Semantic search
Start date | Reporting criterion | Title | Event description | System | LER | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ENS 53766 | 2 December 2018 06:00:00 | Agreement State | Agreement State Report - Patient Contamination of Hospital Room | The following information was received via e-mail: On December 2, 2018, the Agency (Texas Department of State Health Services) was notified by the licensee's radiation safety officer (RSO) that they had admitted a patient at 2210 hours (CST) on December 1, 2018, complaining about a sickness. At 0000 hours on December 2, 2018, the patient gave the treatment nurse a piece of paper from a hospital in Houston, Texas, stating this individual had received a thyroid treatment with iodine-131 on November 29, 2018. At this time the patient was moved to an appropriate room. At this point the patient had been in four different rooms. The four rooms were surveyed for contamination. No contamination was found in the first room surveyed. In the second room, only paperwork was found to be contaminated and the paperwork was disposed of. The third room was a bathroom. Seven tiles in the bathroom were found to be contaminated and were removed. The fourth room was also a bathroom. In this room, the toilet was found to be contaminated. The RSO stated the first survey performed with a 14C rate meter with a pancake GM probe read greater than 20 millirem per hour (mR/hr) (maximum reading on the instrument, i.e. pegged high). A second survey performed with a second instrument indicated a dose rate of 60 mR/hr (on scale reading). The RSO was asked if the reading was in mR/hr or microrem per hour. The RSO confirmed the reading was 60 mR/hr at one foot from the top of the bowl. The RSO stated the room has been isolated and posted. The RSO stated all contaminated laundry had been removed from the areas and placed in the appropriate storage location. The RSO stated the second bathroom would be isolated for an extended period of time. The RSO had been at the facility since 0000 hours so he was headed home for rest. The RSO stated he would provide additional information on Monday December 3, 2018. Additional information will be provided as it is received in accordance with SA-300. Texas Incident: 9641
The following update was received from the State of Texas via e-mail: The licensee's RSO informed the Agency that during its follow-up survey of the bathroom in which they had removed contaminated floor tiles, a single spot was found with readings of 5 mR/hr on the toilet near its water supply line. Therefore, access to this bathroom will also remain restricted. The patient was released from the emergency room late in the day on 12/02/2018. More information will be provided as it is received in accordance with SA-300. Notified R4DO (Gaddy) and NMSS Event Notification Group (by email). |