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| Entered date | Event description | |
|---|---|---|
| ENS 43274 | 3 April 2007 18:05:00 | The following information was received via e-mail from the State of New Mexico: (NM Radiation Protection Control Bureau) received notification at approximately 2:30 p.m. that seven (7) sets of button check sources licensed to the NM Radiation Control Bureau were being stored in a NM Department of Health utility trailer that was stolen in Albuquerque, NM over the weekend. These sources are used as check sources for survey meters (also stolen) during training sessions for emergency response personnel at facilities along the WIPP routes in NM. This incident is being investigated by NM State Police and the Albuquerque Police Department. Personnel from the Department of Homeland Security, the NM Department of Health, and the WIPP Emergency Response Program of the NM Radiation Control Bureau are also involved in the investigation and will provide a press release. The following sources were reported missing: 7-10 nanoCurie Pu-239 7-10 nanoCurie Sr-90 (exempt) 7-1 microCurie Cs-137 (exempt) More details will be provided as they become available. 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 43001 | 20 November 2006 16:20:00 | The State provided the following information via email: The Radiation Safety Officer (RSO)/owner of Rio Grande Radiological Physics Group, LLC (NM license number RS433-01) reported at 7:51 a.m. on November 20, 2006 that he had lost control of a 108 microCurie Cs-137 sealed source and a Co-57 sealed source (decayed down to background levels of radiation). The RSO/owner is a medical physicist and had returned home late Friday night, November 17, 2006, from a trip in which he had provided radiological services to a contracted facility. As he unloaded his equipment at his residence, he placed the two sealed sources that were in lead containers, on a gate or tailgate and proceeded to move his equipment into his residence. He apparently left the two sources behind. The sources landed up in the possession of one of his neighbors. On Saturday, November 18, 2006, the neighbor participated in an activity at the state fair grounds in Albuquerque, NM and had the sources in his vehicle. The sources ended up being placed on the ground in a parking lot where they were found. An emergency response was initiated with NM State Police, NM National Guard, and a DOE RAP Team from Sandia National Laboratory responding. DOE Sandia took possession of the sources and safeguarded them. The RSO contacted the FBI on Sunday, November 19, 2006 and reported the incident. He is meeting with an FBI agent and a Radiation Control Bureau inspector today. New Mexico Radiation Control Bureau personnel are currently investigating the incident and the two sources are in the process of being returned to the licensee by Bureau personnel. Details will be provided as they develop and are made available. 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 42792 | 21 August 2006 20:02:00 | This State provided the following information via e-mail: This is to notify you that the Density/Moisture Gauge, Seaman C-300 with serial number 21049, was stolen from the back of a pickup, parked at 10216 Andalusian, SW, Albuquerque, NM 87121 sometime between August 18, 5:30 PM and August 20, 3:30PM. The assigned employee, (deleted), the field monitor for A. S. Horner, worked late last Friday, August 18th and instead of taking the gauge to either a project office or the main office and storing it in a locked closet, decided to park the truck backed against the garage door at his residence noted above. The gauge handle was locked, stored in the approved container, that was also locked and the container itself was secured to the bed of the pickup with a chain and a lock. Mr. (deleted) was out of town for the weekend and upon his return at about 3:30 PM on Sunday, he noticed the entire box was gone. Two cut locks were found on the bed of the pickup. There must have been more than one person committing this crime to pickup the heavy box from the rear of the vehicle. Mr. (deleted) immediately notified the police and the fire department, who cordoned off the area first, then interviewed. Mr. (deleted) and took pictures of the vehicle and the area. Mr. (deleted) searched the nearby dumps and did not find any trace of the gauge. The police report will be available shortly. The fire department, as we understand, has notified the hospitals in the area. Mr. (deleted) acted in violation of the company policy and we are dealing with this issue. The company has had two moisture/density gauges for more than five years and this is the first incident of this nature. The employees have been instructed to store the gauges in locked closets in the locked buildings inside a fenced area with a locked gate. I called the 24 hour emergency number and Mr. (deleted) yesterday at about 5 PM and left messages describing the incident. The exact time of the theft is unknown, however, according to the neighbor of Mr. (deleted), it must have happened on Saturday, August 19, between 2 AM and 7 AM, when he noticed that the tool box was open but nothing was missing from the tool box. The neighbor did not notice the box in the back of the vehicle was missing. Please let me know if there is anything else I need to do other than keep in close contact with the police and fire departments on the status of the recovery of this gauge. Seaman C-300 Moisture Density Gauge contains approximately 10 millicuries of Cesium-137 and 40 millicuries of Americium-241. 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 42298 | 1 February 2006 19:45:00 | The State provided the following information via email: (The) RSO for Baker Hughes Oilfield Operations, Inc. (NM license number WL 241-33), reported at 9:50 a.m. on January 31, 2006 that Baker Hughes temporarily lost control of a 2 Ci Cs-137 sealed source after completion of a job two to three miles south of Eunice, NM in Lea County. Upon completion of the job, the crew from the Midland, TX facility secured the 18 Ci Am/Be source in its shipping container and departed the job site, leaving the unshielded Cesium source on the ground. On returning to Midland, the crew discovered the Cesium source was not in the vehicle and they immediately notified Baker Hughes personnel in Hobbs, NM. Hobbs personnel located, recovered, and secured the source approximately 2 hours after the Midland crew left the site. Preliminary information indicated there was no drilling going on at the job site when Hobbs personnel recovered the source and it was not known if any individuals received a dose. A follow-up telephone call to (the RSO) today indicates non-badged individuals were working in the area of the unshielded source. Initial calculations show the highest dose to any of these individuals to be less than 70 mRem. The New Mexico Radiation Control Bureau is continuing the investigation of the incident and will provide updated information as it becomes available. A visit to the licensee's Hobbs, NM office is planned.
