The following report was received from the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania via fax:
Event Description: International Communication Materials, Inc., (lCMI), a subsidiary of Nukote International, Inc., is a defunct manufacturer of toner and ink cartridges, which had operated a facility that closed in August 2009. This event wasn't discovered until the Department's [PA Bureau of Radiation Protection] Southwest Region inspected ICMI's factory in September 2010. The [ICMI] building was found unsecured, and [gauges were found with] the gauge shutters open and unlocked. The Department located two former ICMI employees, who secured the building and allowed the DEP to close and lock the shutters with padlocks. In August 2011, the SW Region again discovered the ICMI factory unsecure. The Department, with the Pennsylvania State Police, then conducted a joint inspection and discovered evidence that trespassers had entered the building and may have stolen copper pipes. After several unsuccessful attempts to contact Nukote International or ICMI, the Department then communicated with Nukote's largest creditor, CIT Group, and obtained their cooperation in securing both the building and the GL gauges.
Sources: Three (3) Kay-Ray / Sensail, Inc., Cs-137 GL sources, each 25 mCi
Serial Nos.: S96M1001, S96M1009, S96M1010
CAUSE OF THE EVENT: Human Error - failure of ICMI to secure licensed material.
ACTIONS: As of January 18, 2012, the purchaser / transferee intends to dispose of the generally licensed unit's all together. The transferee has already received quotes from various licensed vendors and will be selecting a vendor as soon as possible.
Media attention: None at this time
PA Event Report ID No: PA090045
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