ENS 45451
ENS Event | |
|---|---|
05:00 Oct 21, 2009 | |
| Title | Agreement State Report - Removable Contamination on a Package |
| Event Description | Packaged vials of Sulfur-35 were delivered to the University of Texas with an indicated removable contamination of 10,000 dpm per swipe on the outside of the package. The vials of sulfur were reported as frozen with 1600 dpm per swipe. A lead pig located in the package indicated 600 dpm per swipe. There was no other reported contamination on the package.
A Texas incident report number will follow.
The following report was provide by the State via e-mail: On October 21, 2009 at 1735 [CDT] the Agency [Texas Dept of State Health Services] received a telephone call from [Redacted] the Radiation Safety Officer [RSO] for the University of Texas. [The RSO] stated that a package had arrived at the University of Texas facility in Port Aransas, Texas, and was found to have removable contamination on the outside of the package. The package was shipped as expected and contained vials of Sulfur-35, and did not appear to be damaged. The vials that contained the radioactive material were packed in dry ice and were still frozen when the package was opened. Swipes taken on the outside of the package, as part of the arrival survey, indicated contamination of 10,000 disintegrations per minute (dpm). Contamination levels on the vials in the package were 1,600 dpm. The contamination level on the lead pig shielding the vials was 600 dpm. Removable contamination on the inside of the package was between 1000-2000 dpm. All contamination levels are reported as per swipe, but [the RSO] was unsure of the areas that were swiped. No contamination was detected on personnel involved at the receiving facility. [The RSO] was not convinced that the contamination came from the package because none of the vials appeared damaged, and the highest contamination levels were located on the outside of the package. He stated that they are still investigating and may request assistance from the Agency to identify the radionuclide. It was shipped by [a common carrier] from PerkinElmer, but [the RSO] was unaware of the location it was shipped from. The common carrier tracking number given was [provided], but when tracked online using the [common carrier] website, the package was not in the system. The Agency is awaiting further information from the licensee's investigation. Notified the R4DO (O'Keefe) and FSME (McIntosh). Texas Incident Number: I-8680
On November 2, 2009, [the RSO] concluded, through his investigation, that the initial readings were false-positives. He concluded this after he conducted two independent surveys of the package and detected nothing above background. [The RSO] concluded the false-positive was due to chemiluminescence and ionizing radiation. Therefore, the State of Texas would like to retract this report from the Nuclear Materials Events Database. Notified the R4DO (Shannon) and FSME EO (McConnell). |
| Where | |
|---|---|
| University Of Texas Austin, Texas (NRC Region 4) | |
| License number: | L00485 |
| Organization: | Texas Department Of Health |
| Reporting | |
| Agreement State | |
| Time - Person (Reporting Time:+14.3 h0.596 days <br />0.0851 weeks <br />0.0196 months <br />) | |
| Opened: | Art Tucker 19:18 Oct 21, 2009 |
| NRC Officer: | Vince Klco |
| Last Updated: | Jan 8, 2010 |
| 45451 - NRC Website | |
University Of Texas with Agreement State | |
WEEKMONTHYEARENS 501032014-05-08T05:00:0008 May 2014 05:00:00
[Table view]Agreement State Agreement State Report Involving Over Dose to Patient ENS 454512009-10-21T05:00:00021 October 2009 05:00:00 Agreement State Agreement State Report - Removable Contamination on a Package 2014-05-08T05:00:00 | |