ENS 44552
ENS Event | |
|---|---|
14:00 Sep 30, 2008 | |
| Title | Agreement State Report - Radiography Source Disconnected from Control Cable |
| Event Description | Washington state submitted the following report via e-mail:
A licensee reported to the Department of Health (DOH) that an industrial radiography (IR) source had become disconnected from the control cable that prevented the retrieval of the source back into its safe shielded position. The exposure device is a QSA Global Sigma 880 with a 97 Curie Iridium-192 source. The source disconnect occurred at 7:00 AM 9/30/08 at a construction site three miles northeast of Moses Lake, Washington. The President and Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) of the licensed IR company are on scene with 12 company employees to correct the situation. The radiographer had previously made several exposures on pipe welds earlier in the day before the disconnect occurred. The source remained at the end of the guide tube, in the collimator, when the radiographer tried to retract it into the device. The radiographer tried this several times. A large area at the construction site has been secured by barricades and the IR personnel are guarding the radiation area. At present, it appears that personnel have not received any elevated or unusual exposure as a result of the disconnect. The IR company is working with the Office of Radiation Protection and the radiography device manufacturer to develop a plan to retrieve the source. DOH staff were sent to the location to assure radiation safety procedures are followed and independent measurements are made. Washington Report: WA080073
The following information was obtained from the State of Washington via email: DOH staff went to the incident site at 1:30 p.m. on the day of the event. They assisted the IR company RSO establish the planned special exposure recovery plan. About 2:30 p.m. the construction-site safety officers were briefed on the recovery plan. Materials and equipment needed for the plan were assembled and at 3:35 they began the recovery operation. The plan included using a site crane and operator to extricate the camera, guide tube, collimator with source from the work scaffolding. The IR equipment was moved to a better location in an area away from the construction site. At 4:26 p.m. the camera and source were placed into a lead lined steel skiff-box and lifted to an area between a high dirt bank and tall concrete retaining wall. The new location was roped off and secured by the IR personnel. The actual recovery began at about 6:30. The IR drive cable was modified as the manufacturer recommended by filing two sides of the attachment fitting. Several attempts were made to hook onto the source pigtail. At around 9:30 the source was successfully pulled back into and locked in the camera. Surveys indicated the source was successfully placed into the shielded position. Pocket dosimeter readings for the four IR employees that were directly involved with the recovery indicated 10, 45, and 52 mRem. None of the construction workers received an exposure above background. The camera, with the source and associated equipment involved with the disconnect, was sent to the manufacturer for evaluation to determine why the equipment failed to operate as designed. On October 1, 2008, the DOH Radioactive Materials' supervisor and the IR program lead staff went to the site to follow-up with the investigation and to close the event. While on site, they addressed an assembly of 800 craft construction workers. Several asked questions about the incident and voiced their concerns for the potential exposure they may have received. DOH staff also talked directly to several individuals before and after the briefing. A large majority of the construction workers seemed to understand that their health and safety had not been affected as a result of the incident. [The State] has subsequently heard that the manufacturer (QSA Global) had determined that the pigtail connector had an engineering defect that allowed that connection to part from the drive cable causing the disconnect. Notified FSME (Burgess) and R4DO (Deese) |
| Where | |
|---|---|
| Northwest Inspection Kennewick, Washington (NRC Region 4) | |
| License number: | IR065 |
| Organization: | Wa Division Of Radiation Protection |
| Reporting | |
| Agreement State | |
| Time - Person (Reporting Time:+189.5 h7.896 days <br />1.128 weeks <br />0.26 months <br />) | |
| Opened: | Arden Scroggs 11:30 Oct 8, 2008 |
| NRC Officer: | Mark Abramovitz |
| Last Updated: | Oct 21, 2008 |
| 44552 - NRC Website | |
Northwest Inspection with Agreement State | |
WEEKMONTHYEARENS 523382016-10-29T07:00:00029 October 2016 07:00:00
[Table view]Agreement State Agreement State Report - Radiographer Dosimetry Left Near Exposure Device During Radiography Shot ENS 445522008-09-30T14:00:00030 September 2008 14:00:00 Agreement State Agreement State Report - Radiography Source Disconnected from Control Cable ENS 409002004-06-25T07:00:00025 June 2004 07:00:00 Agreement State Agreement State Report Involving a Stolen/Recovered Radiography Camera 2016-10-29T07:00:00 | |