The following report was received from the State via facsimile:
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control was notified at 1:28 p.m. on June 13, 2008 by the licensee that a package containing a radioactive source was lost by Fed-Ex. The sealed source contains 80 mCi of Am-241 and is used in an NDC Systems Model 104 portable gauge. The package was shipped from Macon, GA on June 5th. On June 11th, the licensee received the shipping label, with no package attached, at the licensee's office on Corporate Road in Charleston, SC. The licensee contacted Fed-Ex on the 11th where Fed-Ex then placed a trace on the package which they indicated could take 48 hours5.555556e-4 days <br />0.0133 hours <br />7.936508e-5 weeks <br />1.8264e-5 months <br />. The 48 hour5.555556e-4 days <br />0.0133 hours <br />7.936508e-5 weeks <br />1.8264e-5 months <br /> time frame has expired and Fed-Ex has indicated that they cannot find the package but they are continuing their search through various warehouses. Fed-Ex still has the package listed as "in route to its destination". The licensee has also notified the Georgia radiation control program. This event is open pending the results of the licensee's and Department's investigation. Notifications and updates will be made through the NMED system.
- * UPDATE FROM JIM PETERSON TO JOHN KNOKE AT 1432 EDT ON 07/02/08 * *
FedEx has found the missing sealed source at their warehouse.
Notified R1DO (Bellamy), FSME EO (Zelac) and ILTAB via Email
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.