ENS 48280

v t e ENS Event
04:00 May 24, 2012
Title	Agreement State Report - Recovered Pacemaker
Event Description	A patient with a Pu-238 pacemaker died on 5/16/12 and was scheduled to be buried on 5/26/2012. Berkshire Medical Center (BMC) observed the obituary in the newspaper on 5/24/2012 and contacted funeral home to retrieve the pacemaker. The funeral home still possessed the pacemaker as it was extracted before the patient was cremated. On 5/24/2012, the BMC Radiation Safety Officer retrieved the pacemaker. Radiation measurements of the pacemaker were less than 1 mR/hr near the surface and not detectable above background at 1 meter. Leak tests were also not detectable above background. BMC registered the source with the DOE Off-Site Recovery Project (OSRP) to have it disposed. Category 3 sources, if not safely managed or securely protected, could cause permanent injury to a person who handled them, or were otherwise in contact with them, for some hours. It could possibly - although it is unlikely - be fatal to be close to this amount of unshielded radioactive material for a period of days to weeks. These sources are typically used in practices such as fixed industrial gauges involving high activity sources (for example: level gauges, dredger gauges, conveyor gauges and spinning pipe gauges) and well logging. For additional information go to http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1227_web.pdf.

ENS 48280 +/-
Where
Berkshire Medical Center Pittsfield, Massachusetts (NRC Region 1)
License number:	SN-1439
Organization:	Ma Radiation Control Program
Reporting

Agreement State
Time - Person (Reporting Time:+2527.28 h105.303 days <br />15.043 weeks <br />3.462 months <br />)
Opened:	Michael P Whalen 11:17 Sep 6, 2012
NRC Officer:	John Shoemaker
Last Updated:	Sep 6, 2012
48280 - NRC Website
v • d • e

v t e Emergency Notification System
Berkshire Medical Center with Agreement State
WEEKMONTHYEAR2012-05-24T04:00:00 [Table view]
[ENS list for Berkshire Medical Center]

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