The following information was provided by the
South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (the Department) via email:
The licensee [Bethune Nonwovens, Inc., d/b/a Suominen Nonwovens] notified the Department in writing on April 21, 2023, that a generally licensed fixed gauging device had a failed shutter which had been repaired by the manufacturer on April 3, 2023. The licensee discovered that the event occurred on March 31, 2023, and reported that upon discovery of the stuck shutter, that the manufacturer arrived on site on the same day and placed the device out of service until repaired. The event involved a Mahlo fixed gauging device (model number: 11-200933, serial number 11-011985-AH-5783), which housed an Isotope Product Laboratories, krypton-85 sealed source (model number KAC.D3, serial number: AH-5783), with an activity of 9.62 GBq (260 mCi). The licensee reported that the cause of this equipment failure was attributed to corrosion around the shutter assembly.
On May 2, 2023, a Department inspector was dispatched to the facility to conduct an on-site investigation. All dose measurements were consistent with the Sealed Source Device Registry certificate for the device. Based on the resulting dose rate surveys conducted by the Department and the manufacturer, interviews with licensee representatives, and the removal of the device from service at the time that the failure was discovered, it does not appear that any radiation exposure to workers, or any other individual members of the public has occurred.
This event is considered closed.
Internal ID number: SC230009