Semantic search
| Entered date | Event description | |
|---|---|---|
| ENS 57209 | 4 July 2024 01:31:00 | The following information was provided by the Utah Division of Radiation Control (the Department) via email: On July 3, 2024, a technician for American Testing Services, Inc. (ATS), completed a job at a temporary jobsite. They placed the gauge on the tailgate while they completed the paperwork. Then, they left the jobsite but failed to put the gauge in the transportation box and secure the gauge for transport. Reportedly, the gauge was in the shielded position when on the tailgate. It is unknown if was locked in the safe position or not. The technician drove away from the site and made a stop down the road. When they left that location, they noticed that the gauge and the transportation case were no longer on the vehicle, but the chains were still on the truck. They retraced the route but did not find the gauge. Afterwards, the technician reported the gauge missing to the radiation safety officer (RSO). The RSO reported the incident to the Department. The only information given at that time was that a gauge was lost. There was no information regarding where the incident occurred, what isotopes and activity were involved, information regarding what happened, etc. The RSO was informed to get more information regarding the details for the incident and provide the information to the Department as soon as possible." Utah Event Report ID number: UT240005 |
| ENS 56884 | 9 December 2023 00:49:00 | The following information was provided by Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Waste Management (the Division) and Radiation Control, via email: On December 8, 2023 at 1550 MST, the RSO (radiation safety officer) for IHC Health Services, Inc. DBA Utah Valley Hospital called the Division to report an incident. This was a preliminary report made by the licensee's RSO who was not on-site at the time. The licensee was exchanging a Bracco Cardiogen Generator at their facility, but when they went to make the exchange, the licensee found approximately one half inch of liquid in the well. The licensee has notified the manufacturer of the incident and is working with them to mitigate the situation. This is the second generator of this type that has been found leaking at the licensee's facility. The licensee's RSO does not have all of the necessary information at this time and will contact the Division with the additional information as soon as possible. An update to this report will be provided when the information is received. Utah Event Report ID No.: UT23-0009 |
| ENS 56466 | 13 April 2023 03:26:00 | The following information was provided by the Utah Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control (DWMRC) via email: The University of Utah contacted the DWMRC to report that they had found that an Isotope Products Laboratories, Cs-137 Resin Vial Source, Source Number 988-97-3 with an assayed activity of 208.9 microcuries (assay date May 1, 2004), was leaking. A routine quarterly leak test was taken of the sealed source. When counted with a PerkinElmer 2480 Wizard2 radiation detector, the wipe showed an elevated reading. The wipe results showed 4531 cpm (background 32 cpm). The technologist who performed the wipe contacted the licensee's Radiological Health Department. The technologist was told to count the wipe in the well counter (Biodex AtomLab 500). The well counter on the Cs-137 channel showed there was 0.6 microcuries with a 0.3 microcuries background on the sample for a leak test result of 0.3 microcuries. Since there was no obvious leak in the resin vial, the licensee suspected it had been contaminated with short lived radioisotopes. The source was doubly bagged and isolated in storage until the next day when it was again verified to be above background. On April 11, 2023, it was retested. The leak test was performed with both an alcohol pad and a gauze pad. The results of these samples were counted with the PerkinElmer instrument, but not the well counter. The result of the wipes was 4248 cpm and 7303 cpm respectively (PerkinElmer 2480 Wizard2 radiation detector for both tests was 32 cpm). This showed it was not a short-lived isotope and the source was leaking. The individual stated that when he performed the wipe test on April 11, 2023, he heard the plastic vial crack and the crack opened while the wipe was being taken but returned to a 'closed position' when the wipe was completed. He immediately returned the wipe to the baggies and put it in storage. Since the wipes taken verified the original assessment was correct, the licensee stated that the source would be placed with their waste and disposed in their normal waste shipments to a licensed radioactive waste disposal site. After the initial finding on April 4, 2023, radiation surveys of the area and equipment were conducted to verify that no contamination was present. No contamination was found, and the area and equipment were released for use. The licensee stated that the vial appeared to be slightly yellowed around the crack and believes the plastic may have cracked due to radiation fatigue. The licensee had ordered two of these sources in 2004. The other source was in use at one of the licensee's other medical facilities but was removed from service and will be disposed of with the leaking source as a precaution. Utah Event Report ID Number: UT 23-0004 |
