the cabinet before shift change.
Also heard as
- lead pig
- source pig
Related terms
Sealed source
Radioactive material permanently sealed in a capsule so it cannot escape under normal use.
Shielding
Material placed between a radiation source and people to absorb radiation and reduce dose rate.
Orphan source
A radioactive source that has escaped regulatory control because it was lost, stolen, abandoned or never licensed.
Curie
The non-SI unit of radioactivity, equal to 37 billion decays per second.