Here is the update on EN 42298 (NMED item# 060083/Baker Hughes) for the dose to members of the public. Initially, Baker Hughes had calculated 68 mRem as the highest dose to a member of the public, our calculation based on the information they provided was 70 mRem. Their final report indicates that after characterization of the meter from a Radium field to a Cesium field, the maximum exposure is 60 mRem. I have attached the final report from Baker Hughes regarding the Cs-137 source left behind at a jobsite in Eunice, NM. The NM Radiation Control Bureau found the response from Baker Hughes and the corrective actions to be adequate. Notified R4DO (Bywater) and FSME (Morell) 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. Although IAEA categorization of this event is typically based on device type, the staff has been made aware of the actual activity of the source, and after calculation determines that it is a Less than Cat 3 event. Note: the value assigned by device type "Category 3" is different than the calculated value "Less than Cat 3 |
| ENS 42130 | 9 November 2005 10:56:00 | On November 3, 2005, reported that a radioactive shipment was missing its contents. On November 3, 2005, at approximately 2:30 pm, Spectratek Services received a call from Protechnics in Kilgore, TX. They stated a seven piece shipment of four (4) fiberboard boxes and three (3) 20-gallon drums had been received. The contents of one of the 20-gallon drums were not in the drum. The drum was to have contained an ammo box with two 25 pound lead shipping containers, each containing 40 millicuries of Antimony-124 used in oil and gas well completion studies. All packages had security seals in place when they arrived at the Protechnics facility in Kilgore. Notification was made to the Protechnics corporate office, the freight company, and the NM Radiation Control Bureau. Interviewing all employees involved in packaging the shipment resulted in written statements from them. The inventory has been double-checked and it appears the material balance is correct. Security camera tapes have been reviewed showing the packaging area for 10/31/2005 (the day of the shipment). The tapes show the radioactive material being loaded into the containers and the containers being closed and they also show the shipment being loaded onto the freight carrier's trailer. Members of the FBI and Homeland Security made visits while conducting their investigation. The investigation is ongoing. Notification was made to the inspector with the Environmental Monitoring Program, Radiation Branch, Department of State Health Services in Texas. State of Texas also notified NRC. See EN-42118. |
| ENS 41096 | 6 October 2004 10:28:00 | Riverside Technologies notified the Radiation Control Bureau with the New Mexico Environment Department that one of their density moisture gauges was stolen sometime between Friday night, October 1, and Monday morning, October 4,2004. The locked storage room was broken into and the gauge was removed from its transport container and taken from the company office in Espanola, New Mexico. The gauge was a Campbell Pacific Nuclear, Model MC-3, serial number M30069661, and containing Cesium-137 and Americium-241/Be radioactive sealed sources. The gauge was locked in the safe position.
The density/moisture gauge (CPN, model MC-3, SN 30069691) reported stolen by Riverside Technologies (NM license number DM345) on 10/4/2004 has been found. The RSO, (DELETED), called at 8:45 a.m. MST today and reported that the gauge had been left near his vehicle at his residence in Espanola. There is no apparent damage to the gauge and the source rod was still locked. The RSO will leak test the gauge to evaluate the integrity of the sources. This gauge was not being used and had been in storage since acquired from another licensee. The gauge will again be placed in storage with additional security measures being implemented at the facility. Notified TAS (Hahn), R4DO (Kennedy) and NMSS EO (Wastler). |