The following was received from the Commonwealth of
Virginia via email:
On April 14, 2022 at 2249 hours0.026 days <br />0.625 hours <br />0.00372 weeks <br />8.557445e-4 months <br /> EDT, the Office of Radiological Health Radioactive Materials Program (ORH) received an incident report from the licensee, Huntington Ingalls Incorporated Newport News Shipbuilding. The source, 79 curies of Ir-192, could not be retracted to its shielded position during radiographic work. The incident occurred on April 14, 2022 at about 1103, while a radiographic work was being performed in a permanent radiography booth to inspect a pipe for use upon a naval vessel at Newport News Shipbuilding. The incident occurred because the metal pipe fell off of the metal sawhorse, crushing the source tube and preventing full retraction back into the shielded position. The root cause of the pipe falling off of the sawhorse has yet to be determined. The radiography crew immediately closed the permanent radiography booth, took radiation surveys to ensure that with the door closed the radiation levels were below 2 mR/hr, and notified the Radiation Safety Officer (RSO). The site was supervised by the radiography crew constantly between the time of the incident until the source was retracted at approximately 1310 on April 15, 2022. The highest exposure of the crew from the pocket dosimeters was 5.5 mrem. In addition, the whole body dosimeters were sent to the licensee's internal dosimetry program for analysis. The results are not yet available. The RMP Southeast regional inspector responded to the incident and performed radiation safety assessment at the event site.
Virginia Event Report ID Number: VA220001