Notified by the licensee that three
tritium exit signs were improperly disposed of as trash. The signs were manufactured by SRBT with an estimated source strength of 20 Ci for each sign. The licensee noticed the missing signs following an equipment inventory taken after a renovation. The licensee determined that the three signs were mixed with general construction debris and sent to a landfill. The licensee investigation is continuing.
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