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| Start date | Reporting criterion | Title | Event description | System | LER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENS 53783 | 3 December 2018 06:00:00 | Agreement State | Agreement State Report - Source Abandonment Through Bankruptcy | The following was received from the Louisiana Radiation Protection Department (LDEQ/ERSD/Radiation Section) via e-mail: On or about December 3, 2018, (an individual) contacted KLS Physics to inform them he had acquired some sealed sources (check sources) in a bankruptcy liquidation of assets. KLS Physics had provided physics support to HVA (Heart & Vascular Associates, PC) for their Radioactive Materials Program. KLS Physics instructed (the individual) to contact LDEQ/ERSD/Radiation Section to determine how to proceed correcting/solving the situation. LDEQ staff received (the individual's) notification on December 3, 2018. The inventory performed by KLS Physics on December 4, 2018, indicated the five (5) sources are check sources of Cs-137 and Co-57. The activities range from 0.02 microCuries Co-57 to 176 microCuries of Co-57. At this time, the Department has taken possession of three of the sources. LDEQ has assigned this NMED Incident to an investigator. This is a preliminary investigation report. Information will be updated when available. The five sources were abandoned by (the licensee), who is the registered owner of Heart and Vascular Associates, PC. (The licensee's) equipment was sold during a bankruptcy liquidation to pay expenses. The licensed source possession and Regulatory Reporting requirements are (the licensee's) responsibility. LDEQ staff received (the individual's) notification on December 3,2018. He reported the acquisition of the sources to KLS Physics Services. The name was on documents included in the box of equipment. KLS in turn had him contact the LDEQ's Radiation Section. The Department dispatched an inspector to (the individual's) residence to assess the situation. (The individual) only had three of the five sources in question. All three were is their lead pigs and surface readings were minimal. Staff personnel is still attempting to contact (the licensee) about the remaining two sources. The LDEQ reported that the sources that were found had the following activities: 69.35 microCuries of Cs-137, 57.98 microCuries of Cs-137, and 0.01 microCuries of Co-57. The sources that are still missing had the following activities: 176 microCuries of Co-57 and 0.62 microCuries of Cs-137. Louisiana Event Report ID No.: LA-180019 THIS MATERIAL EVENT CONTAINS A "LESS THAN CAT 3" LEVEL OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL Sources that are "Less than IAEA Category 3 sources," are either sources that are very unlikely to cause permanent injury to individuals or contain a very small amount of radioactive material that would not cause any permanent injury. Some of these sources, such as moisture density gauges or thickness gauges that are Category 4, the amount of unshielded radioactive material, if not safely managed or securely protected, could possibly - although it is unlikely - temporarily injure someone who handled it or were otherwise in contact with it, or who were close to it for a period of many weeks. For additional information go to http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1227_web.pdf |