| ENS 55882 | 5 May 2022 15:00:00 | The following was received from the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (the Division) via email: At approximately 1030 MDT, the (Radiation Safety Officer) for the licensee notified the Division that a patient had been administered an isotope to perform a PET scan. The technician double checked with the ordering physician and found that the order was supposed to have been for a CT scan, not a PET scan. The order received showed it was a PET scan. An investigation is being conducted to see how the order was changed. The patient was administered about 10.6 mCi of FDG when a CT scan was to be performed. Therefore, the dose was greater than 20 percent of the prescribed dose. The order received by the radiology department showed that a PET scan had been ordered. The TEDE to the patient was less than 5 rem and the highest organ dose (to the bladder wall), was less than 50 rem. The patient was administered the FDG at about 1300 EDT on May 4, 2022. The FDG was allowed to decay and the patient was later given a CT exam. At this time, this is all the information that the Division has, an investigation will be conducted, and an update will be provided at a later date. Event Report ID No.: UT220004 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 55761 | 1 March 2022 18:45:00 | The following information was provided by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control (the "Division") by email: The Division was notified at about 1515 MST, March 1, 2022, that a Bracco Rb-82 generator was not functioning as designed. The (Radiation Safety Officer (RSO)) was notified at 1353 MST by nuclear medicine personnel that a new Rb-82 Generator was received on Sunday, February 27, 2022. When the licensee pulled the first eluate and did the required QA (quality assurance review), the generator failed the tests. The nuclear medicine personnel tried to perform the QA again and the generator failed a second attempt. The manufacturer was contacted and the licensee's personnel worked all day on Monday, February 28, 2022 to try and determine what the issue was. No patients were treated using the generator. It was finally determined that the undercarriage of the generator was leaking, although all of the leakage was contained within the generator case. Utah Event Report ID No.: UT220001 |
| ENS 55402 | 10 August 2021 17:11:00 | The following report was received from the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control (the Division) via email: The Division was notified of the medical event about 1155 MDT on August 10, 2021, by the licensee's Radiation Safety Officer. At about 0730 a male patient reported to Intermountain Medical Center to have a nuclear medicine scan conducted. The scheduled scan was to use 10 milliCi of Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) (F-18). The Technician administered the dosage to the patient and then realized he had administered the wrong dosage. The dosage administered was actually 104 milliCi of FDG which is much greater than the 10 milliCi that was prescribed. The licensee is in the process of notifying the referring physician and the patient of the medical event. The licensee is aware of the 15 day requirement for a written report. The Division will investigate this matter and update the record upon completion of the investigation. 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 55292 | 4 June 2021 19:03:00 | The following information from the state of Utah was received by email: The Utah Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control (DWMRC) was notified by the licensee that a fixed gauge was missing on 06/04/2021 at approximately 1430 MST. The licensee was reconfiguring a portion of their facility and had relocated a number of gauges from one location to another location in their operations for use at the new location. One of the fixed gauging devices, a Thermo Fisher, model 5202, serial number B3339, containing 500 milliCuries of cesium-137 (Cs-137) would not fit at the new location. The fixed gauge was supposed to be removed from the hopper where it was located and placed in storage for future use. For some reason, this removal did not occur. The fixed gauge was left in place and had not been moved to a secured storage location. The shutter on the gauge was locked in the closed position. Yesterday afternoon (06/03/2021), the Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) was notified that the structure that the gauge had been located on had been demolished and the whereabouts of the gauge was not known. All of the materials from the demolition of the structure are still located in the area and are on the licensee's property. The licensee's staff began looking for the device. At about 1000 to 1100 MST this morning (06/04/2021), the licensee indicated that they had verified which gauge was missing and that it could not be located. The RSO began notifying all of the company personnel he is to notify when this occurs. The RSO thought he had 24 hours to report the gauge as missing to the DWMRC instead of the immediate notification that was required and did not immediately notify the DWMRC. At this point, the licensee is continuing to search through the demolished parts of the structure for the gauge and will continue to do so. The materials from the demolition are not to be relocated or removed from the licensee's property until a through search of all of the materials can be made or the device is located. The DWMRC will conduct an on-site investigation of this issue. UT Event Report ID No.: UT-21-0001
