ENS 40466
ENS Event | |
|---|---|
06:00 Jan 21, 2004 | |
| Title | Medical Sources Missing in Transit |
| Event Description | The Director of Nuclear Regulatory Assurance of Amersham/Medi Physics (IL-01109-01) called late yesterday to report that a package of small activity sources intended for medical use had not arrived at its intended destination. The details are as follows:
On January 9, a package containing sixty-six sealed iodine-125 sources was sent from the Arlington Heights, IL facility intended for the St. John's Riverside Hospital in Yonkers, New York. The sources are stainless steel encapsulations of I-125, each originally 0.942 millicuries of activity. The total activity at the time of packaging was 62 millicuries. The sources are about the size of a grain of rice and designed for implantation in cancerous tumors of the prostate gland via a needle. The package was shipped in a standard 'Type A' box and had a surface dose rate of less than 0.5 millirem/hr. The package was due to arrive in Yonkers on the 12th of January for a treatment on the 14th. As part of Medi Physics customer service, a routine call to the client revealed that the package had not arrived as of the end of the day on the 12th. When the carrier, Federal Express, was queried by the licensee, Federal Express claimed that the package had been accidentally set aside at their Newark, New Jersey facility with some other packages and would be delivered the next day. Additional tracking by Medi Physics on subsequent days showed that the package never left the Federal Express sorting facility in Newark, New Jersey. To date, efforts by Medi Physics and those reported by Federal Express have not located the missing package. As of this time, the activity of each source is 810 microcurie for a total package activity of 53.5 millicuries. Although in the past such packages have been located and recovered and returned to Medi Physics by the carrier, the extended length of time from the date of expected delivery to now is unusual. Both Medi Physics and Federal Express have indicated they will continue monitoring this situation. The U.S. NRC Region III Liaison Officer has been made aware of the situation and has indicated he will contact his U.S. NRC Region I counterpart to advise him of the situation. Form of Radioactive Material: SEALED SOURCE Radionuclide: I-125; Source Use: BRACHYTHERAPY; Activity: 53.5E-3 Curies Manufacturer: MEDI+PHYSICS, Model Number: 6711; Serial Number: NA
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| Where | |
|---|---|
| Amersham/Medi Physics Arlington Hts, Illinois (NRC Region 3) | |
| License number: | IL-01109-01 |
| Organization: | Illinois Emergency Mgmt. Agency |
| Reporting | |
| Agreement State | |
| Time - Person (Reporting Time:+35.48 h1.478 days <br />0.211 weeks <br />0.0486 months <br />) | |
| Opened: | Joseph Klinger 17:29 Jan 22, 2004 |
| NRC Officer: | Mike Ripley |
| Last Updated: | Jan 23, 2004 |
| 40466 - NRC Website | |
Amersham/Medi Physics with Agreement State | |
WEEKMONTHYEARENS 404662004-01-21T06:00:00021 January 2004 06:00:00
[Table view]Agreement State Medical Sources Missing in Transit 2004-01-21T06:00:00 | |