Semantic search
| Entered date | Event description | |
|---|---|---|
| ENS 52028 | 21 June 2016 14:28:00 | The following was received from California via email: The RSO of Nova Engineering and Environmental notified RHB (Radiologic Health Branch) in Brea that a Troxler yellow transport case containing a Troxler model 3411B # 18840 moisture density gauge containing 8 mCi of Cs-137 and 40 mCi of Am-241/Be was stolen from a technician's pickup truck today. The technician stated that he had loaded and secured the Type A case into his pick-up truck from a storage facility in Irvine, CA then stopped at a coffee shop before traveling to his work location. He went to unlock the gauge case and found that it had been stolen. He returned to the coffee shop, but was unable to find his gauge. He is contacting the Irvine Police Dept. to make a theft report. The RSO indicated that they lock and chain each side of the case to the truck independently and once again around the top of the case to prevent it from opening. Nova E&E does have contact information on the gauge and the case and they use a small padlock on the Cs-137 source rod handle to prevent accidental deployment. CA 5010 # 062116
The following was received from California via email: A moisture density gauge that had been reported stolen on 6/21/16 (see NMED Item # 160262) was recovered this morning, after it was dropped off at a construction site where it was not being used. The gauge was not in its transportation container, and the source rod was not locked, although it was in the shielded position. Survey measurements confirmed that both sources (Cs-137 and Am-241) are present. The gauge is presently in the California radiation control program's possession pending return to its licensed owner (Nova Environmental Engineering, license # CA 7732-37). Notified R4DO (Gepford), NMSS Events Notification, and Mexico via email. 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 |
| ENS 52014 | 17 June 2016 12:06:00 | The following information was received from the State of California via email: On June 16, 2016, (the) Radiation Safety Officer of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), contacted the Brea office of the Radiologic Health Branch to report a medical event. The event resulted in a dose to the wrong patient that exceeded 20 percent of the prescribed dose (the dose that was likely to be given to another patient scheduled to be treated on June 17, 2016). The patient was given an activity of 4.02 GBq of Yttrium 90 (Nordion TheraSphere), resulting in a dose to the liver of 226.3 Gray. This dose exceeded the prescribed dose of 120 Gray. This activity was later discovered to be the activity that was most likely to have been ordered for a patient that was to be treated on June 17, 2016. The patient that was treated on June 16, 2016 has been notified. The investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the event. 5010 Number: 061616
This is a revision/update of EN #52014. On June 16, 2016, (the) Radiation Safety Officer of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), contacted the Brea office of the Radiologic Health Branch to report a medical event. Two patients were scheduled to be treated with Nordion TheraSpheres containing yttrium 90, one on June 16 and the other on June 17. The first treatment occurred on June 16; however, the treatment dosage of 4.02 GBq (108.6 mCi) was approximately 1.9 times the prescribed dosage, apparently because the dosage for the second patient was given to the first patient. As a result, the first patient received a liver dose of 226.3 gray (22,630 rad) instead of the prescribed dose of 120 gray (12,000 rad). The patient has been notified, and the licensee is investigating to determine the cause of the event. Notified R4DO (Rollins) and NMSS Events Notification via email.