The following is a synopsis of information reported by the state of Utah by email: The device is a density meter used in a conveyance system. The conveyance system has been recently upgraded. Several similar devices were transferred to the upgraded system. This device was not scheduled to be transferred and was to be placed in storage for evaluation upon the completion of the project. Miscommunication occurred in that this device was not removed when the other devices were transferred and was instead left in place during initial demolition activities of the conveyance system. The device remained onsite, located in a pile of the larger scrap materials pending further processing (size reduction and sorting) prior to offsite recycling. It was in this scrap pile that the device was recovered intact. The device was located and recovered shortly after the recovery effort began on June 10, 2021, and transported offsite for disposal on June 11, 2021. Notified R4DO (Werner), NMSS Events Notification, and ILTAB (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 54580 | 10 March 2020 22:51:00 | The following information was received from the state of Utah via email: On March 10, 2020, a member of the public was traveling on the road at about 500 North State Street in La Verkin, Utah. The individual saw a Troxler gauge (Model 3430) sitting in the middle of the road. He stopped picked it up and placed it in his truck. The gauge was not in a transport case, but the source rod was locked in the safe position, the individual took a couple of pictures of the gauge. The individual must have been familiar with portable gauges because he contacted an Engineering and Testing Company (Geotechnical Testing Services UT (GTS) 2700439) located in St. George. This licensee did not own the gauge, but told the individual to place the gauge in a secure location and stay away from it. GTS contacted the Division's (Utah Division of Radiation Control) emergency line to report that a gauge was found even though it was not theirs. This report was made at about 5:20 PM (MDT). There is another engineering company (Landmark Testing & Engineering, Inc. UT 2700428) in St George. The individual from GTS contacted an individual they knew who worked for Landmark Testing. The Duty Officer manning the emergency line made contact with the Section Manager for the Radioactive Materials Section at about 6:25 PM and informed him of the report. The Section Manager contacted the GTS personnel at about 6:36 PM to interview him about the particulars of the report. The information was relayed to the Section Manager. In addition, the GTS personnel informed the Section Manager that the gauge belonged to Landmark Testing & Engineering and that they were on their way to pick up the gauge. In addition, the GTS personnel were able to send a couple of pictures of the gauge that showed the casing on the gauge was cracked near the source handle and the casing was slightly separated in the front from the base of the gauge. The model (3430) and serial number (26770) were visible in the photos. The Section Manager contacted a staff member at about 6:52 PM, so that a report could be made to NRC. He had tried to contact the member of the public who had located the gauge, but had been unable to reach him. At the time of this report, the licensee (Landmark) had not reported the missing/found gauge to the Division. Further investigation of this matter will be conducted by the Division (Utah Division of Radiation Control) tomorrow. An update will be sent when more information is gathered. Troxler gauges nominally contain 8 mCi of Cs-137 and 40 mCi of Am/Be. 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 54493 | 23 January 2020 21:32:00 | The following is a synopses of a report received from the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (the Division) via email: On January 21, 2020, a licensee left a message for the Division that a source had been found lying outside of the locked gate of one of the licensee's facilities. The licensee reported that it was not their source, but they moved it inside of their facility in order to secure the source and keep a member of the public from finding it. The licensee did not have much information regarding the source when staff spoke with them, but sent a picture of the source that was found. The picture showed a small can labeled with a Beckman Instruments, Inc. label. The label stated that the can contained 40 microcuries of Cs-137 assayed on July 30, 1981. The label was consistent with a generally licensed source and appeared to have been manufactured in CA. The licensee did not know where the source came from or why it was deposited close to their entrance gate. A member of the Division's staff will go to the licensee's facility tomorrow to read the serial number and the full label from the can. Utah Event Report ID #: UT200001 |
