ENS Event | |
|---|---|
05:00 Apr 20, 2023 | |
| Title | Found Source |
| Event Description | The following information was received from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), Radioactive Materials Unit via email:
An unlicensed engineering company found a portable nuclear density gauge in their storage garage while cleaning. They state that they have never been licensed and have never acquired a gauge. [The company] estimates that it has been in the garage since the early 1990s without their knowledge. The gauge is currently being stored in the locked garage. The company has been instructed to place a second tangible barrier on the device while [MDH] continues to investigate and discuss next steps. The licensee reported this discovery to MDH on 4/25/2023, and MDH was able to verify the gauge make, model and activity on 4/27/2023. Below is the information we [MDH] currently have: - Company name: Widseth Engineering, Inc. (formerly Floan-Sanders, Inc.) 1600 Central Avenue NE, East Grand Forks MN - Gauge manufacturer: Soiltest, Inc. 2205 Lee Street, Evanston IL - Gauge Model: NIC-5 DT - Gauge Serial Number: 75C047 - Sources (assay date August 1975): Am-241/Be: 60 mCi (decayed to 55 mCi); Cs-137: 10 mCi (decayed to 3.3 mCi) MDH is conducting an investigation and will provide more information in a report within 30 days. MN State Event Report ID No. MN230002 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 |
| Where | |
|---|---|
| Minnesota Department Of Health East Grand Forks, Minnesota (NRC Region 3) | |
| Organization: | Minnesota Department Of Health |
| Reporting | |
| Agreement State | |
| Time - Person (Reporting Time:+179.88 h7.495 days <br />1.071 weeks <br />0.246 months <br />) | |
| Opened: | Tyler Kruse 16:53 Apr 27, 2023 |
| NRC Officer: | Thomas Herrity |
| Last Updated: | Apr 27, 2023 |
| 56493 - NRC Website | |
Minnesota Department of Health with Agreement State | ||
WEEKMONTHYEARENS 564932023-04-20T05:00:00020 April 2023 05:00:00 Agreement State Found Source ENS 551862021-04-01T05:00:0001 April 2021 05:00:00 Agreement State Dose Administered Greater than Prescribed ENS 549332020-10-05T05:00:0005 October 2020 05:00:00 Agreement State | Agreement State Report - Report of Lost Static Eliminator ENS 545142020-02-02T06:00:0002 February 2020 06:00:00 Agreement State Agreement State Report - Medical Event 2023-04-20T05:00:00 [Table view] | |