ENS 57596
ENS Event | |
|---|---|
22:00 Mar 6, 2025 | |
| Title | Lost Radiography Camera |
| Event Description | The following information was provided by the Texas Department of State Health Services (the Department) via phone and email:
On March 6, 2025, the Department received a call from the licensee's radiation safety officer (RSO). He reported that at around 1600 hours0.0185 days <br />0.444 hours <br />0.00265 weeks <br />6.088e-4 months <br /> a radiography crew reported losing a SPEC 150 exposure device containing a 95.4 curie iridium-192 source. The RSO stated that the source was in the fully shielded position. The RSO stated that the radiographers had completed an exposure on a pipeline and the radiographer trainer told the trainee to store the exposure device. [The radiographer trainer] then went to the cab of the truck to do some paperwork. The trainee set the exposure device on the back of the truck with the guide tube removed but the 35-foot crank outs still attached. The trainee failed to secure the device in the truck. The radiographers drove [toward] the next site. The RSO stated that they traveled about a mile and realized the exposure device was no longer on the back of the truck. The radiographers turned around and retraced the path they had traveled. They did not find the device. The RSO stated that while looking for the device [the radiographers] passed two trucks, which they stopped and asked if anyone had seen the device. Both said they had not seen it. The RSO stated that they have 4 radiography crews searching in the area for the device. The operations manager is also in the area searching for the device. The RSO stated that he has tried to contact the sheriff for the area and has not been able to do so. He stated he will continue to call them until he reaches someone. The radiographers were working approximately 10 miles east of Mentone, Texas, north of state highway 302. The RSO said he would provide GPS coordinates as soon as he received them. Additional information will be provided as it is received in accordance with SA-300. Texas Incident Number: 10179 NMED Number: TX250016 Notified: DHS SWO, FEMA Ops Center, USDA Ops Center, HHS Ops Center, DOE Ops Center, DHS CISA Central, EPA EOC, FEMA NWC, FDA EOC (email), Nuclear SSA (email), CWMD Watch Desk (email), CNSNS (Mexico) email.
The following information was provided by the Texas Department of State Health Services (the Department) via phone and email: On March 13, 2025, the licensee contacted the Department and stated they had received a phone call from an individual who stated they had found its exposure device. The individual stated they found it on March 13, 2025, where the licensee believed it had been lost. The individual stated they had taken it to their home in Pecos, Texas. They stated this was their first day back at work since they found the device and saw the posting about the device. They agreed to meet at the individual's home at 1700 CDT. The licensee's radiation safety officer, corporate safety officer, the local sheriff, and two deputies arrived at the individual's home at 1715 CDT. The individual took them to a small shed behind their house. The shed was locked. The individual stated the gauge remained in the locked shed from the time they brought it to their home until then. The exposure device was found on the floor in the shed. The crank outs were still attached, and the dust cover was still on the front of the device. Both the exposure device and the crank outs appeared to be undamaged. The individual stated they had not attempted to operate the device. The licensee took the device to their vehicle to transport it back to its normal storage location. The licensee stated that dose rates off the device were normal and no individual would have received any significant exposure due to this event. Internal notifications: R4DO (Warnick), NMSS (Silberfeld), ILTAB (Brown), IR MOC (Crouch), NMSS_EVENTS_NOTIFICATION (email), ILTAB, (email), INES National Officer (Smith), NMSS INES Coordinator (Allen). External notifications: DHS SWO, FEMA Ops Center, USDA Ops Center, HHS Ops Center, DOE Ops Center, DHS CISA Central, EPA EOC, FEMA NWC, FDA EOC (email), Nuclear SSA (email), CWMD Watch Desk (email), CNSNS (Mexico) email. THIS MATERIAL EVENT CONTAINS A 'Category 2' LEVEL OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL Category 2 sources, if not safely managed or securely protected, could cause permanent injury to a person who handled them, or were otherwise in contact with them, for a short time (minutes to hours). It could possibly be fatal to be close to this amount of unshielded radioactive material for a period of hours to days. These sources are typically used in practices such as industrial gamma radiography, high dose rate brachytherapy and medium dose rate brachytherapy. For additional information go to http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1227_web.pdf |
| Where | |
|---|---|
| National Inspection Services, Llc Mentone,, Texas (NRC Region 4) | |
| License number: | I 05930 |
| Organization: | Texas Dept Of State Health Services |
| Reporting | |
| Agreement State | |
| Time - Person (Reporting Time:+-1.48 h-0.0617 days <br />-0.00881 weeks <br />-0.00203 months <br />) | |
| Opened: | Art Tucker 20:31 Mar 6, 2025 |
| NRC Officer: | Robert A. Thompson |
| Last Updated: | Mar 13, 2025 |
| 57596 - NRC Website | |
National Inspection Services, Llc with Agreement State | |
WEEKMONTHYEARENS 575962025-03-06T22:00:0006 March 2025 22:00:00
[Table view]Agreement State Lost Radiography Camera 2025-03-06T22:00:00 | |