| ENS 52528 | 2 February 2017 20:44:00 | The following information was provided by the State of Utah via email: DWMRC (Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control) was notified of the event at 4:26 PM MST, on February 2, 2017. The licensee indicated that an employee had been assigned to conduct some preventative maintenance checks on an Ohmart Vega Gauge, Model SH-1, Serial Number 2199CG. At about 1:30 PM MST, the employee attempted to shut the gauge's shutter and one of the two screws attaching the handle to the shutter sheared off. The shutter could not be closed after that because the handle would just spin around. The gauge contained 50 mCi (as assayed 11/01) of Cs-137. The gauge is located about 10 feet above the walkway in the smelter/slag mill. The beam is running parallel to the ground and poses no danger to individuals in the building. The licensee will remove the gauge and send it to an authorized repair facility. UT Event Report ID No.: UT170002 |
| ENS 52488 | 13 January 2017 15:32:00 | The following report was received from the State of Utah via email: DWMRC (Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control) was notified of the event at about 1500 MST, on January 12, 2017. The licensee indicated that the shipper, Honeywell (Converdyne) had notified the NRC and the US DOT. This incident report is the initial notification of the NRC Operations Center from the DWMRC. The following description is the initial information received by DWMRC. The information will be updated as the Division obtains more information. A van carrying (three) barrels of (solid and wet) radioactive materials was received at the White Mesa Mill. When the employees were unloading the van they realized that a barrel, maybe two, had rusted bottoms and was leaking. Although the bottom of the barrels were not rusted through, they were characterized as 'being soft'. The barrels were on plastic sheeting that should have restricted the leaking materials to the plastic; however, when the barrels were unloaded, the employees noted that there was a hole in the sheeting. When the RSO was informed of the incident and arrived at the van, he noted that there was visible leakage on the girders and the siding of the van. Unfortunately, he was unable to take measurements of the area where the leak occurred to determine the radiation levels. The RSO (Radiation Safety Officer) stated that the van had been pulled in and cleaned prior to any measurements being taken, so the only measurements were taken after the van was cleaned.
On January 12, 2017, at approximately 1142 MST, a TAM International van carrying barrels of KOH alternate feed materials from Honeywell International arrived at the White Mesa Mill Scale house. According to Honeywell the materials are basically uranium ore concentrates. The White Mesa employees began unloading the van, but as they began offloading some of the last barrels, they noticed that some of the barrels were leaking. From what they could tell, three barrels were potentially leaking . The barrels were not rusted through, but were 'soft' and allowed liquid contained in the solid materials to leak from the barrel. The material leaked from the barrel onto a plastic sheet; however, the plastic sheet had an opening (rip, tear) through which the material was able to pass. The RSO (Radiation Safety Officer) was notified of the event at about 1300 MST. When the RSO reached the van, the employees had completed emptying the van and had 'cleaned' the van. The RSO indicated he was able to see visible evidence that the material had been able to leak from the van, but the area had been cleaned and no valid measurements or samples of the materials leaked from the van were able to be taken. Pictures were taken and from the pictures provided to the Division (Utah Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control), it appears that only a small quantity of liquid material was leaking from the barrels. Because the contents of the barrels are primarily solid and only contain small amounts of liquid and the liquid contents in the barrels were leaking through the bottom of the barrel, through a plastic sheet, across the van floor and out of the van along a girder and the siding, it is likely that only small quantities of materials were leaking from the van. The weather across the nation has been fairly stormy this past week and has included both rain and snow. Because of the rain and snow that has been occurring while the vehicle was traveling to the Mill site, it is likely that any small amounts of materials that leaked from the van were subsequently washed away and diluted. The Mill analyzes each alternate feed stream annually to verify the isotopic content of the alternate feed. At the last verification, the Honeywell KOH material contained, approximately 633,000 mg/kg uranium (about 61% uranium), 39 pCi/g Pb-210, 44.6 pCi/g Ra-226, 358 pCi/g Th-230, and 27 pCi/g Th-232. This event was also reported by National Response Center to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission , Report # 1168447, on 01/12/17 at 1720 EST. Utah Event Number: UT170001 |
| ENS 51482 | 20 October 2015 16:40:00 | The RSO of MET-CHEM Testing Labs, Inc. contacted the State of Utah, Division of Radiation Control to report an incident involving the installed security system. All radioactive material has been accounted for by the RSO. The State of Utah is sending investigators to the company facility today.
