The
gauge was discovered missing after Agency [Texas Department of Health] attempts to collect fees.
Gauge registrant had provided self evaluation reports indicating they possessed the
gauge and, after being contacted, admitted it was missing. The company had 2
gauges. The second was returned to Thermo Scientific. The missing
gauge is reported to contain 1 curie of
Cs-137. However, the manufacturer's information indicates it held 2 curies. A site investigation will be performed 12/09/08. A site investigation will be performed 12/09/08.
The licensee continues to dispute inappropriate disposition of the gauge/source but cannot produce documentation to support the statement. The gauge is most likely fixed on a dredge in Florida but until definitive documentation is produced to support or show the whereabouts of the source, the Agency must formerly declare the source missing. A draft Notice of Violation is being developed to call the company in for enforcement.
The source information follows:
Manufacturer: Thermo
MeasureTech (Now Thermo Fisher Scientific), Model: 5203,
Serial Number: B996, Isotope: Cs-137, Activity: 2 Ci,
Source serial number: GK3804
Texas Incident Report # I-8587
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.