The following information was received from the
California Department of Public Health, Radiologic Health Branch (
RHB) via email:
On March 16, 2023, SA Recycling reported the discovery of a radioactive source within a bin of shredded metal from their onsite operations when it was screened at the scale-house radiation detectors. The container was dumped out and the contents sorted using tools by SA Recycling personnel until the source of the radiation was located. RHB was notified of the event after the sorting was completed using a Ludlum 3 with a 44-10 NaI detection probe and the source had been removed to a secure onsite storage area.
The next day a state inspector visited the site and verified the radioactive source was in a secure location. The source was put in a lead shielded container by the inspector and left in the locked storage area (the dose rate on the lead storage container was approximately 0.25 mR/hr). On March 23, 2023, the source was determined by inspectors to be Gd-153 with an approximate activity of 100 mCi.
The source will be taken into the custody of the State, and a dose assessment will be made of the SA Recycling personnel involved in the search for the source."
California 5010 Number: 031623
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