The following information was provided by the State of Utah via email: The State of Utah inspectors determined that the activity contained in all of the cameras (in aggregate) stored behind one barrier was less than the quantity found in Table 1 of 10 CFR 37. Therefore, the additional security measures were not required to be implemented. All sources are accounted for and will be secured in accordance with requirements tonight. Notified R4DO (Werner), ILTAB (Tucker) and NMSS Events Notification via email. |
| ENS 46886 | 25 May 2011 15:35:00 | The following information was received via email: While using a QSA Global 880D radiographic exposure device, the licensee's crew was unable to move the drive cable forward or backward. It appeared that the source was moved slightly out of the fully shielded position when the device was unlocked prior to the attempt to crank out the source. The crew was unable to retract the source and lock the device. A licensee employee trained in source retrieval was sent to the site. The employee disassembled a portion of the drive cable which gave him access to manually pull the drive cable in the direction that would retract the source. The cable was moved approximately 1/4 inch. This placed the source in the fully shielded position and the source was locked in the shielded position. Only licensee personnel were potentially exposed to radiation from the device during the incident. Licensee personnel stated that they did not step in front of the camera at any point during the incident. The radiographer used the survey meter to determine where to stand to receive the least exposure while checking the camera. At one point he reached forward with the survey meter and measured 200 mR/hr at the front port of the device. Dose estimates for licensee personnel associated in the incident were well below the limits for occupationally exposed individuals. Utah Event Report ID Number: UT - 110004 |
| ENS 46691 | 22 March 2011 20:45:00 | A Troxler Electronic Laboratories, Inc. Model 3430, portable gauging device (serial number 22936, containing approximately 8.0 millicuries of cesium-137, and approximately 40 millicuries of americium-241/beryllium) was stolen from the licensee's vehicle while parked at the Home Depot in Lindon, Utah. The Cs-137 source was in the safe shielded position when it was stolen and the transportation case was also secured. The device had been secured by two independent physical barriers, but both barriers were breached. The device was recovered at approximately 5:55 p.m. MST by licensee personnel. The transportation case had been opened, but the source rod was still secured in the shielded position. The licensee's vehicle was an open bed pickup truck with a mechanism to secure the device as required. Utah Report: UT110001 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 46380 | 1 November 2010 13:17:00 | A previously terminated Quality Inspection and Testing employee gained unauthorized access to keys of a company vehicle loaded with a radiography camera. The individual appeared intent to drive the vehicle to the Rock Springs Airport located in Wyoming when the truck experienced an accident on Highway 191 about 4 miles south of Dutch John, Utah. When the Utah highway patrol drove up to the accident scene, the patrol found the radiography camera outside of the truck. The SPEC Model 150 radiography camera S/N 1195 containing 40 Curies of Ir-192 was undamaged and placed into the custody of a representative of Quality Inspection and Testing Inc. The individual driving the truck was transported to a medical facility. A survey of the site indicated no spread of contamination or radiation levels above background. A survey of the radiography camera revealed no leakage. The radiography company was a Louisiana licensee with reciprocity in the State of Utah. Utah Incident Number: 100006
During the investigation, DRC (Division of Radiation Control) personnel obtained conflicting statements from QIT (Quality Inspection and Testing Inc) management personnel regarding the employee's termination prior to the incident. Additionally, the driver worked two shifts after QIT management stated he had been terminated. The driver claimed he was not terminated until a number of days after his release from the hospital. Other QIT personnel were not aware the driver had been 'terminated' prior to the incident; therefore, the driver was allowed unescorted access to vehicles and devices containing sources from the day QIT management indicated the driver was terminated until the day the accident occurred (approximately 2 to 3 days). Although initially reported as 'stolen' to DRC personnel, to date, the driver has not been charged with the theft of the vehicle or the source and the DRC does not believe that the employee had been terminated. The state believes that this event does not meet the abnormal occurrence criteria as determined by the Utah Division of Radiation Control. Utah Incident Number: 100006 Notified R4DO(Drake), NMSS(McCartin), FSME EO(Hsueh), and ILTAB(Hahn)
