The following information was provided by the
Illinois Emergency Management Agency (The Agency) via email:
The Agency was contacted the evening of 11/26/24 by the radiation safety officer for Princeton Technical Services to advise that a Troxler 3430 moisture density gauge had been hit by a vehicle while in use at the airport. Reportedly, the authorized user (AU) set the portable gauge next to his vehicle and forgot to properly secure it prior to moving. The vehicle struck the gauge and broke off the face plate and the electronic keypad. The AU stated that there was no damage to the source housings and the cesium source rod was fully retracted. These statements were confirmed by on scene Chicago Fire Department (CFD) personnel. The CFD used a Thermo RadEye device to measure the exposure rate at one meter which was compared to the shipping papers. The reading at one meter was 189 microR/hour and the listed transport index was 0.3 which supports the fact that the source rod was properly shielded. The gauge was then packaged in the undamaged case and transported back to the licensee's location.
Agency inspectors conducted a reactive inspection the morning of 11/27/24 and corroborated the details above. The licensee's written report is pending and will be used to update this event with a root cause and corrective actions. The licensee attributes the cause of the event to human error and the failure to follow their procedure.
Illinois Item Number: IL240029
Source Number: 1
Source/Radioactive Material: Sealed Source Gauge
Manufacturer: AEA Technologies
Model Number: NR
Serial Number: 750-9439
Radionuclide: Cs-137
Activity: 0.008 Ci (8 mCi or 296 MBq)
Source Number: 2
Source/Radioactive Material: Sealed Source Gauge
Manufacturer: Isotope Products Lab
Model Number: NR
Serial Number: 47-6362
Radionuclide: Am-Be
Activity: 0.04 Ci (40 mCi or 1.48 GBq)