This is a revision/update of EN #52014. On 7/1/16 UCLA submitted a written report of this medical event. That report noted that in addition to the incorrect treatment dosage, the incorrect liver lobe was treated. As a result, the dose to the incorrect liver lobe was calculated as 328 Gy (32,800 rad). This differs from the previously reported liver dose of 226.3 Gy (22,630 rad) due to the difference in the sizes of the liver lobes. Notified R4DO (Drake) and NMSS Events Notification via email. A Medical Event may indicate potential problems in a medical facility's use of radioactive materials. It does not necessarily result in harm to the patient. |
| ENS 50944 | 1 April 2015 13:26:00 | The following report was received from the State of California Department of Public Health via email: This is to report a nuclear gauge was 'lost' by the licensee, but was found by the licensee within a couple of hours at the jobsite where it was being used. The gauge was not damaged. At 1334 PDT on March 30, 2015, the Department (State of California Department of Public Health) was notified by the corporate RSO (Radiation Safety Officer) that a nuclear gauge (Troxler model 3440, serial number 18204, containing 8 mCi Cs-137 and 40 mCi Am-241:Be) could not be found by the licensee. The gauge user reported he had driven from a job site at the corner of Fairview Road and Walkabout Drive to the McDonalds at 1607 Panama Lane in Bakersfield which is about 1 mile away. When he returned to his truck, he noticed the tailgate was down and the gauge/transport case were missing. The gauge user drove back to the jobsite and looked to see if the gauge had fallen off of the truck when he had driven to McDonalds. He did not see it on the roadside. He returned to the jobsite and found the transport case with no gauge inside. He looked around the jobsite and did not see the gauge near where he had been working. He asked others on the jobsite if they had seen the gauge, but no one had. The gauge user drove back to the McDonalds one more time and still did not see a gauge along the roadside. The Bakersfield police and the Department were notified that they had lost a gauge. At 1452 PDT on the same day, the Bakersfield police emailed (the Department) stating the licensee had found the gauge. (The Department) confirmed this with the licensee. The RSO had gone to the jobsite himself and had found the gauge in a culvert on the jobsite. At this point no one knows how the gauge ended up in the culvert. The gauge is now back in the possession of the licensee and does not show any damage. The gauge user was counseled for not keeping control over the gauge and retraining will be given to all gauge users regarding control and security of the gauge when in use and when it is not in use. California Report Number: 033015 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 |
| ENS 48604 | 18 December 2012 15:54:00 | The following was received from the State of California via fax: On December 17, 2012, UCSB (University of California, Santa Barbara) received an excepted package from Germany containing Carbon 14, 53.2 MBq in liquid form (2 vials each 1.4 mLs) which had removable contamination in excess of 49CFR, Section 173.443, on the outside of the package. The package and inner package did not show signs of damage. Wipes were taken on the outside of the box (4 sides and bottom) using filter paper and wiping 100 cm squared. Vials were placed into a 20 mL vial containing 15 mLs of liquid scintillation cocktail. Vials were then counted on a Beckman LS6000LL, liquid scintillation counter for 2 minutes. All areas of the box were found to be contaminated, with the highest removable contamination at 32,000 dpm/cm squared. The licensee reported this event via CA EMA and notified the final delivery carrier and the company that shipped the package (Sanofi, Frankfort, Germany). Of note, there was a note on the shipping paperwork that when the box arrived at LAX, it was opened by World Carrier personnel to replenish dry ice prior to then transporting it onto the UCSB. CA 5010 #: 121712 |
| ENS 48079 | 9 July 2012 14:17:00 | The following information was provided by the State of California via facsimile: At 0818 (PDT) on July 9, 2012, RHB was notified by CalEMA (California Emergency Management Agency) that they had received a report of a stolen gauge. The gauge CPN MC-1DR #MD20706668) was discovered stolen this morning when the gauge user arrived at the job site in Ontario, CA. The lock on the mini storage trailer was broken and the chain that bolted the gauge (in the locked case) to the structure was broken and the gauge and case were removed. The gauge case was locked. At 1015 (PDT) on the same morning, the licensee reported the gauge and case had been found on a dirt road in another city from where it was stolen. There was no damage to the gauge and the lock had been removed from the case. The handle of the gauge was not locked and the licensee (was) cited because of this. CA 5010 # 070912 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 |
