ENS 48090
ENS Event | |
|---|---|
07:00 Jan 1, 2005 | |
| Title | Agreement State Report - Lost Cs-137 Source Used in Density Meter |
| Event Description | The following information was provided by the State of Nevada via email:
The licensee issued a report of a lost radioactive source previously in service at James Hardie's McCarran, NV manufacturing facility. The missing source material in question was a component of a Thermo Measuretech density meter, Model 5201. The radiation source housing has the serial # B4106. The source's serial # is GV-9532. The isotope is Cesium-137, and the activity is 50 mCi. This unit was received on site in July, 2004 and put into commission in December of 2004. This particular unit was installed on the agitator feed line (a process line that transfers feed material in a mixing vessel to a production machine). At some time in 2005, the density meter in question was removed from service and replaced with an inline flow meter. Thermo Scientific was contacted to determine if the source material in question had ever been sent back to them for recycling or disposal. They have no record of receiving the material in question. In early 2012, the McCarran facility executed a major site clean-up effort. This included taking inventory of all spare parts in the warehouse and cleaning up the 'bone yard'. Western Metals Recycling was contacted prior to this clean-up initiative and asked if they had ever found radioactive material in a scrap metal load from James Hardie. They said that they had not. They also stated that all inbound loads are screened for the presence of radioactive material, and that they would have located the lost device had it come into their yard. No scrap metal shipments generated from the 'bone yard' clean-up initiative were found to contain radioactive material. At this time James Hardie believes that it has done all that can be done to locate the lost source material. The facility is now easily inspected due to recent clean-up efforts, and effort will continue to be made to locate the lost radiological material. In the event that the lost material is located, the licensee will notify the State of Nevada immediately and initiate action to return the source material to Thermo Scientific for recycling or disposal. There is currently one Thermo Measuretech density meter in service at this facility. The device is operated under a General License. In accordance with license requirements, annual training is provided to all site personnel. 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 |
| Where | |
|---|---|
| James Hardie Building Products Sparks, Nevada (NRC Region 4) | |
| Organization: | Nv Div Of Rad Health |
| Reporting | |
| Agreement State | |
| Time - Person (Reporting Time:+65957.6 h2,748.233 days <br />392.605 weeks <br />90.349 months <br />) | |
| Opened: | Sneha Ravikumar 11:36 Jul 11, 2012 |
| NRC Officer: | John Knoke |
| Last Updated: | Jul 11, 2012 |
| 48090 - NRC Website | |
James Hardie Building Products with Agreement State | |
WEEKMONTHYEARENS 519062016-04-07T04:00:0007 April 2016 04:00:00
[Table view]Agreement State Florida Agreement State Report - Lost Radioactive Thickness Gauge ENS 480902005-01-01T07:00:0001 January 2005 07:00:00 Agreement State Agreement State Report - Lost Cs-137 Source Used in Density Meter 2016-04-07T04:00:00 | |