My name is Gary Williams with the Department of Veterans Affairs, National Health Physics Program [NHPP]. I am calling to report a loss of radioactive materials.
The loss occurred at a medical permittee authorized under the master materials license issued to the Department of Veterans Affairs, NRC License 03-2385301VA. The permittee is the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The loss occurred in 2005 and was discovered in April 2006. The basis for the report is under 10 CFR 31.5(c)(10) in that radioactive materials obtained under a general license were lost and the reporting requirements in 10 CFR 20.2201 must be followed.
Specifically, the permittee stated one tritium exit sign was apparently disposed or discarded during a facility construction project in 2005. The sign was last seen in 2004.
The sign was either of two models. The first model is a 11.5 Curie sign from Shield Source Incorporated. The second model is a 20 Curie sign from SRB Technology. These types of signs were manufactured circa 1994.
The Department of Veterans Affairs will evaluate the circumstances related to the loss of radioactive materials and submit a written report to NRC, Region III, within 30 days.
HOO NOTE: The Department of Veterans Affairs coordinates all reports to the NRC from their NHPP Director's Office located in Little Rock, AR. NRC oversight for the VA Master Materials licensee is assigned to NRC Region III.
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.