UCLA was unable to locate 2 sealed sources which were listed in their inventory database. The first source was 50 micro Ci Co 60 as of 5/1/2000. Current activity is 15.28 micro Ci which exceeds the 1 microCi
24 hour2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> reporting requirement. The second source was listed in their database as 1.83 micro Ci of Cm 244 as of 10/12/1988.
UCLA believes the original activity for the Cm 244 source to be 1.83 nano Ci, and was listed incorrectly in their database. They contacted the Manufacturer, Isotope Products Laboratory, who informed them that they did not manufacture micro Curie quantities, but only nano Curie quantities of Cm 244. The current activity of the Cm 244 source (decayed to date of notification) is either 832 nano Curies or 0.832 nano Curies. The former exceeds the 1 nano Ci 24 hour2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> reportable quantity requirements.
UCLA believes the Cm 244 Source was installed in an instrument, but they were unable to locate the instrument at the time of notification. UCLA is continuing to search for the missing sources.
The UCLA RSO (Radiation Safety Officer) believes the sources are still on the campus.
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.