The following report was received via E-mail:
At or around 6:45 PM on November 23, 2009 the irradiator at Becton Dickinson in Broken Bow, NE experienced a box jam. The master timer timed out and sent the source into the pool as normal. The source movement bell continued to ring beyond the normal time. The operator on duty entered the control room and noted that the fault indicator lights for source switch, source pass time out were activated. Both source up and source down indicator lights were on. The operator went to the source cylinder room on the roof and verified that physically the cylinder had traveled to the full down position. The source cable was determined to be tight as normal. The area was also surveyed for any radiation above background. None was noted.
The operator then called the RSO and informed him of the situation. The RSO came to the plant. Since the source up indicator was activated, the area monitor was disabled. The cell door was manually opened and the air to the source cylinder disabled. Two operators along with the RSO slowly entered the cell with two survey meters. No radiation above background was detected.
It was determined that the source up switch plunger had become stuck in the closed position. This plunger was removed, cleaned and lubricated. No other machine issues were noted and normal operation ensued.
Reporting Requirement: 30.509(b)(2) - events involving failure or disability to function when equipment is required to be available and operable and no redundant equipment is available and operable, includes source disconnection and failure to retract source.
Nebraska Item Number: NE090017