This information was provided by the State of Utah via email. During the investigation of this event, it was determined that the device was not actually stolen. Additionally, according to NRC Region IV and the U.S. DOT, the event did not meet the criteria for a reportable transportation event. Therefore, we are requesting the Event No. 46380 be retracted and will contact NMED personnel to retract NMED event 100544. Notified the R4DO (Clark), FSME EO (Suber), NMSS EO (Pstrak), ILTAB (Matt Hahn) THIS MATERIAL EVENT CONTAINS A "CATEGORY 2" LEVEL OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL Category 2 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 a short time (minutes to hours). It could possibly be fatal to be close to this amount of unshielded radioactive material for a period of hours to days. These sources are typically used in practices such as industrial gamma radiography, high dose rate brachytherapy and medium dose rate brachytherapy. For additional information go to http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1227_web.pdf |
| ENS 46357 | 24 October 2010 11:34:00 | A radiographer from Quality Inspection and Testing, Inc was involved in a single vehicle accident 18 miles west of Vernal, Utah on highway 40. According to witnesses, the truck rolled numerous times. The state police arrived, secured the highway, contacted state radiation control, and surveyed the area. The results of the survey indicated no spread of contamination or radiation levels above background. The SPEC Model 150 radiography camera S/N 1195 containing 40 Curies of Ir-192 was undamaged and placed into the custody of another representative of Quality Inspection and Testing Inc., who arrived on the scene at the request of the state. The driver survived the accident. The radiography company is a Louisiana licensee with reciprocity in the State of Utah. |
| ENS 45742 | 3 March 2010 16:25:00 | The following information was received from the State via facsimile: A Troxler Electronic Laboratories, Inc. Model 3430, portable gauging device (serial number 17906, containing approximately 8.0 millicuries of cesium-137 (source serial number 750-7391), and approximately 40 millicuries of americium-241/beryllium (source serial number 47-13347)) was hit by an excavator at a temporary jobsite. The Cs-137 source was in the safe shielded position when it was hit and the source remained shielded after it was struck by the excavator. A leak test was performed and no leakage was detected from either source. Utah Event Number: UT-10-0001 |
| ENS 44407 | 12 August 2008 09:11:00 | The Utah Division of Radiation Control was notified by service personnel on 08/11/2008 at approximately 10:00 a.m. MDST and spoke with the licensee regarding the incident at 5:00 p.m. MDST. The RSO was attempting to close the shutter of a fixed gauge on the 'Syn Tower' so that maintenance personnel could work inside the vessel. (Ohmart, model SH-F1, serial number LS-620). The device shutter resisted turning when the RSO attempted to close the gauge. The RSO then 'tapped lightly' on the shutter handle with a bolt to get it to turn. It turned slightly and the RSO put the bolt down to turn the shutter handle by hand. Both of the shutter handle screws sheared off and the shutter could not be closed. An authorized service licensee was able to close the shutter while the gauge was in place. The gauge was then removed and taken offsite for repair by an individual licensed to perform these services. The RSO has completed the manufacturer's 40 hour training course. |
| ENS 43401 | 1 June 2007 14:59:00 | This event took place in the Southmoor Subdivision, Phase 2, Eagle Mountain, UT. This event involved Troxler, model 3440, serial number 28420, containing 8 (millicuries) of Cs-137 and 40 mCi of Am-241:Be. The technician was testing sidewalk compaction ahead of the cement crew and was trying to keep ahead of the concrete truck. To do so, the technician would put the gauge in the back of his truck and drive about 200 feet along to the next test site. The gauge was not put in the transportation box nor was it secured. The technician drove off the asphalted road onto a 'roughed in' dirt road. When the truck hit the bump, the Troxler gauge slid or bounced out of the truck and hit the asphalt. The technician realized very quickly that the gauge was no longer in the truck and could see it approximately 200 feet behind the vehicle. Initially, the source rod remained in the safe shielded position, but the technician tried to lift the gauge by the handle and the source rod totally detached from the remaining portion of the gauge. The Am-241:Be source was not damaged and remained in place. UT Event Report ID No.: UT-07-006 |
