ML19296D233
| ML19296D233 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 12/28/1979 |
| From: | Gallina C, Jerman P, Galen Smith NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19296D230 | List: |
| References | |
| 079-180, 79-180, NUDOCS 8003030049 | |
| Download: ML19296D233 (5) | |
Text
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U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT Region I Report No. 079-180 Case No.
NRC-I D-86 License No. NA Priority NA Category NA Licensee:
Non-Licensee Radioactive Material in Public Domain Facility Name:
NA Investigation at:
NA Investigation conducted: Nov mber 27-28, 1979 Investigators:
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/Z-//7 8A" P. C. Jerman, Radiation Specialist date/ signed cate signed date signed Reviewed by:
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G. f. S4ith', Chief, Fuel Facility and
/date ' signed f terials Safety Branch Investication Summary:
On November 15, 1979, tne NRC was notified that on the evening of November 14 1979, radioactive material in the form of contamination on various pieces of glassware and paper waste was delivered by an unidentified woman to a Rutgers University Instructor during a Civil Defense training course being given in Woodbridge, New Jersey. Although the contamination was identified as Phosphorus-32, efforts by NRC investigators were not able to determine the identity of the woman or the source of the material.
Region I Fom 143 (Rev. October 1977)
LL Q B003030 O i l
On November 15, 1979, the NRC-Region I office was notified by Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that radioactive material had been discovered in the public domain. An NRC investigation was initiated on November 21, 1979.
The details as identified by NRC investigators are as follows.
On Wednesday, November 14, 1979, Mr. Bruce Ohlendorf, Director of Continuing Professional Education at Rutgers University, was giving a training class to various civil defense and public service personnel at the Civil Defense Center at the Woodbridge Police Department located at Main and Berry Streets in Wood-bridge, New Jersey.
During a break in the lecture, several of the participants gathered around the lecturer to ask various questions.
One of these individuals, a woman in her mid-forties, placed a large plastic bag on the table and asked Mr. Ohlendorf if he would check the contents to see if they were radioactive.
The woman, claiming to be a nurse at Rahway Hospital, stated that the bag was found on the floor (possibly referring to the nursing floor) at the hospital.
Mr. Ohlendorf stated that when the bag was checked with a GM survey meter, the meter read off-scale at its highest range of 50 mR/hr.
Not knowing the actual dose rate, Mr. Ohlendorf immediately removed the bag from the table and placed it within a metal box used by Mr. Ohlendorf to transport various check sources.
When Mr. Ohlendorf returned to the table, the woman who had brought the bag to the lecture was no longer present. A check of the attendance sheet and the questioning of various participants of the lecture failed to identify the woman in question.
On Thursday, November 15, 1979, the plastic bag was returned to Rutgers University where a survey with a Victoreen Panoramic Ionization Chamber indicated a dose rate of 9 R/hr in contact with the bag.
Due to the fact that this dose rate dropped rapidly with distance, the presence of a beta-emitter was suspected.
Subsequent spectral and half-life analyses appeared to confirm the presence of Phosphorus-32 as the primary contaminant.
The half-life was slightly in excess of 14 days and the spectral analysis indicated an energy distribution similar to that produced by the Bremsstrahlung emission of P-32.
The contents of the bag were removed under controlled conditions to determine the relative source strengths of the radiation being emitted from the bag.
The contents of the bag were identified as follows.
- (l) - 50 ml. erlenmeyer flask
- (l) - ground glass stopper bottle (stopper separate)
- (l) - lead pig bearing a label indicating its contents to have been "Iodotope" Sodium Iodide-131 Capsules; Control #M-7314A manufac-tured by E. R. Squibb
- Photo iMluded as Exh ilt I of this report.
3 (3) - pairs of rubber gloves
- several paper towels (1) - folded paper sheet normally used to contain surgical gloves The main source of activity appeared to come from one of the paper towels indi-cating that it might have been used to clean up spilled material.
The blue-green rubber stopper also appeared to exhibit a higher dose rate then the other glassware items or the lead pig.
The lead pig showed no signs of Iodine-131 and a smear survey indicated that the exterior surface of the large plastic bag had not been contaminated.
The NRC investigator noted that some of the internal P-32 contamination was due to a pair of rubber gloves and paper towel deposited therein by Mr. Ohlendorf during the course of his lecture.
Mr. Ohlendorf stated that he routinely re-ceived a small amount of P-32 from radiation safety personnel at Rutgers Univer-sity in order to demonstrate various detector operations.
The amount was usually sufficient to indicate a few thousand counts per minute on the survey meter and the paper towel used by Mr. Ohlendorf was not the one accounting for the majority of activity within the bag. Mr. Ohlendorf stated that at the time he deposited the paper towel and gloves into the plastic bag, he did not realize that the contents may have also been P-32.
On November 15, 1979, Mr. Edward Christman, Supervisory Radiological Physicist at Rutgers University stated that Rahway Hospital was notified about the incident and Mr. Frank Costello of the NRC-Region I office notified the Nursing Supervisor at Rahway Hospital in an attempt to identify the woman who had dropped off the plastic bag on the previous evening.
This effort was unsuccessful.
NRC investigators, in an attempt to identify how the woman might have known about the training session, questioned Mr. Ohlendorf as to how, and to what extent the meeting was made public.
Mr. Ohlendorf stated that the class was set up through Mr. Chester J. Kormoroski, Minicipal Civil Defense Director for Woodbridge Township. The meeting is designated N the Fire and Police Mutual Aid Group and initially announced via the routine chiefs meetings.
Mr. Ohlendorf stated, however, that on the night before and the day of the class, a general announcement was made over the county-wide public service radio network.
This latter fact would mean that the meeting notice would have wide distribution among police, fire, ambulance, and paramedic personnel, including local hospitals.
In an attempt to possibly identify the recipient of the contents of the lead container, Mr. John Gresh, Health Physicist at E. R. Squibb in New Brunswick, New Jersey, was contacted concerning the apparent control number found on the lead container (M-7314A).
Mr. Gresh informed the NRC that E. R. Squibb had not
4 produced the "Iodotope" capsules since May of 1977.
Mr. Gresh stated further that the control number of the container was only a label code and consequently could not be used to identify the recipient of the material.
On November 27 and 28,1979. NRC investigators met with representatives of Rutgers University, Rahway Hospital, and Merck and Company of Rahway (major local user of byproduct material) in an attempt to identify the source of the radioactivity and/or the ir'iividual who delivered that material to the Woodbridge, New Jersey lecture locatica.
Various surveys and inquiries at each of these locations provided no additional information in this area nor any potential threat to the health and safety of the public.
Representatives of these licensees stated that they would remain vigilant with respect to any events and/or circum-stances which may further the NRC investigation.
Mr. Ohlendorf stated that administrative procedures would be upgraded for all future C.D. lectures in order to positively identify all future attendees.
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