The following is a compilation of information received from a verbal report from the State of
New Jersey; an e-mail from the State of
California; and discussions with the
RSO involved in the incident:
On October 8, 2011 at approximately 1000 EDT, three contractor personnel were loading Co-60 sources on a GammaCell 220 irradiator at a Johnson & Johnson facility located in Raritan, New Jersey. During the activity, an 8 inch 1210 Curie Co-60 source was somehow dislodged from its shielded position and approximately 4 inches of the source were exposed in an unshielded configuration. In addition, the insertion tool prevented the workers from re-inserting the source quickly. The workers were able to take a titanium shield and force the source into place by breaking off the insertion tool. The source was then confirmed to be in a shielded configuration and safely secured. The total time the source was exposed was estimated to be 25 to 30 seconds. The two individuals loading the source are employed by Foss Therapy, a California Agreement State licensed service provider. The third individual involved in the activity was the RSO employed by Gamma Irradiator Service (GIS) under a Pennsylvania Agreement State license. Based on readings from the electronic dosimetry being used by the workers, the two Foss Therapy employees are estimated to have received whole body doses of 8.1 R and 7.7 R respectively. The RSO working for GIS is estimated to have received a dose of 8.5 R. Extremity exposure has been estimated at between 50 R to 60 R for the two Foss Therapy workers. The workers were also wearing fresh TLDs and finger badging. More detailed dose information will be forthcoming after analysis of this dosimetry.
See event report from the State of New Jersey:
EN 47334