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| Start date | Reporting criterion | Title | Event description | System | LER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENS 44501 | 21 August 2008 17:15:00 | Agreement State | Agreement State Report - Reportable Quanity of Ra-226 Found in Scrap Yard | A shipment of ferrous scrap metal from a small scrap metal yard set off the radiation alarms at the entrance to the major regional scrap metal and exporting facility. It was immediately rejected, but the Agency (state of MA) was not notified for almost two hours. An Agency investigator responded and traced the shipment back to a smaller scrap yard across town. The operator of the facility had isolated the rejected shipment and was trying to locate their consultant. Upon surveying the roll-off, the Agency investigator tentatively identified the shipment as containing Radium. The background was recorded as 0.06 millirem/hour and the highest reading was measured as 0.1 millirem/hour. This company was advised to acquire the services of a competent health physics consultant to arrange for the separation, storage and legal disposition of the radioactive material; and this was agreed upon without hesitation. Their hired consultant responded to the facility on August 25, 2008; and after collecting a spectrum and necessary measurements for identification purposes, separated one metal device from the roll-off, packaged it in a five gallon drum and had the facility operators secure it on-site depending disposal arrangements. Subsequently, the consultant has confirmed the presence of 12 microcuries of Radium-226. Legal transfer and disposition of this radioactive material is pending. |