Semantic search
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
| Start date | Reporting criterion | Title | Event description | System | LER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENS 55089 | 29 December 2020 05:00:00 | Agreement State | Inadvertent Source Disposal | The following was received from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) via email: Pilgrim's owned and operated three gas chromatographs (GC) units (were in a) poultry feed laboratory in Gainesville, Georgia, pursuant to general license #GA1786-2017-G1-1. This letter is intended to provide notice as required by Ga Comp. R. & Regs. �� 391-3-17-.02(6)(c)(3)(vii)(II) and 391-3-17-.02(6)(c)(3)(xi) that these three GC units were inadvertently disposed of in the Richland Creek Landfill, owned and operated by Republic Services, Inc. (Republic) in Buford, Georgia. At the direction of Georgia EPD, Pilgrim's is in the process of coordinating with Republic to develop a plan for addressing this inadvertent disposal. That plan will be submitted to EPD for approval as part of a Corrective Action Plan. For background, early on the morning of December 29, 2020, Pilgrim's (was) advised that a Republic waste collection truck serviced Pilgrim's municipal solid waste (MSW) container located in Gainesville, Georgia at its poultry feed laboratory. Later that morning, Pilgrim's realized that the three gas chromatography instruments, destined for shipment back to the licensed manufacturer of these radiological materials, were inadvertently moved from the warehouse and placed into a MSW dumpster. Pilgrim's immediately notified Republic of the discovery at approximately 1140 EST. Pilgrim's (was) advised that Republic immediately shifted disposal operations at its landfill away from the area of disposal and flagged off the area of disposal for that day to keep operators out and to prevent additional disposal operations. As part of the initial discovery, Pilgrim's confirmed via security video camera footage that the equipment was placed in the dumpster designated for MSW only. Republic confirmed that the truck did arrive at Richland Creek Landfill for disposal. Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) for the gas chromatography instruments were provided to Republic. The SDS indicates that the three instruments contained a small integral component with 15 millicuries (mCi) Nickel-63 (Ni-63), a low-energy beta-emitting radioactive isotope. Based on information describing the gas chromatograph instruments provided by the manufacture, it is understood that that the Ni-63 components are enclosed in a stainless-steel housing as part of the instruments' electron capture detectors (ECD's). Each one of the Ni-63 components, enclosed within the stainless-steel housing, are approximately 1-2 inches wide and 2-3 inches tall. The Ni-63 incorporated into the ECDs is a solid-state material, not a liquid, with very low potential of leakage. Republic and EPD's Solid Waste Management Unit were notified of the inadvertent disposal on December 29, 2020. Currently, Pilgrim's is coordinating with Republic to develop a plan to address final disposition of the licensed equipment. This plan will be submitted as a Corrective Action Plan for EPD's approval. 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 |