The following was received via e-mail:
During a routine [Utah Division of Radiation Control] inspection on April 26, 2019, the licensee discovered that two planchet sources containing radioactive materials were missing from its secured laboratory. The sources were used to calibrate a wipe counting system that the licensee rarely used. One source contained 9.9 nanoCuries of strontium-90 (Sr-90) and the other source contained 17.81 nanoCuries of plutonium-239 (Pu-239). The activity of the Sr-90 source was well below the exempt quantity threshold. The inspector gave the licensee until May 3, 2019, to search for the sources and to let the inspector know the results of the search. On May 2, 2019, the licensee informed the Division that, after an exhaustive search, the licensee had failed to locate the sources. Following a review of the applicable rules by Division staff on May 6, 2019, the inspector verified with the licensee that the sources were still missing and informed the licensee of the incident notification requirements and the anticipated enforcement activities to be taken by the Division.
Event Report No.: UT190001
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