The following information was received from the
California Radiologic Health Branch via e-mail:
On February 6, 2013, the licensee notified the California Department of Public Health that one of their moisture density gauges (CPN MC-1DRP, 10 mCi Cs-137, 50 mCi Am:Be-241, S/N MD00605734) was struck by a small bobcat tractor at a construction site at approximately 2:00 P.M. The gauge user had placed the gauge on the ground by the back bumper as he went to retrieve something from the cab of this truck. He no sooner started walking from the back of the truck to the side of the truck when the bobcat ran over the gauge.
The RSO reported that although the gauge's guide tube was broken off, the body of the gauge itself was not damaged and the Cs-137 and Am-241:Be sources remained fully shielded. The external shutter, however, was slightly open. The gauge was returned to the transport case and was transported back to the licensee's facility. The RSO then contacted the manufacturer, InstroTek who instructed the RSO on how to close the shutter safely. There was no additional exposure through the external shutter even though it was slightly open because the internal shutter had remained closed during the entire event as the source rod was in the 'safe' position.
The gauge user was wearing a whole body dosimeter which was immediately sent in for immediate processing. On February 7, 2013, [representatives from] the California Department of Public Health met with the licensee. All survey measurements were as expected for this type of gauge and there was no removable contamination found. An additional piece of lead was taped to the external shutter as a precaution during transit. The dose to any individual from this incident is estimated to be less than 0.5 millirem. The gauge is being shipped to InstroTek later today for repair.
California Report 020613