The following information was received from the State of
California via email:
On 10/30/08 the Vallero Refinery, Benicia, CA, informed the RHB of an incident that happened on 10/02/08 during radiography operations performed by T.C. Inspections at their refinery. On the night shift of October 2, 2008, a radiographer, two assistants, and a technician were performing radiography on Tank # 1795. After cranking the source out, the magnetic stand holding the collimator fell and was suspended by a rope from the top. This left the camera, crank, and collimator dangling from the tank. The collimator was about 40 feet up, the crank was hanging down and accessible from the lowered man-lift, so the radiographer tried to crank the source in, but realized that the source was stuck due to a kink in the guide tube. The radiographer approached the collimator using a man-lift and was able to straighten the guide tube and crank the source into the shielded position. The radiographer was very close to the source for approximately 1 minute. It has taken about 5 minutes from the ground to get the source back into the shielded position. The radiographer's pocket dosimeter was off scale. His dosimeter was processed and the whole body dose indicated 843 Mr.
California 5010 Number (Date Notified): 103008