On 1/26/10, the Agency [State of Texas] received a report from the licensee's Radiation Safety Officer stating they had received a report from their dosimetry processor indicating one of their workers had received 230
rem to the badge worn on his left hand. The right hand badge read 1.420
rem for the same period. The
RSO stated that the individual involved handled predominantly Fluorine (F)-18. His
deep dose equivalent (
DDE) for the same period was 439 millirem. The
RSO stated that the typical exposure to the hands is between 500 and 1,200 millirem and that the
DDE was about 250 millirem per exposure period. The
RSO believed the exposure was to his badge only. The
RSO stated that on December 23, 2009, the individual was involved in a spill of F-18 and his badge may have become contaminated causing the exposure. The
RSO stated that he was waiting on a statement from the individual involved.
On February 25, 2010, the Agency received a written report of the event from the licensee. A review of the report indicated that the information provided did not appear to substantiate the conclusion made by the licensee that this was a badge only event. The Agency's position is that the actual shallow dose equivalent (SDE) is currently unknown, and may have exceeded the limit. The Agency has begun their investigation. Additional information will be provided as obtained.
Texas Incident Number I-8707
- * * RETRACTION FROM ART TUCKER (VIA EMAIL) TO HOWIE CROUCH @ 0944 EDT ON 3/26/10 * * *
It was determined that the individual was involved in a spill of F-18 and his badge became contaminated causing the exposure. It is believed that the worker contaminated his badge when he removed his gloves after cleaning up the spill. Surveys of the room after the spill indicated that the door handle used to exit the room by the individual was contaminated. The individual performed a contamination survey of his hands after leaving the room and they were not contaminated. Calculations indicate that, based on the specific activity of the F-18 involved, a small fraction of a milliliter would be required to cause this dose to the badge. The Agency agrees that this was a badge only exposure.
This Agency is requesting that this event be retracted.
Notified R4DO (Deese) and
FSME EO (McIntosh).