ENS 45680
ENS Event | |
|---|---|
07:00 Nov 12, 2009 | |
| Title | Agreement State Report - Fixed Gauge Exposure Incident |
| Event Description | The following information was received via E-mail:
On November 12, 2009, two Public Service Company of Colorado (PSCo) employees removed a fixed gauge (including the source and detector) that was mounted on a pipe to measure scrubber slurry flow. The detector was not working correctly and needed to be repaired. During the process, the employees left the shutter on the source open and received a radiation exposure. Removing the source from the pipe and leaving the shutter open are not allowed by company procedures or the radioactive materials license. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) was contacted about the November 12, 2009 incident by the PSCo Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) on November 12, 2009. At the time CDPHE was contacted it was believed that the shutter had been closed during the work and that there was no unplanned employee exposure. CDPHE was informed that PSCo employees would perform no further work on the source holder and that it was secured at the location where it was taken down. Also, any further work to reinstall the source would be performed by an NRC certified entity. Public Service Company of Colorado (License #032-01) is a specific licensee of the State of Colorado Agreement State Program. On January 29, 2010 while talking to the instrument and control technician employees that had performed the (November 12, 2009) gauge removal, the PSCo RSO learned that the shutter had in fact been open during the work, and the shutter was locked after the source was taken down from its operating location. This was the first time the employee working on the gauge had informed anyone about the shutter being open while the employees removed the detector. On the afternoon of January 29, 2010 the PSCo RSO notified CDPHE via email to provide initial notification of the potential radiation exposure incident. On February 4, 2010 the RSO for PSCo submitted additional information to CDPHE regarding the incident including exposure estimates for the employees involved. The licensee estimated that employee #1 received an exposure of approximately 25 mrem, while employee #2 received an exposure of approximately 0.9 mrem. The gauge involved in the incident was an Ohmart model SR-A, Source Holder Serial #2690CG, containing approximately 50 mCi (1.85 GBq) of Cs-137 (source mfg date is April 2002). The gauge was originally installed in the licensee's facility in October, 2002. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has assigned incident number I10-02 to this incident and is continuing to investigate. The licensee (PSCo) has started an incident investigation to evaluate the incident and determine appropriate corrective actions. |
| Where | |
|---|---|
| Public Service Company Of Colorado Colorado (NRC Region 4) | |
| License number: | 032-01 |
| Organization: | Colorado Dept Of Health |
| Reporting | |
| Agreement State | |
| Time - Person (Reporting Time:+2027.28 h84.47 days <br />12.067 weeks <br />2.777 months <br />) | |
| Opened: | James Jarvis 18:17 Feb 4, 2010 |
| NRC Officer: | Donald Norwood |
| Last Updated: | Feb 4, 2010 |
| 45680 - NRC Website | |
Public Service Company Of Colorado with Agreement State | |
WEEKMONTHYEARENS 479432012-03-23T06:00:00023 March 2012 06:00:00
[Table view]Agreement State Agreement State Report - Potential Over Exposure During Gauge Removal ENS 456802009-11-12T07:00:00012 November 2009 07:00:00 Agreement State Agreement State Report - Fixed Gauge Exposure Incident 2012-03-23T06:00:00 | |