| ENS 43103 | 16 January 2007 13:38:00 | At 1100 on 01/15/07, the radiography crew reported a radiography camera malfunction to their Radiation Safety Officer. The crew was using a Model SPEC 150 radiography exposure device with a 71 curie Ir-192 source. The radiography source had become disconnected from the drive cable and was stuck in the guide tube near the collimator. The guide tube was not crimped and the cause of the disconnect is not known. The crew covered the collimator with sand bags to limit access. That afternoon after consulting with SPEC, the crew was able to retract the source using a tong type apparatus. The licensee will return the camera to SPEC for repairs. There were no abnormal exposures. The crew was from Oklahoma and was working near Bonanza, Utah under a reciprocity agreement. |
| ENS 42794 | 23 August 2006 11:01:00 | The State provided the following information via facsimile: This event involved a Source Production & Equipment Company radiographic exposure device (model SPEC 150, serial number 948; with sealed source model SPEC G-60, serial number NH0807). The activity contained in the radiographic exposure device at the time of the incident was 4.912 terabecquerels (133 Ci) of Iridium-192. The radiographer noticed that the crank turned out more turns than normal when he exposed the source. He then realized that the guide tube was not connected tightly to the device. The radiographer cranked the source in with the guide tube not connected. The pigtail hit against the radiographic exposure device and disconnected. The radiographer followed the licensee's emergency procedures and controlled the area until the radiation safety officer arrived. The radiation safety officer began and completed the source retrieval procedures without further incident. The licensee contacted the manufacturer regarding the disconnect. The manufacturer informed the licensee that when the source was outside the guide tube, and oriented 90 degrees to the travel direction of the cable, the source can disconnect. Event Location: Chevron Refinery VGO Unit, 2351 N 1100 W, Salt Lake City, Utah 84116 The Utah Division of Radiation Control was notified by the licensee in a telephone call on August 22, 2006. Utah Event Report ID No.: UT-06-0003 |
| ENS 42121 | 5 November 2005 16:18:00 | The University of Utah moved its Radiation Health Department between buildings. An Am-241 source on a disk in a glass vial was last inventoried and leak checked on May 12, 2005 i.e. prior to the move. The inventory on November 3, 2005 (Thursday) found one source missing. The sources are kept in a locked room and stored in a locked pig. The university is performing an inventory on November 5, 2005 (Saturday) and may perform additional inventories. This information will be placed in NMED on Monday, November 7, 2005. Source: Am-241, 477 milliCuries
The Source is model # SWA-259, purchased January 1977 and is the size of a nickel.
Received notification from the licensee that a Radiation Safety Analyst found the missing Am-241 source at 11:07 MST on 11/07/05. An updated description was given as 1.5 inches long and wrapped in a sheet of lead. The RSO was present when the source was found. Notified R4DO (Shaffer), NMSS (Morell), and TAS email (Perez).
The State of Utah has determined that the update on 11/7/05 reporting that the missing source had been located was incorrect. Further investigation by the University of Utah authorities has determined that the original source description was correct. The source is a nickel-sized slug in a glass vial and not the 1.5 inch source discussed in the 11/7/05 update. Recollection by individuals that had used the source confirmed the source appearance and the discolored "darkened" vial that held the source. The source number was also corrected to SNA-259 The licensee has informed both campus police and the FBI of the missing material. Notified R4DO (Whitten), NMSS (Collins), and TAS (Perez) via email.
The State provided the following information via email: The State of Utah reports that the source has been found. This time verified and sure. It was found in a secure facility. It had rolled under a pallet in the secured waste facility. The investigation as to how it got there is continuing. Notified R4DO (Shaffer), NMSS (Collins), and TAS (Whitney) via email. 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. |