A
Troxler Moisture Density Gauge (model 3411, serial number 6957) was lost at a traffic intersection in Chesapeake,
VA. The location of the intersection is at Route 17 and George
Washington Parkway. The licensee called local police. The radiation safety officer (
RSO) is responding to the site to see if the
gauge can be found or if any damage to instrument exists.
- * * UPDATE AT 1447 ON 2/15/07 FROM P. BERMAN TO P. SNYDER * * *
The licensee reports that the gauge has been found and taken to the local fire department. The RSO is going to the location to examine the gauge for damage.
- * * UPDATE AT 1147 EDT ON 6/27/07 FROM BERMAN TO HUFFMAN * * *
When the RSO arrived at the fire department on 2/15/07, the gauge was determined to be damaged upon examination. Inspection revealed that the source rod was missing. The pickup truck driven by the city worker that found the gauge was still at the fire department. The truck was examined and the source rod was located loose in the bed of the truck. The RSO picked up the source rod and placed it back into the gauge. The source rod apparently fell out of the gauge while it was being transported to the fire department and was not handled by the individual who found the gauge. The extremity and whole body exposure for the RSO that handled the source rod is estimated to be less than annual limits. Subsequent leak testing of the source rod showed no compromise of the source. R1DO (Powell) and FSME EO (Hackett) notified.
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.