The following is an abstract of information received via E-mail:
On July 17, 2019, a Capitol Ultrasonics (CU) three-person crew was making exposures on a compressor at a chemical plant at ExxonMobil Refinery, at a temporary jobsite in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The three-person radiography crew consisted of two radiography instructors and an assistant radiographer.
After performing three approximately one minute and 25 second exposures and upon completing the fourth exposure and cranking in the source, the radiography instructor noticed, after rocking the crank-out handle back and forth, that the exposure device auto-lock was not engaging. Before reaching the exposure device, the instructor noticed higher than expected survey readings. Several more attempts were made to crank in the source without success. The instructor at once contacted his Radiation Safety Officer (RSO), as well as the ExxonMobil Safety Superintendent. The crew then immediately extended their restricted area boundary to the 2 mR/hr line. Six to seven radiography technicians of the licensee maintained visual surveillance of the boundary and awaited arrival of their RSO. The exposure device was a QSA Global Model 741OP, serial number, B107, containing 15.1 Ci of Co-60, source Model number, A424-18 and source serial number, 60487B.
The lead technician of the crew leading the incident response prior to the arrival of the RSO, received 30 mR on his direct-reading dosimeter (DRD). The RSO received approximately 17 mR on his DRD by the time that the source was finally placed back in the exposure device in the shielded position. An environmental scientist from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality made a site visit to the temporary jobsite of the incident and performed preliminary investigation to include observing the successful retrieval of the source on July 17, 2019, by QSA Global. QSA Radiation Technicians received from 40 to 78.3 mR whole body exposure as a result of performing the source retrieval.
Louisiana Event Report ID No.: LA 190010