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| Entered date | Event description | |
|---|---|---|
| ENS 54186 | 30 July 2019 13:24:00 | The following is a synopsis of information received from the Commonwealth of Virginia via email: On July 29, 2019, at approximately 2315 EDT, the Virginia Department of Health, Office of Radiological Health (Rad Health) was notified of a traffic accident involving a Troxler Gauge - model 4640B, Serial Number 2739, containing an 8 mCi Cs-137 source, source serial number 77-6508. At approximately 2125 EDT, a motorist entered a closed traffic lane and struck the gauge. Surveys by the Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) indicated that the source was likely not breached. The Rad Health Duty Officer advised the RSO that the gauge was safe to transport to the licensee's secured storage location. On July 30, 2019, Rad Health's Radioactive Materials (Rad Materials) staff visited the licensee's facility and performed contamination surveys of the gauge and the Type A package. No contamination was detected on any of the swipe samples collected. The licensee and the Rad Materials staff contacted the Troxler service department to discuss next steps. The Troxler service representative explained that they could use the swipe samples to perform a leak test. The RSO was advised that once the source is confirmed not to be leaking by Troxler, the licensee may transport the damaged gauge for repair or replacement. The RSO was advised by Rad Material staff that the Type A package label will need to be changed to correct the transport index (TI) value from 0.2 to 0.5, and the shipping papers would also need to be changed to show the new TI. Virginia Event Report ID: VA 19-005 |
| ENS 54150 | 6 July 2019 11:01:00 | On July 5, 2019, the licensee discovered that a nuclear gauge was missing from their inventory. The gauge contained a Cs-137 source of approximately 10 mCi and an Am-241 source of approximately 25 mCi. The licensee notified the Virginia Department of Health and the Virginia Emergency Operations Center. On July 6, 2019, the gauge was found in a parking lot of a funeral home in Hampton, VA. The Hampton Police were notified. Following their procedures, they notified the FBI. The gauge was undamaged. The Radiation Safety Officer for the licensee is en route to retrieve the gauge. The Virginia Department of Health will supply additional details when they become known.
The following information was received via e-mail: On Friday, July 5, 2019 at approximately 1600 EDT, the Virginia Office of Radiological Health (VORH) Duty Officer was notified by the Virginia Emergency Operations Center Duty Officer that a Virginia licensee, ECS-Mid Atlantic, located in Richmond, VA (Virginia radioactive materials license # 760-114-4) had reported a missing portable nuclear gauge. The gauge particulars are as follows: Manufacturer: CPN Model: MC1DR-P Serial Number: MD60303074 Source: Cs-137 containing 370 MBq (10 mCi); serial number: 2149GQ Source: Am-241 containing 1.85 GBQ (50 mCi); serial number: 5396NK On Saturday, July 6, 2019 at approximately 1030 EDT, the VORH Duty Officer was informed that the missing gauge had been found in the parking lot of a funeral home in Hampton, VA and that local law enforcement, fire department, and Hazmat personnel were on the scene. Also, in accordance with their procedures, the local police department informed the FBI. The local Hazmat officer performed a visual and radiological survey of the transportation package (labeled Radioactive - Yellow II) and observed that everything appeared to be intact and the radiation readings indicted that the source was in the shielded position (approximately 1.6 mR/hr on contact with the transportation package). Once this information was obtained, the Hazmat officer advised the FBI of the situation (through local law enforcement) and the FBI terminated their involvement. The licensee's identity was determined from the visual inspection and was contacted immediately. The licensee's (Radiation Safety Officer) RSO immediately traveled to the scene, and at 1219 EDT informed the VORH Duty Officer that he (the RSO) had possession of the gauge and was en route back to Richmond, VA. The licensee is conducting an investigation into the incident and believes that an employee failed to check out the gauge properly and return it to the storage location in Richmond on Wednesday, July 3, 2019 as required by company procedure, and thought that they could return it after the holiday without being detected. When the gauge was observed to be missing on Friday, July 5, 2019 by the Assistant RSO, she texted all technicians and asked who might have failed to return it. The RSO believes that the technician that failed to properly check out the gauge and check it back in panicked and abandoned it at the funeral home on Friday or Saturday. Once the investigation is completed, the licensee will provide the Virginia Office of Radiological Health with their findings. Future updates, based upon that investigation will be made. Notified R1DO (Dimitriadis) and NMSS Events Notification and ILTAB via e-mail. 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 53495 | 9 July 2018 10:29:00 | The following information was received from the Commonwealth of Virginia via E-mail: On Monday July 9, 2018, at approximately 0900 EDT the licensee reported to the Virginia Radioactive Materials Program that a construction trailer, containing a Troxler Model 3440 (serial number 17396) moisture density gauge (portable gauge) was stolen over the weekend from a road construction site in Thornburg, VA. According to the licensee's Radiation Safety Officer (RSO), the gauge was secured inside its case which was secured to the floor of the trailer by lock and chain. The theft of the trailer was discovered on Monday morning (July 9th) when workers reported to the construction site to begin work. The gauge was last seen when secured inside the trailer at approximately 1500 EDT on Friday, July 6, 2018. The gauge contains (nominally) 9 milliCuries of Cs-137 and 44 milliCuries of Am-241. The construction site is located on State Route 606 (Mudd Tavern Road), approximately 1 mile west of I-95. The Virginia State police were notified by the licensee on Monday morning, July 9, 2018. The Virginia Radioactive Materials Program has encouraged the licensee to issue a press release. The purpose of the press release is to inform the perpetrator(s) that the gauge is of no value to anyone that is not licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission or an Agreement State, such as Virginia. Virginia Event Report ID No: VA-18-003
The following update was received from the Commonwealth of Virginia via E-mail: On Tuesday, July 10, 2018, the licensee's RSO informed the Virginia Radioactive Materials program that the stolen portable gauge had been recovered by the Virginia State Police. As of 10:30 AM, the licensee's technician was in route to the Hampton Roads area to retrieve the stolen trailer and the portable gauge. The police detective informed the licensee that the trailer was broken into but the gauge appeared to be intact. A final update will be provided once the gauge is retrieved and its safe configuration is verified. Notified R1DO (Bower), ILTAB and NMSS Events Notifications via E-mail.
The following update was received from the Commonwealth of Virginia via E-mail: On Thursday, July 12, 2018, a Virginia Radioactive Materials Program Inspector conducted a reactive inspection in Thornburg, VA. The inspector verified that the stolen portable nuclear gauge was retrieved by the licensee and that the gauge is intact. This is the final update to the subject report. Notified R1DO (Bower), ILTAB and NMSS Events Notifications via E-mail. 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 |