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| Entered date | Event description | |
|---|---|---|
| ENS 50484 | 23 September 2014 16:30:00 | The following report was received from the State of Tennessee via email: Event description: Tennessee Division of Radiological Health (DRH) was notified on September 23, 2014, by a representative from (Manufacturing Science Corporation) MSC that there had been a thermal incident in the chip/turnings oxidizer that triggered the sprinkler system. The Oak Ridge (OR) Fire Dept. responded. The sprinkler system released ~200 gallons of water which was contained within the bermed area. The incident was contained sufficiently that the OR fire department left the facility prior to 1000 (EDT). MSC changed pre-filters upstream of the HEPA filters, the HEPAs did not appear to need changing. MSC felt that this incident is required to be reported per TN State Regulations for Protection Against Radiation (SRPAR) 0400-20-05-.141(2)(c)4, in that the event potentially involved 'an unplanned fire or explosion damaging any licensable material or any device, container or equipment containing licensable material when: (i) The quantity of material involved exceed five times the lowest annual limit of intake specified for the material in Schedule RHS 8-30 in Rule 0400-20-05-.161, and (ii) The damage affects the integrity of the licensable material or any device, container or equipment containing licensable material.' There was no release to the environment, no personnel contamination, and no injuries. Notifications: (State) Oak Ridge Fire Department. Press release has not been issued at this time. TN DRH has not received any media inquiries at this time. No fire or smoke was observed. State Event Report ID #: TN-14-181 UPDATE FROM BILLY FREEMAN TO DANIEL MILLS AT 0921 EDT ON 9/24/14: The following was received via email: Tennessee Division of Radiological Health (DRH) was notified on September 23, 2014 by a representative from MSC that there had been a thermal incident in the depleted uranium (DU) chip/turnings oxidizer that triggered the sprinkler system. The Oak Ridge Fire Dept. responded. The sprinkler system released ~200 gallons of water which was contained within the bermed area. The incident was contained sufficiently that the OR fire department left the facility prior to 1000 EDT. MSC changed pre-filters upstream of the HEPA filters the HEPAs did not appear to need changing. MSC felt that this incident is required to be reported per TN State Regulations for Protection Against Radiation (SRPAR) 0400-20-05-.141(2)(c)4. in that the event potentially involved 'an unplanned fire or explosion damaging any licensable material or any device, container or equipment containing licensable material when: (i) The quantity of material involved exceed five times the lowest annual limit of intake specified for the material in Schedule RHS 8-30 in Rule 0400-20-05-.161, and (ii) The damage affects the integrity of the licensable material or any device, container or equipment containing licensable material.' They are not certain of the quantity of DU involved. There was no release to the environment, no personnel contamination and no injuries. Notifications: (State) Oak Ridge Fire Department. Press release has not been issued at this time. TN DRH has not received any media inquiries at this time. Updated information: The material involved was Depleted Uranium. Notified R1DO (Gray), FSME MOC (Dudes), FSME Events Resource (email) |
| ENS 50274 | 11 July 2014 15:57:00 | Tennessee Div. of Radiological Health was notified on 7/11/14, by a representative form Geo/Environmental Associates, that a CPN Model MCI, portable moisture density gauge containing 10 mCi, Cs-137 and 50 mCi, Am-241 was run over by a bulldozer at a construction site in Kentucky while working under reciprocity in that state. Initial surveys performed on the device indicate the source was not damaged and there was no loss of sources from the device. The device is being returned to it's home storage site in Knoxville, Tennessee and will be assessed by state inspectors with further investigation. The gauge was surveyed and is showing 40 mR/hr on contact. Tennessee Report Number: TN-14-138
The State of Tennessee is retracting this event due to the fact that this event notification should be made by the Commonwealth of Kentucky where the event occurred. Notified R1DO (Cahill) and FSME Events Resource via email. |
| ENS 45886 | 30 April 2010 17:05:00 | Energy Solutions notified the State of Tennessee about a shipping container that was found leaking radioactively contaminated liquid at their site. The container was part of a shipment of two containers containing radwaste shipped to Energy Solutions from Areva in Lynchburg, VA. After the shipment arrived onsite the containers were stored on a slope in a holding area for about fourteen hours. The State dispatched people to the site who conducted surveys. When the shipping container was opened a bag of freestanding liquid was found near the doors of the container inside. The liquid was surveyed and determined to contain Co-60 and Cs-137. Cs-137 was not manifested on the shipping manifest. The liquid's consistency was described as semi-viscous similar to hydraulic fluid. The State surveyed the area from where the containers came into the site gate to the area where they were stored with floor monitors and did not find radioactive contamination. The trailer and surrounding area were also surveyed with no contamination found. Tennessee contacted Areva - Lynchburg and was told that the shipping container that contained the leaking bag was stored for a long period of time on top of the other shipping container at Lynchburg. Tennessee representatives surveyed the top of the other shipping container but again no radioactive contamination was found.
