On July 29, 2009, The [Illinois Emergency Management] Agency received preliminary notification from the licensee's radiation safety officer that a package of radioactive material destined for a radiopharmacy in
Arizona had not arrived as scheduled, but was subsequently located and forwarded after a day's delay. Subsequent conversations indicated that for a period of approximately
12 hours1.388889e-4 days <br />0.00333 hours <br />1.984127e-5 weeks <br />4.566e-6 months <br /> the package was secured in the possession of a member of the public until it was retrieved by the courier and forwarded to the licensed recipient. The package contained a total of 3 vials with 30 capsules of
I-123 which are intended for medical diagnostic studies. Those capsules were 100 to 200 microCi of
I-123 each for a total activity in the package of 20.5 milliCi at the time the package was prepared for shipment on July 26, 2009. The measured dose rate 3 feet from the package at the time of shipment was less than 0.1 milliR/h. Due to limited time spent handling and being near the package for the period in question, the dose to the member of the public was well below regulatory limits. When finally received by the pharmacy, the package was found to be intact, with no signs of damage, leakage or the contents having been previously opened or removed. The licensee is investigating corrective actions to take with regards to actions by the courier top prevent a recurrence. A formal report from the licensee concerning this matter is pending. Until that time, this item remains open and under investigation by the [Illinois Emergency Management] Agency.
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.
This source is not amongst those sources or devices identified by the
IAEA Code of Conduct for the Safety & Security of Radioactive Sources to be of concern from a radiological standpoint. Therefore is it being categorized as a less than Category 3 source