ML20198K350
| ML20198K350 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 03/16/1990 |
| From: | Brown W, Jason White NRC - INCIDENT INVESTIGATION TEAM |
| To: | |
| References | |
| PNO-IIT-90-020B, PNO-IIT-90-20B, NUDOCS 9710230339 | |
| Download: ML20198K350 (3) | |
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03029300g00308 4 h V tt - b /VF U-DCS No Date:_ March 16, 1990 IMINARY NOTIFICATION OF EVENT OR UNUSUAL OCCURRENCE--PNO-!!T-90-208 udpu$reliminary or 11c interest significance. notificationTheconstitutes infora tion isEARLY notice as initially of events received without of POSSIBL verification or evaluation, and is basically all that is known by the_!!T on this date. ,M racility: Licensee Emergency Classification: M 4
Amershem Corporation- Notification of Unusual Event 40 North Avenue Burlington, Massachusetts Alert Site Area Emergency ol 7 / [
Dcchet No. 030-29300 General-Emerpency E Not App 11 cab e subjects--UPDATE OF STATUS REPORT FROM NRC INCIDENT INVESTIGATION TEAM the gathering of information and The initial portion its preliminary analysis of the subject investigation, The soyece has been identified and characterizedasa2.4CI.isdrawingtoac1boe.,1R-192 source (asof3/14/90)-manufactured as 4 66 Ci source, by Industrial Nuclear Corporation, San Leandro, CA, and shipped to Korea.- The source had been severed from its pigtail and presumably was temporarily stored in a source changer pending ultimate disposal. The changer belonged to Amersham Corporation. The source was inadvertently .ft in the source c1 anger when it wcs returned to- Amersham as part of a shipment of fourteen presumably empty units. Prior to the arrival of the shipment in the United $tates, the crate containing the units was severely damaged, most possibly dislodgina the source from its shielded position.
J'1 sequente of svents following arrival of the shipment in the United States was f allowst f $EQUENCE OF EVENTS pgig Tig Description of Event l
o 2/9/90 / ShipmentarrivedPortofLosAngeles(LongBeach) 3gm aboard the container vessel Hanjin Mokpo.
2/11/90 ' 6:05am.(pst) Ship was berthed at HOMGIM Terminal.
2/13/90/ 2:00am(pat) Freight container holding crate of source changers f
- was off-loaded onto a highway trailer and placed-l in yard storage (space J-53) at the. port.
- 9:00am(pst) ht 2/14/90 Freiker,containerwaspicketupbyNOVA.a. local truc and brought to their depot in Compton, CA, L
p a 45 minute trip.
11:30am(pst) Crate was removed from container and stored in space No. 28. NOVA. handler noted damage to crate on-shipping papers.
Crate was loaded onto Covenant Trucking Company 2/16/90- -
CV;6 Q:e 00p O
( . t)N t 111er for bonded shipment to Boston, MA feesled-forty-five foot trailer contained four consignments of freight, packed in reverse order of delivery),
um NwcN enw . placing the crate with the source changers against forward wall 4 nose of trailer.
1300051-9710230339 900316 NO-1 90-020 PDR J
e PNO-!!T-90 20B 2 me Tjime, Description of Event 8:30pm(pst) Sleeper truck with two drivers, one a trainee, picked up trailer for delivery, following routes 10E to 1-15N, to I 40E to Oklahoma City, to I-44N to St. Louis, to I-SSN, to 1-70E, to I-79N to PA 51W, to Cocopolis, PA.
2/19/90 I 10:00pm(est) Truck arrived at Nutranz Trucking Company. Drivers slept in cab overnight.
2/20/90 - 9:00am(est) First consignment off-loaded.
11:00am(est) Van left for Baltimore, MD, via 1-79S to I-376E, to 1 70E.
9:00pm(est) Arrived Port East. Transport Warehouse, Baltimore, MD.
Drivers spent night in cab.
2/21/90/ 8:00am(est) Second consignment off-loaded.
11:00am(est) Van left for Philadelphia via 1-95N.
2:30pm(est) Van arrived at Evans Delivery Service, Philadelphia, PA.
Drivers entered trailer to assist in unloading consignments (their first entry into trailer).
O 4:30pm(est) Yan left for Boston, MA, via 1-95 to I-91N, to I-84E, to I-90E, 11:00pm(est) Van parked in truck stop for overnight stay.
2/22/90 - 9:30am(est) Van resumed trip on I 90E, to I-93N to Boston, MA.
11:30am(est) Van arrived at Patriot Trucking, Inc., Warehouse.
11:50am(est) Fourth consignment unloaded by van drivers and dock supervisor. Crate containing source changers was last item removed from trailer. Driver noticed that damaged crate was broken open and that several source changers had fallen out. He returned changers to crate, becoming concerned about the now visible radiation symbols on the units, and telephoned the dispatcher to obtain instructions on how to proceed.
Meanwhile, the dock supervisor unloaded the crate by forklift, stopping to remove several changers from the crate in order to get a piece count. The dock supervisor placed the crate in the bonded storage area of the warehouse.
4:00 pin (est) Yan departs after unloading has been completed.
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PNO-!!T-90-200 3 O Time DescrjptjonofEvent k ,nt/90 Two customs agents inspected the crate and aleased it from bond. Poor condition of the crate '.s noted and they notify Patriot management.
3/8/90 1:45pm(est) A Patriot Trucking. Inc., driver transported the crate to Ainersham Corporation. Burlington, MA, via 1-93, 1-95, to Middlesex Turnpike and North Avenue.
2:30pm(est) Driver backed the truck up to the Amersham shipping dock opened cargo door, noticed the crate had completely collapsed, and removed the remaining changers from it. He then went to get the Amersham receiving technician. As the receiving technician approached the truck to inspect the shipment, his radiation monitor slanned. He summoned the Radiation SafetyOfficer(R$0),whoidentifiedasourcechanger emitting a high radiation level. This changer was isolated from the others and positioned so that the shielding in the source changer blocked the radiation field toward the dock.
The R$0 the ' Hot Lab" supervisor, and a radiation specialIstlocatedthesourcewithintheunshielded compartment of the source changer.
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3:15pm(est) Amersham radiation safety personnel retrieved the source and placed it into a shielded transport device
' for transfer to the ' hot cell" inside the facility.
4:00pm(est) HRC Region ! Office was notified by Amersham of the incident.
Based on information from interviews and other sources, it does not appear that any persons received significant exposures from the time the package arrived at the Port of Los Angeles until it departed from the NOVA trucking depot for transit to the east coast.
Two individuals likely received significant exposures related to this incident, the two drivers identified in PHO-IIT-90-20A. A third driver fron Patriot Trucking Inc.
likely received up to 4 Rem.
The team is completed documentation of the event and gathering supporting information.
On Monday, March 19, 1990 the information will be collated and analyted to verify fieldcalculationsofradiationexposuresandtogenerateandsupportfindingsand conclusions.
CONTACT: W. Brown J. White (301-492-4848) (301-492-4848)
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