ENS 56103
ENS Event | |
|---|---|
19:25 Sep 10, 2022 | |
| Title | Unable to Retract Source |
| Event Description | The following information was received by email from the state of Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality:
On September 10, 2022 at approximately 1445 [CDT], a source hang out incident occurred while an industrial radiography crew was working at Cembell Industries, Inc., a steel fabrication facility located in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. The radiography crew was working on ground level in the main fabrication shop of the facility. After approximately five seven-minute exposures to a 48-inch outer diameter schedule 40 steel pipe, using a 4-HVL panoramic collimator, the crew was suddenly unable to crank in the source after repeated retraction attempts. The crew took apart the pistol grip on their crank out controls and observed a broken drive cable. The crank out controls were manufactured by Industrial Radiography Maintenance and Supply (IRMS), device serial number, 22JA15867. The crew then pulled the remaining free end of the drive cable continuous with the source assembly and succeeded in pulling the source completely into the shielded position within the crew's Model 880D exposure device. Approximately three feet of the drive cable on the near end had broken off. The crew's exposure device automatic lock was observed to function properly upon shielding the source. Crew members read their direct-reading pocket dosimeters and noted cumulative daily exposures of 62 mR and 68 mR. After briefing their RSO on the successful source retraction, the crew utilized a backup set of crank out controls and completed the temporary job. In an abundance of caution, the RSO of the crew collected the crew's Landauer body badges and [sent] the badges to Landauer for rush processing. No rust, corrosion or birdcaging was observed by the manufacturer, IRMS, upon physical inspection of the crank out controls and drive cable pieces. The root cause investigation by the manufacturer is still ongoing to determine what caused extreme tension in the cable, which contributed to its breakage. The RSO stated he believed the distal end of the cable had become snared in a crimped copper fitting, which was attached to conduit on one end and to a swivel on the pistol grip at the other. The IRMS crank out controls were approximately 45 feet in length and all components were manufactured by IRMS. The crew's source guide tube was in good physical condition and was approximately six feet in length. Note: because the crew's pocket dosimeters did not go off scale and the crew members did not approach the high radiation area at any time during expedient retraction operations in which the source was re-shielded, the above incident is being treated as a source retraction rather than a source retrieval. The RSO stated the source was fixed during the incident approximately one to two inches in front of the exposure device outlet nipple, which provided non-negligible shielding throughout the incident. The radiography exposure device was a QSA Model 880 Delta, device serial number, D13936. The source, Model A-424-9, was a sealed source of Ir-192 with 97.2 Ci of activity. The source serial number was 53444M. Louisiana Event Report ID Number: LA20220008 |
| Where | |
|---|---|
| Git Services, Llc Baton Rouge, Louisiana (NRC Region 4) | |
| License number: | LA-12907-L01, Amendment 26, AI# 188034 |
| Organization: | Louisiana Radiation Protection Div |
| Reporting | |
| Agreement State | |
| Time - Person (Reporting Time:+46.13 h1.922 days <br />0.275 weeks <br />0.0632 months <br />) | |
| Opened: | Russell Clark 17:33 Sep 12, 2022 |
| NRC Officer: | Ernest West |
| Last Updated: | Sep 12, 2022 |
| 56103 - NRC Website | |
Git Services, Llc with Agreement State | |
WEEKMONTHYEARENS 561032022-09-10T19:25:00010 September 2022 19:25:00
[Table view]Agreement State Unable to Retract Source 2022-09-10T19:25:00 | |