ENS 45457
ENS Event | |
|---|---|
20:00 Oct 20, 2009 | |
| Title | Agreement State Report - Radium Source Found in Scrap Metal |
| Event Description | The following information was received from the state via e-mail:
Nucor-Yamato Steel in Blytheville, Arkansas reported to the Arkansas Radiation Control Program on October 20, 2009, that they believed a source had been found in a load of scrap metal received at their facility. The shipper for this load of scrap metal was Southern Scrap, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Radiation surveys conducted by steel mill personnel indicated an on contact reading of 5.0 mR/hr. Health Physicists from the Arkansas Radiation Control Program responded to Nucor-Yamato Steel in Blytheville, Arkansas on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 arriving at 3:00 p.m. The device is 20 inches long and 6 inches square. The only identifying marks are a plate labeled 'MFD BY S.H. COUCH CO INC' and appears to be a type of selector switch containing a Radium-226 backlight. The switch can select 'AFT STA' or 'WHEEL HSE.' Survey readings at the selector switch were 5.5 mR/hr. Removable contamination (not quantified) was found on smears of the device taken in the field. The device was packaged and transported to the Arkansas Department of Health and is currently in a secured storage area. The Department continues to investigate this incident to determine the identity of the device as well as the owner.
An employee of American Radiation Services, Inc. (ARS) arrived in Little Rock on March 19, 2010 to retrieve the unknown source. The source was packaged and transported to Port Allen, Louisiana where ARS determined that it was a Radium-226 source of approximately 2.4 mCi. The manufacturer, model number and serial number are still unknown. ADCO Services, Inc. picked up the source from ARS on April 30, 2010 and transported it to Tinley Park, Illinois where it is waiting disposal. The Arkansas Department of Health considers this incident to be closed. Notified R4DO (Powers) and FSME (Mauer). 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. For additional information go to http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1227_web.pdf 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 |
| Where | |
|---|---|
| Southern Scrap Blytheville, Arkansas (NRC Region 4) | |
| Organization: | Arkansas Department Of Health |
| Reporting | |
| Agreement State | |
| Time - Person (Reporting Time:+63.3 h2.638 days <br />0.377 weeks <br />0.0867 months <br />) | |
| Opened: | Kayla Avery 11:18 Oct 23, 2009 |
| NRC Officer: | Mark Abramovitz |
| Last Updated: | Jun 9, 2010 |
| 45457 - NRC Website | |
Southern Scrap with Agreement State | |
WEEKMONTHYEARENS 500162013-04-13T05:00:00013 April 2013 05:00:00
[Table view]Agreement State Agreement State Report - Source Detected in a Load of Scrap Metal ENS 454572009-10-20T20:00:00020 October 2009 20:00:00 Agreement State Agreement State Report - Radium Source Found in Scrap Metal 2013-04-13T05:00:00 | |