PNO-III-97-037, on 970422,licensee Reported That 150 Mci Am-241 Sealed Source Was Missing.Licensee Searching Facility & Requesting Mfg to Recheck Records to Determine If Gauge Could Have Been Shipped W/Other Returned Gauges

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PNO-III-97-037:on 970422,licensee Reported That 150 Mci Am-241 Sealed Source Was Missing.Licensee Searching Facility & Requesting Mfg to Recheck Records to Determine If Gauge Could Have Been Shipped W/Other Returned Gauges
ML20137Z258
Person / Time
Issue date: 04/23/1997
From: Caniano R, Madera J
NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III)
To:
References
PNO-III-97-037, PNO-III-97-37, NUDOCS 9704240049
Download: ML20137Z258 (1)


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, April 23, 1997 PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATION OF EVENT OR UNUSUAL OCCURRENCE PNO-III-97-037 This preliminary notification constitutes EARLY notice of events of POSSIBLE safety or public interest significance. The information is as initiclly received without verification or evaluation, and is basically all that is I known by Region III staff (Lisle Illinois) on this date.

Facility Licensee Emergency Classification l STEELASTIC COMPANY Notification of Unusual Event l Steelastic Company Alert i Akron,0hio Site Area Emergency .;

, License No: GENERAL General Emergency X Not Applicable

Subject:

MISSING GENERAL LICENSED GAUGE l

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On April 22, 1997,.the general licensee reported to NRC Operations Center '

that a 150 millicurie (5,500 MBq) americium-241 sealed source contained l inside a NDC backscatter thickness gauge was identified missing after the I

. device was removed from its process line. The' licensee returned seven l similar gauges to the manufacturer during the period November 1994 to  ;

January 1995, however. one of the gauges was kept for future use if I needed. During a recent inquiry from the Ohio De)artment of Health '

regarding the current use of the eight gauges, t1e licensee discovered l that their records indicate that one of the gauges was not returned to j the manufacturer. At this time the licensee is searching'its facility and i requesting the manufacturer to recheck its records to determine if the missing gauge could have been inadvertently been shipped with the other

returned gauges.

2 NRC Region III dispatched a radiation specialist to the site on April 23, 1997, to review the circumstances of the event and interview employees.  ;

The State of Ohio and the NRC Office of Nuclear Material Safety and '

Safeguards have been notified. The information in this preliminary  ;

notification has been reviewed with licensee management. j This information is current as of 9:00 a.m. (CDT) on April 23, 1997. ,

Contact:

JOHN MADERA ROY CANIANO '

(630)829-9834 (630)829-9801 9704240049 970423 7

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