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| Entered date | Event description | |
|---|---|---|
| ENS 55709 | 21 January 2022 10:53:00 | The following is a summary of information received from the U.S. Navy, Naval Radiation Safety Committee via phone and email: 10 CFR 20.2201(b) requires that each licensee shall submit a written report within 30 days after learning of the following: Any lost, stolen, or missing licensed material becomes known to the licensee, licensed material in a quantity greater than 10 times the quantity specified in appendix C to part 20 that is still missing at 30 day. Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division (NSWC Crane), Crane, Indiana self-reported the loss of permitted radioactive material consisting of one Vapor Tracer 2 Hand Held Explosive Detector (HHED). The Vapor Tracer 2 HHED, contained one Ecker and Ziegler Isotope Products Laboratories Model NER-004 Nickel-63 (Ni-63) sealed source not exceeding 10 millicuries (370 Mega-Becquerel). Over the past years, NSWC Crane has recalled all the Vapor Tracer 2 HHED devices from all commands as the new, non-radioactive units are fielded for replacement. Vapor Tracer 2 HHED, S/N: 09-8347, which was issued to the USS John S. McCain (DDG 56), was misplaced during the recall process, sometime between March 2020 and January 2021. An administrative Judge Advocate General Manual (JAGMAN) investigation was performed on the lost Vapor Tracer 2 HHED and determined the device was lost during shipment from Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) San Joaquin in Tracy, California to NSWC Crane. On November 2, 2021 the Navy determined that radioactive material consisting of one Vapor Tracer 2 Hand Held Explosive Detector (HHED), was lost. The Vapor Tracer 2 HHED, contained one Ecker and Ziegler Isotope Products Laboratories Model NER-004 Nickel-63 (Ni-63) sealed source not exceeding 10 millicuries (370 Mega-Becquerel). The Radiation Safety Officer reported to the Navy master material license technical support center the loss of the licensed material on December 22, 2021. The HHED was being shipped by Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) from San Joaquin in Tracy, California to Nuclear Surface Warfare Center in Crane Indiana. Extensive research for the lost HHED did not locate the device. No exposure is known to have occurred. Exposure to individuals from radiation from the Vapor Tracer 2 is unlikely. The Ni-63 source, a weak beta emitter, does not pose an external exposure risk and is mounted as an internal component to the device. Under ordinary conditions of handling, storage, and use, the radioactive material contained in the device will not be released or inadvertently removed from the source housing. In addition, there are two radioactive material labels to warn personnel of the radioactive source that resides inside the device. One label is on the outside of the device and the other is on the detector housing on the inside of the instrument. The Navy notified the NRC Regional Inspector (Shaffer). 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. For additional information go to http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1227_web.pdf |