| ENS 45993 | 9 June 2010 16:07:00 | The following information was obtained from the State of California via email: On June 8, 2010, (the licensee) contacted RHB-Brea (Radiation Health Branch) about a moisture density gauge (CPN MC-3 M39099120, 10 mCi Cs-137, 50 mCi Am:Be-241) that was missing from their facility since approximately June 3, 2010. The facility was searched with no sign of the missing gauge and all operators were questioned and were instructed to search their residences for the gauge. None of the individuals could find the gauge, none of them could recall using the gauge recently and could not recall if they may have used or misplaced the gauge. A review of the gauge log indicated that gauge had been logged incorrectly and that two individuals were logging in the same gauge at the same day and times, preventing a proper accounting of the whereabouts of their gauge. (The licensee) was notified that a police report must be filed, a reward offered, and a written report must be provided to RHB within 30 days. At this time, the incorrect use of the gauge in/out log is the only root cause identified though it appears that other factors are likely to also be a potential root cause of this incident. While the investigation is ongoing, the licensee will be cited for failing to maintain control of the gauge and failing to properly log the use of their gauges. Further citations will be deferred until the 30-day report has been received or further infractions have been identified by RHB during our investigation. Also, corrective actions will be verified from the 30-day report or from our investigation. California Report: 5010-060810 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 |
| ENS 45694 | 11 February 2010 20:36:00 | The following report was received via e-mail: At 1310 (PST) on February 11, 2010, the C.Y. Geotech Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) reported that one of the nuclear density gauges (CPN, MC-1DRP, MD90905316 containing 10 milliCurie of Cesium 137 and 50 milliCurie of Americium-241:Be) had been run over by a truck at a construction site. Los Angeles County Radiation Management responded to the scene and found that although the source rod was broken and the plastic case was broken into pieces, the Cesium 137 and the Americium-241:Be sources were still in the shielded body of the device and were intact. There was no contamination. The highest dose rate on the body of the device housing the sources was 9 mR/hr and at one foot was 0.9 mR/hr. The gauge was placed into 2 plastic bags and was placed into the transportation case. The licensee will deliver the gauge to Maurer Technical Services (a licensed CPN representative) who will then ship the gauge to CPN for disposal. (The RSO) reported the gauge user walked about 10 feet away from the gauge to report his test results to a job supervisor and this is when the gauge was run over. The RHB-Brea office will cite the licensee for failure to maintain adequate control over the gauge. The licensee has been instructed they need to provide (California Radiation Control Program) with a report within 30 days as required by regulation. The licensee states they will retrain all of the gauge users regarding the control of the gauge to avoid a similar incident in the future. Event Location: 951 25th Street, Santa Monica, CA California Event Number: 021110 |
| ENS 44497 | 16 September 2008 20:55:00 | At 8:14 am on September 16, 2008, the radiation safety officer (RSO) called to report the pool water conductivity was above 100 microsiemens per centimeter on September 6, 2008. On September 4, 2008 the licensee noted some product (honey) had leaked out of the container into the pool. They thought this small amount of contaminate would be cleared out of the pool once it circulated through the water purifying tanks, however, the conductivity continued to increase until September 6, 2008 (when) it reached 120 microsiemens per centimeter. The licensee did not realize this was a reportable event per 10 CFR 36.83(a)(10) until he spoke to his corporate RSO last night (9-15-08). He then reported the incident to us (State of California) this morning. The licensee has been continuing to work to reduce the conductivity by adding new water purifying tanks. As of today, the water is still too cloudy to see the sources in the pool and the conductivity is at 57 microsiemens per centimeter and is continuing to reduce each day. Corrective actions to be taken include refresher training for the RSO to review the regulatory requirements for reportable events and instruction to customers regarding the correct packaging of their product so they do not have a similar incident in the future. The RSO will be providing the Department with a written report within 30 day as required and will continue to mitigate the conductivity and clarity of the pool water until it has reduced to normal levels. The licensee will notify us when the conductivity and clarity is at normal levels. California Report Number - 091608 |
| ENS 43939 | 28 January 2008 15:53:00 | At 0651 on January 28, 2008, the licensee contacted the State of California Warning Center /OES to report that a nuclear density gauge (CPN, model MC1, serial number MD40807529 - containing (10) milliCuries Cesium 137 and (50) milliCuries Americium 241:Beryllium) was stolen along with the company vehicle that the gauge was secured within (2005 Toyota Tacoma - Ca license 7W04195). The gauge was inside the locked transport case. The transportation case was locked and secured to the bed of the vehicle with chains and two independent locks. The gauge handle was also locked. This was reported to the Palm Desert Police Department (T08028025). The last leak test was performed on December 17, 2007 and was negative for removable contamination. 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. |