The State Radiation Health Department, upon consultation with Regional NRC representatives, has determined that this event does not meet the notification requirements of SA-300 and is retracting the event. Notified R1DO (Cook), FSME DEO (McIntosh), NMSS EO (McCartin) and R2DO (Musser). |
| ENS 43073 | 4 January 2007 10:47:00 | The State provided the following information via facsimile: Prior to a scheduled patient treatment, the RSO at Methodist Medical Center was performing QA testing on the Nucletron-Oldelft Corp. Model microSelection-HDR remote afterloading device. The device utilizes a sealed source containing 10 curies of Iridium-192 to be used for treatment of cancer in humans. The sealed source would not retract when the RSO tried the emergency retraction button at the control console. Following the emergency procedures, the RSO manually retracted the sealed source into the HDR afterloader unit. The RSO estimated it took three seconds to return the sealed source to its shielded position. Nucletron Corp. was immediately notified of the malfunction by the RSO. Nucletron Corp. called DRH to request reciprocal recognition of its Maryland license and an authorized service person arrived at the licensee's facility on 12/28/06. The circuit board was found to be faulty and was repaired. After repair, the required safety functions of the system were tested and found to be functioning as designed. The licensee will complete a written report and submit to the State. Tennessee report number: TN-06-158 |
| ENS 42018 | 27 September 2005 14:39:00 | A Troxler 3430 portable gauge was stolen from the home of an employee of B&W Engineering between mid-day Saturday, 9/24/05 and Monday morning, 9/26/05. The retractable source rod on the gauge was locked, the gauge was in a yellow plastic shipping container which was also locked. The locked gauge in the locked shipping container were located in a locked storage shed behind the employee's home located in Memphis, TN. The gauge is owned by B&W Engineering, Memphis TN. The Radiation Safety Officer for B&W Engineering said that he had contacted the North Memphis Police Dept., but they told him that the employee from whom the gauge was stolen would have to file a police report personally. TN Dept. of Environment & Conservation contacted Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) and reported the occurrence to them. TEMA said they would contact the Shelby Co. Emergency Management Agency as soon as they hung up. TN Dept. of Environment & Conservation then called Memphis Police Dept., North Precinct and reported the occurrence to them. TN Dept. of Environment & Conservation then reported the occurrence to the Arkansas Radiation Control Program, they said they might issue a press release. TN Dept. of Environment & Conservation then reported the occurrence to the Mississippi Division of Radiological Health. TN Dept. of Environment & Conservation reported to occurrence to Duncan White , NRC Region l. TN Dept. of Environment & Conservation then received a call back from the Memphis Police Dept. who said that they would contact the RSO for B&W and try to file a police report regarding the theft. Troxler Model 3430 contains 8 millicuries of Cs-137 ands 40 millicuries of Am-241/Be. Incident Report number TN-05-109
On the morning of 10/25/05, the Memphis Police Department notified the TN Division of Rad Health that the stolen gauge had been recovered during a narcotics search of a private residence. A preliminary assessment performed by on-scene law enforcement concluded that the device appeared intact and without evidence of damage. The licensee was contacted and will make arrangements to recover the Troxler Model 3430, S/N 23422 within the next several hours. The TN Division of Rad Health representative requested the licensee contact their office after retrieving the device to discuss the condition of the gauge. Notified R1DO (Silk), NMSS (Janosko) and TAS (Sandler) via email.
The licensee stated "that he had retrieved the gauge and returned it to their B&W Engineering shop. He said the gauge appeared to be unharmed; that they tested/calibrated the gauge and the results indicated it was working properly/as it was prior to the theft; that they had surveyed it with a radiation survey meter and the results were the same as prior to the theft; and finally, that they had taken a leak test smear and sent it in for analysis. Notified R1DO (Silk), NMSS (Burgess) and TAS (Sandler) via email. Less than the quantity of a IAEA Category 3 source. 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. For some of these sources, such as moisture density gauges or thickness gauges that are IAEA 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. |
| ENS 40931 | 6 August 2004 15:11:00 | Event description: The licensee called to report a fire in the depleted uranium (DU) machining bay. The fire spread into the ventilation duct and filter housing. The fire was contained inside the ventilation duct and filter housing. The fire blistered the paint on the ventilation ducting and Torit filter housing and breached the ventilation system filters (bag and HEPA). A minor release to the environment occurred through the stack. Visible smoke was observed coming through the stack for a 6 - 8 minute period until the ventilation blast gate was closed. Air sample data indicated the uranium in air concentration in the machining area was 2% DAC. The air effluent concentration through the stack was 15% of the effluent limit. Personnel were evacuated from the DU machining area and from the office areas. Production at the grinder will not restart until the cause of the fire is known and corrective actions can be taken to prevent reoccurrence. A written report will be submitted to the Division. Report number: TN-04-105 |
| ENS 40692 | 21 April 2004 13:45:00 | The licensee called to report that a Filtec FT-50 fill level gauge, serial number, 112082, containing 100 millicuries of Am-241 in sealed source, serial number 4473, could not be located during inventory. The unit was removed from a manufacturing line in June, 1995 and stored in a building along with other idle equipment. During a recent project to clean this building and dispose of old equipment, the licensee was unable to locate this unit. An extensive search was conducted throughout the facility and the gauge could not be located. Personnel who may have had knowledge of the unit were interviewed. The last documented time that the gauge was seen in storage was in January 1998. The licensee believes that the unit was discarded with other idle equipment. The manufacturer's records indicate the source was not returned to them. Inspectors (Tennessee Division of Radiological Health) are enroute to the facility to investigate. |