ENS 44657
ENS Event | |
|---|---|
16:49 Nov 13, 2008 | |
| Title | Agreement State Report - Breached 90 Millicurie Cs-137 Source |
| Event Description | Ludlum-Sweetwater just called [state] to report a breached source. A 90 milliCurie cesium-137 source was cut open in the machine shop about 45 minutes ago. [A company representative] believes most of the contamination was contained to the machine shop area with a small amount being tracked to different parts of the plant.
Workers were machining a piece of metal and did not realize it had a source in it. The workers were using a grinder and cutting on what they thought was a spacer. The source was to be mounted into a pig and used as a calibration source. The licensee needs assistance [from the state] with the names of companies licensed to assist with clean up. Texas Incident Number: I-8580 UPDATE ON 11/14/2008 AT 1427 FROM ART TUCKER TO MARK ABRAMOVITZ * * * The following information was received from the state via e-mail: On 11/13/08, Ludlum Instruments, a Texas licensee located in Sweetwater, Texas, reported that an employee accidentally breached a small Cesium (Cs) - 137 source while modifying a piece of calibration equipment. An [State of Texas] agency inspector was dispatched to the scene to investigate. Initial reports were that 40 or more employees were involved and that contamination had been spread by foot traffic through the facility. The inspector provided the following information. Ludlum has contracted an out-of-state company (Energy Solutions) to perform assessment and decontamination activities resulting from the breach of the 90 mCi Cesium (Cs) -137 source. The company will perform initial assessments over the weekend and begin operations Monday. Our [State of Texas] inspector reported that contamination levels were fairly low with some spots reading approximately five times background levels. That would equate to about 10,000 - 15,000 counts per minute on a scintillation detector. Ludlum has also contacted the Department of Energy's Radiation Emergency Assistance Center /Training Site for guidance on assessing possible internal deposition of material. Urine specimens are being collected for analysis to determine the presence of Cs-137. Overall, it appears that Ludlum acted quickly and responsibly in reporting and containing the contamination once it was discovered. We will continue to monitor the situation as the assessment and cleanup progresses. Ludlum has issued a press release and the story is being reported in the D/FW [Dallas/Fort Worth] area. Conversation with the Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) at Ludlum on November 14, 2008, provided the following information: The whole facility is currently posted and controlled as a Contaminated Area. The area is isolated and posted 'Do Not Enter.' There has been some decontamination done by Ludlum, but they are going to wait for the contactor to assess the areas before removing barriers. Energy Solutions is due to arrive at the facility this afternoon (11/14/08). They should start work as soon as they receive reciprocity from the State of Texas. The RSO stated that they were in contact with our [State of Texas] Radioactive Materials Group Manager to expedite the reciprocity. They anticipate allowing some workers to return to work on Monday. The RSO stated that they have four individuals of concern currently. Oak Ridge recommended 24-hour in-vitro bioassays samples for those four individuals. No one was sent home contaminated. Two individuals were concerned that they may have taken contamination home. The homes were surveyed and no contamination was detected. Ludlum will begin reenactments and dose studies for the workers involved next week. The source was a gamma gauging source, AEA technology Model number CDC.800 source. The Cs-137 sources is an inorganic pellet, fired at high temperature to bond the Cs -137 in the ceramic pellet. The serial number has not yet been provided. It is currently believed that 30 to 40 percent of the 90 millicuries contained in the source was removed by the grinding operation. The RSO stated that a group was working on some calibrations and noted the background in their area was slowly increasing. At first they thought someone who had received a medical procedure was the cause, but tracked the source of the elevated dose rates to the individuals grinding on the source. The RSO stated that they had not conducted any air sampling of the area as they do not have the equipment necessary to do so. They will rely on bioassay results for internal dose assessments. Notified R4DO (Whitten) and FSME (Flannery).
The Radiation Safety Officer states that the source was cut in half and that no grinder was involved in the process. She also stated that the calculated decayed activity of the source before it was damaged was 80 millicuries. The remaining sections of the source were assayed and the activity remaining is 48 millicuries. It is believed that the majority of the activity released is in the area of the saw. The source is 0.24 inches in diameter and 0.32 inches long and a cumulative wall thickness of 0.05 inches. Notified the R4DO (Whitten) and FSME (McConnell).
The following report was received via e-mail: The Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) at Ludlum reported that the contractor should have a full compliment of workers and instruments today and that cleanup work should be in full swing later today. The RSO also stated that she had incorrectly stated that a cutter was used to cut the source in two. It was a grinder as first reported. The four workers identified as having potential body burdens have provided urinalysis samples and will receive whole body counts (WBC) at Comanche Nuclear Power Station on November 19, 2008. Ludlum currently intends to provide all of their workers with WBC. The facility is a 60,000 square foot facility. It is divided into several areas most having their own air handling system. Currently, the contamination appears to be mostly on the floor in areas out side the work area. No survey information is available in the work area where the source was breached. Notified the R4DO (Cain) and FSME (Burgess). |
| Where | |
|---|---|
| Ludlum Measurements Sweetwater, Texas (NRC Region 4) | |
| License number: | LO1963 |
| Organization: | Texas Department Of Health |
| Reporting | |
| Agreement State | |
| Time - Person (Reporting Time:+-4.55 h-0.19 days <br />-0.0271 weeks <br />-0.00623 months <br />) | |
| Opened: | Ruben Cortez 12:16 Nov 13, 2008 |
| NRC Officer: | John Knoke |
| Last Updated: | Nov 18, 2008 |
| 44657 - NRC Website | |
Ludlum Measurements with Agreement State | |
WEEKMONTHYEARENS 537072018-08-13T04:00:00013 August 2018 04:00:00
[Table view]Agreement State Agreement State Report - Lost Americium-241 Source ENS 446572008-11-13T16:49:00013 November 2008 16:49:00 Agreement State Agreement State Report - Breached 90 Millicurie Cs-137 Source 2018-08-13T04:00:00 | |