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| Entered date | Event description | |
|---|---|---|
| ENS 49658 | 18 December 2013 17:06:00 | The following report was received via email: The following are the preliminary findings of the Arkansas Department of Health, Radioactive Materials Program, involving multiple stuck shutters at a paper mill plant. An onsite inspection of this licensee was conducted on December 17, 2013. During this inspection, it was discovered that since 2008, multiple shutters were found to have been stuck open and were not able to be locked out. Based on the records reviewed at the time of inspection, it appears that there were a total of 17 gauges with stuck shutters since May 2010. It appears at this time that all but nine (9) of these gauges have been repaired, dismounted and/or disposed. Currently, these nine gauges (9) are still in use with the shutters stuck in the open position. In accordance with RH-1502.f.2. (equivalent 10 CFR 30.50(b)(2)), each stuck shutter event should have been reported to the State of Arkansas within 24 hours. The licensee failed to notify the State of Arkansas of all of these events. The information concerning the 17 gauges is as follows: Radionuclide Manufacturer Model # Activity Cesium-137 Berthold LB 7440 50 mCi Cesium-137 Berthold LB7440 100 mCi Cesium-137 Berthold LB 7440 30 mCi Cesium-137 Berthold LB 7440 250 mCi Cobalt-60 Berthold LB 300L 0.2 mCi Cobalt-60 Berthold LB 300L 0.5 mCi Cobalt -60 Berthold LB 300L 0.19 mCi Cobalt-60 Berthold LB 300L 0.7 mCi Cobalt-60 Berthold LB 300L 4.14 mCi Cobalt-60 Berthold LB 300L 0.46 mCi Cobalt-60 Berthold LB 300L 1.8 mCi Cobalt-60 Berthold LB 300L 1.51 mCi Cesium-137 Berthold LB 330 24 mCi Cobalt-60 Berthold LB 300L 1.8 mCi Cobalt-60 Berthold LB 300L 0.46 mCi Cobalt-60 Berthold LB 300L 1.51 mCi Cobalt-60 Berthold LB 300L 0.22 mCi The licensee is in the process of submitting additional records. Information related to the gauge serial numbers and event date will be provided in another update. The Department is continuing to investigate and will provide updates as information is received.
The Arkansas Department of Health, Radioactive Materials Program, received an incident report from Domtar A.W., LLC on January 17, 2014. All stuck shutters were discovered in May of 2010, when a new consultant was hired who properly performed the shutter checks. Since that time, there were a total of 22 stuck shutters. Some of these shutters were stuck open from seven months to two years before being replaced or repaired. The licensee has confirmed that no Domtar workers, contractors or members of the public received any radiation exposure from these gauges. The following devices had stuck shutters: Radionuclide Manufacturer Model Activity Date of Repair Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 50 mCi 12/14/10 Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 50 mCi 12/15/10 Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 50 mCi 12/14/10 Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 50 mCi 12/15/10 Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 250 mCi 08/10/11 Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 100 mCi 12/16/10 Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 30 mCi 08/09/11 Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 100 mCi 06/28/11 Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 50 mCi 06/30/11 Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 30 mCi 06/29/11 Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 100 mCi 08/11/11 Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 30 mCi Disposed on 05/24/12 Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 100 mCi 08/12/11 Co-60 Berthold LB300L 2.5 mCi total 12/17/13 for 1 shutter ** Co-60 Berthold LB300L 5.03 mCi total 12/17/13 for 2 shutters** Co-60 Berthold LB300L 2.19 mCi total 12/17/13 for 2 shutters**
Notified R4DO (Spitzberg) and FSME Events Resource (email).
This update provided device serial numbers and closed out this incident. Radionuclide Manufacturer Model Serial Number Activity Date of Repair Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 37624-12097 50 mCi 12/14/10 Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 37624-11867 50 mCi 12/15/10 Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 700799-2813 50 mCi 12/14/10 Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 37624-12090 50 mCi 12/15/10 Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 37624-12273 250 mCi 08/10/11 Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 37624-12098 100 mCi 12/16/10 Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 37624-12271 30 mCi 08/09/11 Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 37624-12281 100 mCi 06/28/11 Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 *** 50 mCi 06/30/11 Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 37624-12279 30 mCi 06/29/11 Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 37624-12278 100 mCi 08/11/11 Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 *** 30 mCi Disposed on 05/24/12 Cs-137 Berthold LB7440 37624-12272 100 mCi 08/12/11 Co-60 Berthold LB300L 7687 2.5 mCi total 12/17/13 for 1 shutter ** Co-60 Berthold LB300L 8654 5.03 mCi total 12/17/13 for 2 shutters** Co-60 Berthold LB300L 9507 2.19 mCi total 12/17/13 for 2 shutters**
Notified R4DO (Whitten) and FSME_Events Resource via email. |
| ENS 46130 | 27 July 2010 12:04:00 | The following was received via email from the State of Arkansas: The following are the findings of the Arkansas Department of Health, Radioactive Materials Program, concerning Event Number (AR) 07-10-01 involving a stuck radiography source in Wilburn, Arkansas at a pipeline location. The Department was contacted on July 26, 2010 and informed by the licensee that the incident occurred around 9:30 a.m. on the first shot. The camera involved was an Industrial Nuclear IR-100 (Serial Number 6961) that contained a 34 Curie Iridium-192 source (Model G-40T, Serial Number RC3103). (Source Production and Equipment Company) (SPEC) (- the vendor -) had been contacted and was expected to arrive at the location around 5:00 a.m. on July 27, 2010. In the meantime, the crew and both of the Assistant Radiation Safety Officers maintained constant surveillance. Health Physicists from the Arkansas Department of Health also went to the incident location. On arrival, it was discovered that the source was in an approximately 10 foot hole and it was indicated that the radiography crew had performed three cranks and then the source would not retract back into the shielded position. SPEC successfully retrieved the source. The source, camera and associated equipment are being transported to the SPEC facility in Louisiana for evaluation. It appears that this incident may have been caused by the failure of the locking mechanism of the camera. The licensee and SPEC (are) to supply the Department with a written report. The Department will provide updates as information is received. This is Arkansas Department of Health, Radioactive Materials Program event number 07-10-01.