| ENS 43665 | 26 September 2007 15:01:00 | On September 25, 2006 at approximately 6:15 P.M., a gauge user from Geo-Environmental, Inc., had returned to the office to return Troxler gauge 3440, S/N 34036 (9 mCi Cs-137, 44 mCi Am-241:Be) to it's storage location, when he noticed that the gauge was missing and immediately contacted the RSO to report the incident. After the RSO had spoken with the gauge user, the RSO received a call from the office manager that the gauge had been recovered by the Irvine Police Department on Jamboree Rd. in Irvine near the intersection of Jamboree Rd., and Richter Ave. The gauge was returned to the Geo-Environmental, Inc., office at approximately 6:45 P.M. The gauge most likely was out of the control of the licensee for approximately one hour. The gauge case was intact with a single scuff mark. The gauge was inspected by the licensee and found to be intact. The RSO then contacted RHB (DELETED) by phone to report the incident by voice mail. At approximately 9:00 A.M. on September 26, 2007, (RHB) spoke with the RSO about the incident and instructed him to have the gauge inspected and leak tested by a service provider and the RSO stated that he would take the gauge to Maurer Technical Services to be inspected and leak tested. (RHB) also instructed the RSO to provide, within 30 days, a written report, in accordance to 10 CFR 20.2201 (a)(1)(i). The RSO stated that the gauge user involved was allowed to transport the gauge in an open bed truck and with two chains and two locks and with two locks on the gauge case. He also stated that the gauge was transported with only a single lock to secure both chains. CA report number: 092607 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. |
| ENS 43380 | 22 May 2007 12:07:00 | At 0830 on 5-22-07, the radiation safety officer notified (California Radiological Health Branch) that a vehicle (Chevy Silverado with an attached camper shell) was stolen with a nuclear gauge locked in the camper shell (Troxler, model 3440, #18250 with 8 mCi Cs-137 & 40 mCi Am-241:Be). The gauge was locked inside a transport case, the transport case was chained, blocked, & braced in the camper shell. The gauge user does not remember if the door to the camper shell was locked. The gauge user had not secured and locked the club to the steering wheel and he does not think the handle of the gauge was locked. The driver discovered the theft around 0515 this morning when he returned to his vehicle after being in a donut shop for approximately 10 minutes. The donut shop is located in Bellflower on the corner of Alondra and Eucalyptus. The Lakewood Police Department were notified and they took the report of the theft. The RSO was asked to notify (California Radiological Health Branch) immediately if the gauge was recovered. The licensee will be cited for failing to properly secure the gauge. Corrective actions: The licensee will counsel the gauge user, will provide refresher training to all gauge users on the required security of the gauge while in transit, and will perform unannounced inspections of each gauge user's vehicle to ensure they are following the company's established policies and procedures regarding the security of gauges while in transit." Lakewood Police Report #: 607-14202-1337-093 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 43208 | 2 March 2007 18:17:00 | The following was provided by the State via facsimile: A moisture density gauge was being used at a construction site in Glendale, CA (near the Water Department and the Los Angeles River). (CPN, model MC3, serial number M36097108). The gauge user had placed the gauge into a box (plastic milk carton) which was then going to be passed down into a trench where it would be used. There was a delay and the box with the gauge inside were placed on the edge of the property waiting to be used. According to (the licensee), the gauge user went to the bathroom, but the other workers were aware of the location of the gauge. At the same time a front loader truck was moving several large pieces of metal. The pieces vibrated off and dropped onto and crushed the gauge. (The licensee) said the sources appeared to be intact, however the plastic gauge housing was destroyed and the lead shielding leaves that normally surround and shield the end of the source rod (where the Cs-137 source would normally reside in a shielded position) were not in position anymore and were therefore not shielding the Cs-137 source now. (A) Los Angeles County Radiation Management Health Physicist, responded to the site to do an evaluation and to survey the source. The sources were intact and undamaged. There was no contamination. The dose rate at 1 foot was 20 milliRoentgen per hour (mR/hr). The end of the source rod was shielded and the remains of the gauge were placed into the transportation case. The gauge was transported by the RSO to Maurer Technical Services (the CPN manufacturer representative) (Deleted) so it can be shipped back to the manufacturer for disposal. The highest dose to any individual from this event was probably less than 5 millirem total. Corrective actions: The RSO will give refresher training to all gauge users to review their existing policies and procedures - gauge users are to have control over the gauge at all times. CA report number: 030207 |
