PNO-III-85-056, on 850710,Army Notified Region III That 850621 Fire in South Korea Damaged Spent Military Rocket Sys Containing Pm-147.Microspheres Found at Three Locations Outside Bldg in Areas Where Water Collected
| ML20129D450 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 03014796 |
| Issue date: | 07/11/1985 |
| From: | Axelson W, Burgin R NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III) |
| To: | |
| References | |
| PNO-III-85-056, PNO-III-85-56, NUDOCS 8507160526 | |
| Download: ML20129D450 (1) | |
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PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATION OF EVENT OR UNUSUAL OCCURRENCE--PNO-III-85-56 Date July 11, 1985 This preliminary notification constitutes EARLY notice of events of POSSIBLE safety or public interest significance. The information is as initially received without veri-fication or evaluation, and is basically all that is known by the staff on this date.
Facility: Department of the Army Licensee Emergency Classification:
Rock Island, IL
)gNpf' Notification of an Unusual Event Alert License No. 12-00722-07 Site Area Emergency General Emergency XX Not Applicable
Subject:
FIRE IN SOUTH KOREA INVOLVING U.S. ARMY WEAPONS SIGHTS CONTAINING PROMETHIUM 147 On July 10, 1985, the U.S. Army notified Region III (Chicago) that a June 21, 1985, fire in South Korea had damaged spent military rocket systems containing radioactive promethium-147.
(Tha Army holds an NRC license for the use of promethium-147 in the rocket sighting mechanisms.)
Tha fire occurred in a storage building at a Republic of Korea facility, located about 7 miles from Camp Humphreys, a U.S. Army base. Stored in the building were about 2,500 spent rocket tubes, each with a sighting mechanism containing 3 millicuries of promathium-147 for illumination.
South Korean military personnel notified the U.S. Army of the fire, and the Army dispatched its on-site radiation protection officer to the facility.
The promethium-147 is encapsulated in " microspheres" about the size of a pinhead. The fire released the microspheres from the sighting mechanisms, but air sampling and surveys inside the damaged building determined that the microspheres had remained intact. Promethium-147 microspheres were also found at three locations outside the building in areas where water used in fighting the fire had collected. These areas were promptly cleaned up. A U.S.
bastd Army radiological response team has been dispatched to South Korea to clean up the building's interior. The cleanup is expected to be completed by July 13, 1985.
Region III will continue to monitor the Army's cleanup operations.
The NRC Office of International Programs has been notified.
Region III was notified of the incident on July 10, 1985, and additional details were cbtained on July 11, 1985. This information is current as of 11 a.m. (CDT), July 11, 1985.
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