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| Start date | Reporting criterion | Title | Event description | System | LER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENS 49567 | 17 April 2012 06:00:00 | Agreement State | Agreement State Report - Lost Troxler Moisture Density Gauge | The following information was obtained from the State of Texas via email: On December 2, 2011, the Agency (State of Texas) was notified by a facility owner that the licensee had abandoned what appeared to be Troxler Model 3430 moisture/density gauges in the building. Initial investigation revealed that the license had been revoked by the Agency for nonpayment. The Agency impounded 5 Troxler moisture/density gauges that were at the facility and conducted an on-site investigation. The investigation indicated there was one more gauge that had not been accounted for. The Agency contacted the individual who had been the last Radiation Safety Officer of record. During the investigation he was asked to contact anyone who had worked for the licensee that might have knowledge about the gauge. He responded that he had made contact with several former employees and a former partner and they told him the all of the gauges were in the storage area to their knowledge. The Agency contacted the manufacturer and two gauge service companies in the area. None of them had serviced the gauge recently and they agreed to mark their records to notify the Agency if the gauge came in for servicing. There was no information or evidence that the gauge had been legally sold or transferred. Investigation was closed on 04/17/2012 when gauge was determined lost/missing/stolen. During a record review on 11/14/2013 it was discovered that the event had not been previously reported in accordance with SA-300. The event was reported at that time through the NMED (TX130045). When the file was being processed on 11/21/2013, questions arose as to whether or not an exposure could result to persons in unrestricted areas. The gauges impounded by the Agency were examined and it was discovered that the source rods on the gauges were not locked to prevent the sources from being exposed. Based on that information, it was determined that there was a possibility that an exposure could result to persons in unrestricted areas. Troxler Model number 3430; Serial number 34552; 8 mCi Cs-137,40 mCi Am-241 Texas Incident #: I-8908 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 |