ENS Event | |
|---|---|
06:00 Oct 18, 2005 | |
| Title | Agreement State - Missing Sources Following Hurricane Katrina |
| Event Description | The State reported that a number of radioactive sources are missing following detailed inventories in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The following two sources appear to have disappeared under suspicious circumstances (possibly associated with looting of the hospital after the hurricane): Co-57 Button IP SSM-057-100U #1111-41-2, 100 microCi 4/1/05, now 56.4 microCi Co-57 Button IP SSM-057-100U #1111-41-5, 100 microCi 4/1/05, now 56.4 microCi Material is also missing after the refurbishment of the Radiation Laboratory Room. The detectable radioactive sources were removed from the room before it was gutted. Inventory after the material was sorted out showed that the following sources were missing: 1. Co-57 button source Syncor 644-10A 200 microCi 3/1/99 now 0.4 microCi 2. Ba-133 liquid scintillation counter quench source 19 microCi 12/31/87 now 6 microCi 3. Lead pig containing approximately 0.1 microCi R-226 fixed contamination now 0.1 microCi 4. I-125 radiation therapy eye plaque seeds (886 seeds dating from 12/95 to 12/03) in lead container marked "Haik AA" now 0.6 microCi 5. I-125 radiation therapy eye plaque seeds (116 seeds dating from 4/04 to 3/05) in lead container marked "Haik BB" now 2.8 microCi All material debris from the room was placed into dumpsters for disposal in landfills. No Louisiana Event # was provided with this report. THIS MATERIAL EVENT CONTAINS A "LESS THAN CAT 3" LEVEL OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL Sources that are "Less than IAEA Category 3 sources," are either sources that are very unlikely to cause permanent injury to individuals or contain a very small amount of radioactive material that would not cause any permanent injury. Some of these sources, such as moisture density gauges or thickness gauges that are Category 4, the amount of unshielded radioactive material, if not safely managed or securely protected, could possibly - although it is unlikely - temporarily injure someone who handled it or were otherwise in contact with it, or who were close to it for a period of many weeks. |
| Where | |
|---|---|
| Tulane University Hospital New Orleans, Louisiana (NRC Region 4) | |
| License number: | LA-0004-L01 |
| Organization: | Louisiana Radiation Protection Div |
| Reporting | |
| Agreement State | |
| Time - Person (Reporting Time:+2355.38 h98.141 days <br />14.02 weeks <br />3.226 months <br />) | |
| Opened: | Joe Nobles 10:23 Jan 24, 2006 |
| NRC Officer: | Bill Huffman |
| Last Updated: | Jan 24, 2006 |
| 42284 - NRC Website | |
Tulane University Hospital with Agreement State | |
WEEKMONTHYEARENS 493102013-08-22T05:00:00022 August 2013 05:00:00
[Table view]Agreement State Agreement State Report - Therapy Dose Applied to Wrong Location ENS 422842005-10-18T06:00:00018 October 2005 06:00:00 Agreement State Agreement State - Missing Sources Following Hurricane Katrina 2013-08-22T05:00:00 | |