Semantic search
| Start date | Reporting criterion | Title | Event description | System | LER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENS 47536 | 19 December 2011 06:00:00 | Agreement State | Agreement State Report - Scrap Metal Facility Rejected Load | The following information was provided by the state via email: Nucor-Yamato Steel in Blytheville, Arkansas reported to the Arkansas Radiation Control Program on December 19, 2011, that a sealed source containing radioactive material had been found in a load of scrap metal received at their facility. The broker for this load of scrap metal was The David J. Joseph Company. The load of scrap originated in Louisiana. Survey readings on contact with the source using a sodium iodide detector were 1.0 mR/hr. Smears taken and counted using a thin window GM detector in the field indicates that the source does not appear to be leaking. The source has a glass covered flange end approximately 1.125" diameter, with a fitting on the back side of approximately 0.5" diameter. Overall length is approximately 1.0". No identifying marks have been found at this time. The source was contained within a small can, secured within a locked storage room. The steel mill is awaiting a consultant to pick-up, identify and dispose of the source. | ||
| ENS 45777 | 17 March 2010 05:00:00 | Agreement State | Agreement State Report - Discovery of a Sealed Source in a Load of Scrap Metal | The following information was received via E-mail: The following are the findings of the Arkansas Department of Health, Radioactive Materials Program, concerning Event Number 03-10-01 involving an unknown radioactive source at Nucor-Yamato Steel in Blytheville, Arkansas. The Department was contacted on March 17, 2010 indicating that a sealed source had been discovered in a load of scrap metal. The isotope/activity of the sealed source is unknown at this time. It was also stated that survey readings were 50 mR/hr. Health Physicists from the Arkansas Department of Health went to Nucor-Yamato Steel. (Upon discovery), the cylinder-shaped source had been placed in a metal bucket and then put in a 55 gallon metal drum. Readings inside the barrel with the survey meter probe close to the source, the actual readings were 100-140 mR/hr. After all the shielding was in place, a survey was taken with the highest reading being 0.7 mR/hr at the surface of the drum, and the T.I. index (transport index) was 0.2 mR/hr. The drum containing the source was secured in the back of the state vehicle and transported to the Arkansas Department of Health, Radiation Control in Little Rock, Arkansas. The source is awaiting pickup by American Radiation Services for transport to their storage location in New Orleans, Louisiana. Further information and identification of the isotope and activity are pending the report from the vendor. The State of Louisiana has been notified."
An employee of American Radiation Services, Inc. (ARS) arrived in Little Rock on March 19, 2010 to retrieve the unknown source. The source was packaged and transported to Port Allen, Louisiana where ARS determined that it was a Cesium-137 source of approximately 0.61 mCi. The manufacturer, model number and serial number are still unknown. ADCO Services, Inc. picked up the source from ARS on April 30, 2010 and transported it to Tinley Park, Illinois where it is waiting disposal. The Arkansas Department of Health considers this incident to be closed. Notified R4DO (Powers) and FSME EO (Mauer). 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 This source is not amongst those sources or devices identified by the IAEA Code of Conduct for the Safety & Security of Radioactive Sources to be of concern from a radiological standpoint. Therefore is it being categorized as a less than Category 3 source |