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| Start date | Reporting criterion | Title | Event description | System | LER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENS 55316 | 16 June 2021 04:00:00 | Agreement State | Private Citizen in Possession of Nuclear Material | The following was received from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) via email: On June 16, 2021, the DEP was notified that family members were cleaning out the home of a deceased relative, and discovered an item marked "radioactive." The DEP responded on June 17, 2021. The item in question appeared to be some sort of tile, or piece of rock, and was identified as containing Ra-226. There was some removable activity on this item. It was re-wrapped in the lead sheeting it was found in and placed in a plastic bucket, sealed, labelled, and secured in a safe location in the basement (where it was originally discovered), pending proper disposal. The on-contact reading was 4 mR/hr. | ||
| ENS 55315 | 15 June 2021 04:00:00 | Agreement State | Private Citizen in Possession of Nuclear Material | The following was received from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) via email: On Tuesday evening, June 15, 2021, the DEP was notified that a member of the public had come to the Mountain Lakes police HQ to report that he had in his possession some radioactive material that he had obtained 60 years ago when he worked for Westinghouse as an engineer. The material was reported to be "Nuclear Reactor grade U-238 with 5 percent U-235 enriched". The citizen further stated that the material is wrapped in lead foil and placed in a lead pipe with the ends pinched over. The material allegedly consists of three or four rejected pellets, approximately 3/8 inch diameter. These were rejected because of dimensional irregularities. They are allegedly doughnut shaped with a hole in the center. They were reportedly to be used in Westinghouse nuclear reactors/steam power. The citizen stated that the material in question has been stored for decades in a lead pipe, sealed off at the ends, and then tightly wrapped in lead sheeting. It was also clearly labelled with the word "Radioactive" and then placed inside a large can, which has been securely stored in the citizen's garage for several decades. DEP personnel responded to the citizen's home on June 17, 2021. The material was found stored as the citizen had previously described. The container was not opened. There was no detectable removable contamination on the outside of the container. The material was returned to the garage where it will be secured pending proper disposal. | ||
| ENS 45054 | 7 May 2009 06:00:00 | Agreement State | Agreement State Report - Radium Source Found | The State of Colorado sent this report in by fax. On 5/7/09, the Department received a request for assistance from a private citizen regarding the disposition of a load of scrap metal that he sent to a scrap metal recycling facility. The load was rejected after it tripped the gate radiation monitor. On 5/8/09, representatives from the Department went to the owner's site to investigate. After sifting through the pile of scrap, a radium source was found. The source, which was approximately 2 inches (in) diameter and 0.25 thick, had a glass face and appeared to be some type of light source. The back of the source was stamped with the following, 'USRC, UNDARK, 22MTTR58, Poison Inside.' The source was reading approximately 35 millirem per hour on contact and 0.3 millirem per hour at one foot. No removable contamination was detected by wipe test. The owner, who was cleaning out an old building on the property, did not know where the source came from. The source is currently being stored inside a locked, empty building on the property pending disposition. No other details are available at this time. |