| ENS 42818 | 31 August 2006 14:06:00 | The licensee, GEOCON Inc., license number 3924, reports that a Troxler Moisture Density Gauge Model No. 3440, S/N 33526 was stolen on 8/31/06. The gauge was secured in its case in a locked storage container in the rear of a locked pickup truck parked in front of the employees residence. When the employee went to his vehicle this morning at approximately 0900, he discovered that the vehicle was missing. The gauge contained 8 milli curies of Cs-137 and 40 milli Curies of Am-241/Be. The employee filed a report with the City of San Diego Police Department. The case number is 0630914N and the incident number is 66956. 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. |
| ENS 42583 | 17 May 2006 20:28:00 | Eberhart/United Consultants, Inc. located in Placentia, CA reported to the State of California at 1000 PDT on 05/17/06 that one of their CPN MC3 (serial number M390304918) moisture density gauge was run over at a work site; Fontana Speedway, 9300 Cherry Avenue, CA; at 0830 PDT. When the gauge was run over the gauge was in backscatter mode of operation. The casing of the gauge was destroyed. The area was cordoned off and the RSO for Eberhart/United Consultants, Inc. was contacted. CPN Maurer Technical Services came out to the site and took possession of the gauge and took it back to their facility located in Laguna Hills. Wipe test of the sources are clean and the sources will be leak tested. Maurer Technical Services reported that the shielding for the Cesium-137 source had been compromised. State of California representative stated the highest radiation reading from the gauge at one foot was 18 milliRem per hour. The gauge contains a 10 milliCurie Cesium-137 source and a 50 millicurie Am-241/Be source. The RSO will be giving retraining to all staff to cover the emergency procedures for this type of incident. |
| ENS 42470 | 4 April 2006 17:08:00 | At 1430 PDT on 4/4/06, the CA Rad Control Program Office was notified by Global Geo Engineering, Inc. that one of their Troxler Moisture Density Gauges, a Model 3430 - S/N 32401 containing 8 mCi Cs-137 and 40 mCi Am-241/Be, was missing and could not be accounted for. The last known log out occurred on 3/17/06 when the gauge had been used by a temporary worker at a jobsite. The licensee, unable to locate the temporary worker for a work assignment, reported the gauge as missing to both the State of CA and their local police department. CA will conduct an investigation into the circumstances involving this incident.
Gauge was returned to licensee today, 04/05/06. The temporary worker had the gauge in his possession. R4DO (Linda Smith) and NMSS (Greg Morell). E-mailed to Mexico and ILTAB. 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. |
| ENS 42172 | 28 November 2005 13:25:00 | At 0830 on November 28, 2005, RHB-Brea received a call from the licensee that one of their gauges (CPN, MC1-DRP, #MD20306488 containing 10 mCi Cs-137 and 50 mCi Am-241:Be) was stolen out of their construction trailer that was located at a temporary job site (KB Homes - "The Cove" construction site, located at the corner of Warren Road and Cottonwood in San Jacinto, CA). Three of the four construction trailers at this job site had been broken into over the same time period - the security metal plates (covering the locks to the doors) had all been pried open and the locks to the doors were cut off and were removed from the site. The theft occurred sometime between 1130 on November 23, 2005 (when the gauge user secured the gauge inside the construction trailer) and 0722 on November 28, 2005 (when the gauge user returned to the job site and discovered the theft). The last leak test for this gauge was performed on January 4, 2005 and was negative for removable contamination. The licensee contacted the San Jacinto Police Department to report the theft. They will also post a $1000 reward for the gauge in the local paper. CA NMED #: XCA-824
The gauge was located about a week ago and returned to the owner Leighton and Associates. The gauge was not damaged. A leak test was performed and the results are pending. Local law enforcement are still investigating. Notified R4DO (Whitten), NMSS EO (Flanders), emailed to ILTAB and Mexico. 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. |
| ENS 41691 | 11 May 2005 18:28:00 | The State provided the following information via email: (The) licensee called to report (that) one of their Troxler 3430 gauges (serial number 33503- 8 mCi Cs-137 / 40 mCi Am 241/Be) was missing from their temporary storage site at a storage facility in Temecula. The gauge was reported to be locked in the storage facility, in a locked cage, inside a locked storage box at around 1000 on May 10, 2005. A second gauge user noticed the other gauge was not in the storage box when he locked his gauge in the box yesterday. The second gauge user was able to contact the first gauge user this morning at 0630. The first gauge user confirmed the gauge had been locked in the storage box yesterday and it should have been there. There was no evidence of forced entry and the gauge user states he did lock the gauge in the storage area yesterday. A report was filed with the Riverside Sheriff/Temecula Police (TE0513033). The RSO will forward the gauge users statement regarding this incident. For corrective action the RSO plans to have a counseling session with the gauge user immediately and will give additional training regarding gauge security and emergency procedures within the next month. |