The following information was provided by the
Virginia Department of Health, Office of Radiologic Health (
RMP) via email:
At approximately 1100 EDT on 8/16/2024, RMP was notified of an incident involving a portable nuclear gauge. At approximately 0900, at a deep trench construction site in Fairfax, a CPN International gauge model MC-1, containing 10 mCi Cs-137 and 50 mCi Am-241, was dropped approximately 15 feet when a rope pulley system slipped. The authorized user notified the radiation safety officer (RSO) who arrived on site and then they notified the RMP.
Per the RSO, the gauge fell onto dirt at the bottom of a trench. The device landed flat onto the base of the gauge. The gauge functions and is operational. The rod handle was retracted and locked at the time, and the source remained retracted in the shielded position. The RSO obtained survey readings of 0.4 mR/h at 1 meter from the gauge. The gauge was placed in its transportation box, secured in the back of a pickup truck, and transported back to the licensee's office for secure storage. A leak test was obtained and analysis indicates there is no leakage. The gauge will be sent for assessment by an authorized dealer.
RMP will follow up with an investigation.
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