ENS 45192
ENS Event | |
|---|---|
05:00 Jul 8, 2009 | |
| Title | Agreement State Report Involving Unplanned Contamination |
| Event Description | The following information was received from the State of Oklahoma via email:
An incident involving veterinary use of 3.7 milliCuries of Iodine 131 occurred at Oklahoma State University (OSU) on the afternoon of July 8. OSU holds a broad scope license OK-00237-03 and is located in Stillwater, OK. This was the licensee's first such treatment of a cat since an incident late last Fall where a veterinarian who was not an authorized user did a similar injection and stuck himself with the needle after the injection. An inspector from Oklahoma DEQ was present for the treatment, though not in the actual injection room because of space concerns. The University RSO directly observed the procedure and reports that the technician administering the dose appeared to follow the procedure precisely. She did not report anything unusual about the injection, though she observed that the cat (whose body was enclosed in a bag) struggled somewhat. The problem was discovered when a survey of the technician was done, and contamination was discovered on protective clothing covering the hand and the outer surface of the opposite forearm. Licensee measurements indicate that the cat reads 0.25 mrem/hr at 30 cm from the body, while measurements in the area where the cat was injected read over 60mrem/hr without the cat present. The licensee believes that the cat did not receive the majority of the dose and that the majority of the Iodine ended up on the injection shelf and the floor of the room. Thyroid screening of the technician, the RSO, and a control person with NaI probe does not indicate any internal absorption. The technician does not have any removable contamination on her skin, and meter readings of her skin are at background. A whole body scan at a hospital is being scheduled for her. She was given 0.13 cc of SSKI mixed with 2 ounces of water shortly after the incident. The area where the incident occurred has been closed off. The cat is being maintained in a cage in the room. The syringe assembly, its carrying case, and all protective garments worn by the technician have been preserved. The licensee is investigating, getting the advice of a team of experts. The licensee has not reached a conclusion of the cause of the problem, theories include mechanical failure in the preloaded syringe assembly or that the struggling cat may have caused the needle to stick out through the subcutaneous injection site causing the dose to be ejected outside the cat. |
| Where | |
|---|---|
| Oklahoma State University Stillwater, Oklahoma (NRC Region 4) | |
| License number: | OK-00237-03 |
| Organization: | Ok Deq Rad Management |
| Reporting | |
| Agreement State | |
| Time - Person (Reporting Time:+53.77 h2.24 days <br />0.32 weeks <br />0.0737 months <br />) | |
| Opened: | Mike Broderick 10:46 Jul 10, 2009 |
| NRC Officer: | Charles Teal |
| Last Updated: | Jul 10, 2009 |
| 45192 - NRC Website | |
Oklahoma State University with Agreement State | |
WEEKMONTHYEARENS 539482019-03-20T05:00:00020 March 2019 05:00:00
[Table view]Agreement State Agreement State Report - Contaminated Radiation Worker ENS 451922009-07-08T05:00:0008 July 2009 05:00:00 Agreement State Agreement State Report Involving Unplanned Contamination ENS 446192008-10-30T15:45:00030 October 2008 15:45:00 Agreement State Agreement State Report - Accidential Exposure to I-131 2019-03-20T05:00:00 | |