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| Start date | Reporting criterion | Title | Event description | System | LER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENS 53596 | 7 September 2018 07:00:00 | Agreement State | Agreement State Report - Damaged Gauge | The following information was received from the State of California via email: HDT&I doing business as American Engineering Laboratories, Inc. had a CPN moisture density gauge (MC39048771 containing nominally 10 mCi of Cs-137 and 50 mCi of Am-241/Be) run over by construction equipment at a temporary job site in Monterey Park on Friday, September 7, 2018 around 1400 PDT. The gauge operator notified his (radiation safety officer) RSO of the accident. He sent photographs of the broken handle and said the source rod was bent. In accordance with the RSO's instructions, the source rod was retracted, secured inside the transport box, and taken to their permanent storage site. Upon return from his travel, the RSO was able to visually inspect the damaged gauge on Sunday, September 9, 2018 and instructed the gauge operator to transport it to the CPN service center on Monday, September 10, 2018. On Monday, September 10, 2018, the damaged CPN gauge was brought to the CPN service center for evaluation and it was discovered that the tip containing the Cs-137 source had apparently broken off from the source rod in the accident. The Am-241/Be source was secure in place. The gauge operator and the RSO went to the accident site with a Geiger-Muller survey meter to search for the missing source after contacting the job site supervisor that they were returning to search for the lost radioactive source and to ensure personnel/equipment were not working in that area. The gauge operator was able to locate the Cs-137 sealed source at the job site, and used 8-inch long pliers to place it into the gauge's shielding. The gauge was then placed into the transport case and transported back to the service center for evaluation and emergency leak testing of the sealed source. California Report No.: 5010-091018 |