The following information was received from the state of
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection:
The Radiation Safety Officer of Rutgers University informed the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection that one sealed source device, with an installed source, cannot be found and is considered lost. The source in question is a Ni-63, electron capture detector source, serial number U1739, to be used in Agilent HP Gas Chromatograph, Model # HP6890, serial number US10204036 electron capture detection device. The source contained 15 mCi of activity. The device was present during the licensee's April, 2021 inventory. When the current inventory was being conducted, the device could not be found. The licensee stated that the lab where the device was located had a burst pipe in June, 2021. It is believed that the device was mistakenly discarded in July, 2021, as part of the clean-up. Rutgers will forward a written report within 30 days."
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