Semantic search

The following was received via e-mail: On March 14, 2019 around 1430 CDT, Turner Industries Group, LLC was performing work in a permanent shooting cell. Two industrial radiographers got into a verbal altercation, which lead to one industrial radiographer cranking out a source onto the other industrial radiographer. Dose reconstruction indicated less than 2 millirem/hr whole body to the one radiographer. The first radiographer was twelve feet from the four Half-Value Layer (HVL) collimator and ran to a shielded condition within seconds after realizing the source had been cranked out. The second radiographer was behind a shooting cell wall performing the crankout.

"The radiographer performing the crankout has been terminated and led off the property.  All access that he had has been revoked and access codes changed.

Louisiana Event Report ID No.: LA20190004

The following report was received from the State of Louisiana via phone: On June 29, 2018 the Louisiana Radiation Protection Division was notified that an employee of Wood Material (a dredging company) stole a radiation device. The radiation device was subsequently sold by the employee to the ERM Southern Recycling center. The recycling center identified and recovered the device. The recycling center then performed a leak test on the device to confirm that the device was not leaking. The device was then isolated and secured in a drum by the recycling center. The device is manufactured by Ronan Engineering and has a serial number of 211023A, but the activity is not known at this time. A police report was filed on the employee who stole the device. Louisiana has notified the NRC regional office.

• * * UPDATE ON 7/3/18 AT 0923 EDT FROM JAMES PATE TO BETHANY CECERE * * *

The following report was received from the State of Louisiana by email: The gauge was a Ronan Engineering Flow Meter Gauge Model RLLI, Device S/N: 211023A, Source Model Number: CDC.700, Isotope: Cs-137 with Activity: 0.90 mCi. The gauge was stolen by an employee from Wood Materials, 6148 River Road, New Orleans 70123. A police report was made & filed. The employee confessed to scraping the gauge for scrap metal. Employee terminated.

The gauge is secure at this time. Enforcement action will be taken on the licensee of the gauge for not securing the gauge. This matter is considered closed out. Notified the R4DO (Miller), NMSS Events, and ILTAB. 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

The following information was received via E-mail: On Friday, March 9, 2018, Applied Inspection Systems was performing industrial radiography. At approximately 1315 CDT while performing industrial radiography, a pipe fitting sitting on a 'V' pipe stand fell over and crushed the source guide tube. Source Production & Equipment Company was called in to perform source retrieval. There were no over-exposures or reportable exposures. The retrieval crew received a maximum of 40 mR. The source was retrieved and re-inserted back into the camera with no concerns noted. The SPEC IR-192 Model G-60 source serial number was YK0701, source strength was 35 Ci, and camera serial number was 1381. The industrial radiography camera was a SPEC-150.

"This event is considered closed out.

Applied Inspection Systems, Inc. License Number: ARK-0576-03310, Reciprocity: RC-493, AI#: 154688. This Arkansas licensee was working under reciprocity in the State of Louisiana at the Calumet-Cotton Valley Refinery, in Cotton Valley, Louisiana. Louisiana Event Report ID No.: LA20180003

The following information was received from the State of Louisiana via email: On October 02, 2015, around 1500 CDT, Source Production & Equipment Company (SPEC) was manufacturing a 30 Curie sealed Co-60 source within Hot Cell Number 2. During the welding process of double encapsulating the sealed source the welder malfunctioned. Two radiation workers within Hot Cell Number 2, behind the room divider, attempted to grind off the ruined outer encapsulation.

"The result was two workers inhaled Co-60 material.  Nasal swipes indicated 11,743 cpm on the highest wipe.  It was initially calculated internal exposure of around 200 mRem.
"The event was basically contained to Hot Cell Number 2 except for some footprints outside the cell which were remediated.  The Hot Cell is currently restricted because of contamination.
"The workers have had two whole body scans on 10/07/15 and 10/12/15 with a third scan planned for 10/19/15. 
"Currently internal exposure from inhalation has been calculated to be 373 mRem from 2.3 microCi of Co-60.  The other worker's calculated exposure was 80 mRem from 0.42 microCi of Co-60.
"SPEC has enacted a policy in regards to this event to no longer allow reworking a ruined source during manufacturing by grinding on it.  They will just retire/dispose of that source and get a new source to work with.

The licensee is also collecting bioassay samples from both workers for analysis. LA Event Report ID NO.: LA150017