The following report was received via e-mail from the State of Arkansas: A report received from SPEC states that the cause of the incident was a source misconnect and the source locking mechanism failing to function properly. The report also states that if the camera had been operating properly, the radiographer should not have been able to push the flag down and release the source. There was no evidence of damage to the drive cable connector or to the source assembly. The source was reloaded into the camera and returned to the licensee. The Arkansas Department of Health considers this incident to be closed. Notified R4DO (Deese) and FSME (McIntosh). |
| ENS 45777 | 19 March 2010 12:26:00 | The following information was received via E-mail: The following are the findings of the Arkansas Department of Health, Radioactive Materials Program, concerning Event Number 03-10-01 involving an unknown radioactive source at Nucor-Yamato Steel in Blytheville, Arkansas. The Department was contacted on March 17, 2010 indicating that a sealed source had been discovered in a load of scrap metal. The isotope/activity of the sealed source is unknown at this time. It was also stated that survey readings were 50 mR/hr. Health Physicists from the Arkansas Department of Health went to Nucor-Yamato Steel. (Upon discovery), the cylinder-shaped source had been placed in a metal bucket and then put in a 55 gallon metal drum. Readings inside the barrel with the survey meter probe close to the source, the actual readings were 100-140 mR/hr. After all the shielding was in place, a survey was taken with the highest reading being 0.7 mR/hr at the surface of the drum, and the T.I. index (transport index) was 0.2 mR/hr. The drum containing the source was secured in the back of the state vehicle and transported to the Arkansas Department of Health, Radiation Control in Little Rock, Arkansas. The source is awaiting pickup by American Radiation Services for transport to their storage location in New Orleans, Louisiana. Further information and identification of the isotope and activity are pending the report from the vendor. The State of Louisiana has been notified."
An employee of American Radiation Services, Inc. (ARS) arrived in Little Rock on March 19, 2010 to retrieve the unknown source. The source was packaged and transported to Port Allen, Louisiana where ARS determined that it was a Cesium-137 source of approximately 0.61 mCi. The manufacturer, model number and serial number are still unknown. ADCO Services, Inc. picked up the source from ARS on April 30, 2010 and transported it to Tinley Park, Illinois where it is waiting disposal. The Arkansas Department of Health considers this incident to be closed. Notified R4DO (Powers) and FSME EO (Mauer). 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 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 45457 | 23 October 2009 11:18:00 | The following information was received from the state via e-mail: Nucor-Yamato Steel in Blytheville, Arkansas reported to the Arkansas Radiation Control Program on October 20, 2009, that they believed a source had been found in a load of scrap metal received at their facility. The shipper for this load of scrap metal was Southern Scrap, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Radiation surveys conducted by steel mill personnel indicated an on contact reading of 5.0 mR/hr. Health Physicists from the Arkansas Radiation Control Program responded to Nucor-Yamato Steel in Blytheville, Arkansas on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 arriving at 3:00 p.m. The device is 20 inches long and 6 inches square. The only identifying marks are a plate labeled 'MFD BY S.H. COUCH CO INC' and appears to be a type of selector switch containing a Radium-226 backlight. The switch can select 'AFT STA' or 'WHEEL HSE.' Survey readings at the selector switch were 5.5 mR/hr. Removable contamination (not quantified) was found on smears of the device taken in the field. The device was packaged and transported to the Arkansas Department of Health and is currently in a secured storage area. The Department continues to investigate this incident to determine the identity of the device as well as the owner.
An employee of American Radiation Services, Inc. (ARS) arrived in Little Rock on March 19, 2010 to retrieve the unknown source. The source was packaged and transported to Port Allen, Louisiana where ARS determined that it was a Radium-226 source of approximately 2.4 mCi. The manufacturer, model number and serial number are still unknown. ADCO Services, Inc. picked up the source from ARS on April 30, 2010 and transported it to Tinley Park, Illinois where it is waiting disposal. The Arkansas Department of Health considers this incident to be closed. Notified R4DO (Powers) and FSME (Mauer). 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 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 |