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| Start date | Reporting criterion | Title | Event description | System | LER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENS 54404 | 21 November 2019 20:14:00 | Agreement State | Agreement State Report - Lost Radiography Source | The following information was received via E-mail from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: The licensee (QSA Global, Inc.) made telephone notification at 0948 EST, on November 22, 2019, preceded by E-mail to the Agency (Massachusetts Radiation Control Program) day prior, that licensee was notified by carrier on November 21, 2019, that an incoming shipment from Edmonton, Canada and destined for QSA Global, Inc., Burlington, Massachusetts is missing. The licensee provided that the shipment missing is a Model 650L source changer, serial number 2239, Type B(U) package, Yellow II, UN2916, containing a single 11.9 curie (440 GBq) iridium-192 radiography source. The licensee provided that the shipper is Acuren Group Inc. and that the date of exportation was supposed to be October 22, 2019. The activity of the shipment was 584 GBq (15.8) curies of iridium on October 22, 2019. The licensee reported that an active search by the carrier is underway to find the missing materials and that so far the carrier performed search of expected travel location in Boston, Massachusetts without finding the package and is tracing the expected route back through Canada, the shipment origin. The reporting requirement is immediate and is of 105 CMR 120.281(A)(1), missing licensed radioactive materials in aggregate quantity equal to or greater than 1,000 times quantity specified in 105 CMR 120.297, Appendix C. The Agency considers this event to be open.
The following information was received via E-mail from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: At 1231 EST today (November 22, 2019), the licensee provided update to the Agency (Massachusetts Radiation Control Program) that the source was found; that this was a clerical error, and at no time was the shipment lost or missing. The source had been delivered on November 14, 2019, but put into the QSA Global, Inc.'s system under the wrong tracking number. The licensee also submitted that as a notification was made, it will write the 30-day report and forward it to the Agency. In addition a QSA Condition Report will be generated to address the receipt issue. Notified R1DO (Cahill), ILTAB (Davis), and the NMSS Events Notifications E-mail group. THIS MATERIAL EVENT CONTAINS A "CATEGORY 3" LEVEL OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL Category 3 sources, if not safely managed or securely protected, could cause permanent injury to a person who handled them, or were otherwise in contact with them, for some hours. It could possibly - although it is unlikely - be fatal to be close to this amount of unshielded radioactive material for a period of days to weeks. These sources are typically used in practices such as fixed industrial gauges involving high activity sources (for example: level gauges, dredger gauges, conveyor gauges and spinning pipe gauges) and well logging. For additional information go to http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1227_web.pdf Note: This device is assigned an IAEA Category 3 value based on the actual radioactivity of the source, not on the device type. (Reference IAEA RG-G-1.9) | ||
| ENS 43626 | 31 August 2007 04:00:00 | Agreement State | Agreement State Report - Am-241 Sources Lost During Shipment | The State provided the following information via facsimile: Licensee received routine shipment of Am-241 button sources from supplier in China - Shenzhen CIC in Shenzhen, China on August 15, 2007. Shipment was sent via China Air from China to New York, and then transported by air to Boston. In Boston, it is then trucked via Ground Control and arrived at the licensees facility in Burlington, MA. The licensee estimates the package was sent from China sometime after July 25, 2007. The excepted package (UN2911) was damaged when it arrived at the licensees' facility. At this time the licensee confirmed there was no contamination nor high radiation levels from the package. This package is normally not opened as it is forwarded to a customer for use in smoke detectors. On August 31, 2007, before forwarding the package, the licensee opened the package to verify its contents. The licensee discovered that 2 vials from the package were missing. Each plastic vial contains 500 Am-241 button sources, each 0.8 microCi nominal activity, for a total of 0.4 milliCi total in each vial. The licensee immediately notified their transport broker and their agent in China. 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. 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 | ||
| ENS 42775 | 8 August 2006 04:00:00 | Agreement State | Agreement State Report - Surface Contamination | The State provided the following information via email: Licensee received an 'empty' lead pod with exterior contamination of 1.3 E-5 microCi/cm2. Contamination identified as Cs-137. Shipment came from Thermo Electron, 1410 Gillingham Lane, Sugarland, Texas via Conway Trucking. Licensee informed Conway Trucking of the contamination. |