The following was received from the
Texas Department of State Health Services (the Department) via phone and email:
On August 10, 2023, the Department was notified by the licensee that during the August 9, 2023, inventory of the ExxonMobil (EM) Beaumont Polyethylene Plant (BPEP) Tritium (H-3) exit signs, 9 uninstalled signs previously stored in the [instrumentation and electrical] shop could not be located. After an investigation and questioning of the personnel with access to the signs it was determined the box of tritium exit signs was placed in the trash dumpster during cleanup of the [instrumentation and electrical] shop area. As of August 14, 2023, the signs are considered missing/lost. The general licensee stated there is no evidence the integrity of the signs was compromised during the cleanup and thus there was no radiation exposure to personnel. All other unused exit signs were moved to a secured storage location. The Department has requested additional information from the general licensee. The investigation into this event is ongoing. Additional information will be provided as it is received in accordance with SA-300.
The signs contained a total of 234.9 Ci, H-3 when manufactured in 2016.
Texas Incident Number: 10047
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