The following information was received via facsimile:
On February 4, 2011, the NC Radiation Protection Section (NCRPS) received notice of a bankruptcy sale for Townsend in Pittsboro, NC. On March 15, 2011, the Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) for Townsend was contacted to check the status of 5 exit light signs they had registered. The Townsend RSO informed NCRPS that Townsend had paperwork for the signs, however, in October 2003 the facility had been changed from a chicken slaughter facility to a chicken process facility. During this construction, the 5 exit signs were destroyed. On March 30, 2011, NCRPS performed an inspection at the facility and no exit signs or evidence of signs containing tritium were found. A total of 71.9 Curies of tritium were destroyed at the facility and NCRPS considers the incident closed. NC Report #11-22.
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. 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