During a scheduled radioactive source leak test and inventory activity on 18 June 2007, the licensee discovered two
Ni-63 sources missing. It was determined that the sources had been shipped off site with the analytical instrument they were installed in on 06/11/07 for an upgrade to a part of the instrument not related to the radioactive sources. The device is a Berger supercritical fluid extraction device and the sealed source device is an Accenture G-2390A, source serial numbers U0891 and U0892. Each source activity level is 14 millicuries. The instrument is scheduled to be returned to the licensee after the upgrade is complete on 06/28/07. The licensee plans to remove the sources from the instrument since their lab has never used that portion of the instrument in the operation of their laboratory.
- * * UPDATE FROM WICKLINE TO HUFFMAN AT 1408 EDT ON 6/29/07 * * *
The licensee provided the following information via email:
The Berger Supercritical Fluid Chromatography instrument with the generally licensed Ni-63 source was returned to Wyeth on 6/29/07. The source was intact. Doses to personnel from the source are not expected because Ni-63 is a weak beta emitter. R1DO (Powell) and FSME EO (Flannery) 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.
This source is not amongst those sources or devices identified by the
IAEA Code of Conduct for the Safety & Security of Radioactive Sources to be of concern from a radiological standpoint. Therefore is it being categorized as a less than Category 3 source