ENS 41695
ENS Event | |
|---|---|
06:00 May 11, 2005 | |
| Title | Agreement State - Radiography Equipment Malfunction |
| Event Description | The State provided the following information via facsimile:
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment received notification on 5/12/05 of a radiography equipment malfunction resulting in a stuck radiography source. The radiography company, Midwest Inspections, located at 325 Walnut Street, Brighton, Colorado, with the Colorado license number 902-01, reported that a radiography crew was unable to retract a radiography source back into the shielded position while working at a temporary job site near Byers, Colorado on 5/11/05. Per the company's RSO, the crew secured the area and contacted him for assistance when they were unable to fully retract the source. He traveled to the site with shielding equipment and was able to free the source and return it to the shielded position. The cause of the problem is reported to be a dent in the guide tube under the 'bend restrictor' where it was not easily visible to the crew. The RSO reported no excessive exposures to the crew, the public or himself (he estimated an exposure of 50 millirem to himself). Initial corrective action was to remove the defective guide tube from service.
This update provides information that was originally contained in EN 41769 which has been deleted and provided as an update to the original report. The State provided the following information via facsimile: The exposure device involved was INC Model IR-100 s/n 4035 with a 38 curie Ir-192 source s/n G862. The RSO attempted to retract the source and encountered the same problem as the crew. The source assembly seemed to hang up as it entered the exit port of the camera. The RSO attached a 0-500 millirem pocket dosimeter to his wrist watch on his left hand to measure any exposure to the hands during the following process. He cranked the source into the collimator and placed (2) 25# lead shot bags over the collimator for shielding. Using a pair of 12 inch channel lock pliers, he disconnected the source tube from the collimator. Keeping the source assembly in the collimator and shot bag shielding, he exposed the drive cable and source pigtail connector. After disconnecting the source pigtail connector and drive cable, he disconnected the exit port end of the source tube from the camera and slid the source tube off of the drive cable. The source tube was replaced with a new one and reconnected to the source assembly. The RSO then retracted the source into the camera. The crew x-rayed the remaining welds while RSO remained on site. The RSO's total whole body exposure was 50 millirem and the dosimeter on his wrist indicated an exposure of 220 millirem. Inspection of the source tube showed a kinked area next to the exit port fitting which apparently would not allow the locking ball on the pigtail assembly to pass back through it. Notified R4DO (Whitten) and NMSSEO (Holahan) |
| Where | |
|---|---|
| Midwest Inspections Brighton, Colorado (NRC Region 4) | |
| License number: | 902-01 |
| Organization: | Colorado Dept Of Health |
| Reporting | |
| Agreement State | |
| Time - Person (Reporting Time:+35.38 h1.474 days <br />0.211 weeks <br />0.0485 months <br />) | |
| Opened: | Ed Stroud 17:23 May 12, 2005 |
| NRC Officer: | Pete Snyder |
| Last Updated: | Jun 16, 2005 |
| 41695 - NRC Website | |
Midwest Inspections with Agreement State | |
WEEKMONTHYEARENS 416952005-05-11T06:00:00011 May 2005 06:00:00
[Table view]Agreement State Agreement State - Radiography Equipment Malfunction 2005-05-11T06:00:00 | |