Semantic search
| Start date | Reporting criterion | Title | Event description | System | LER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENS 40307 | 10 November 2003 06:00:00 | Agreement State | Agreement State Report for Lost/Stolen Source | On October 30, 2003, during a routine inventory of sources, it was discovered that a Nickel-63 electron capture source that had been in storage since January 23, 1996, was missing. An exhaustive search of source storage areas did not locate the source. However, upon questioning employees that had access to the source storage area, one employee recalled that the source in question had been picked up by a Health Physics Technician from the manufacturer, it was believed during the year 1998. The manufacturer denies having the source picked. A search of paperwork is ongoing to locate a transfer document, if one exists. | ||
| ENS 43188 | 26 February 2007 06:00:00 | Agreement State | Agreement State Report | On 2/26/07 at about 13:30 the licensee notified the Agency that they had received 8 sources from White Sands Missile Base containing cobalt sixty (Co-60) sources. Four were estimated to have activities of 3,000 curies and four had estimated activities of 1,000 curies. Southwest opened one of the containers used to ship the sources to leak test the source. Upon opening the container, it appeared that the source was no longer contained in a source capsule. The leak test results indicated 5 million DPM. The container was resealed and no other containers were opened. Containers were opened with automation equipment, therefore no exposure to personnel occurred. TX Report TX-07-43188
On 2/26/07 at about 11:00 the licensee notified the Agency that they had received eight (8) cobalt sixty sources from White Sands Missile Range. Each of the eight sources was contained in a separate container. Four sources had estimated activities of 3,000 curies and four had estimated activities of 1,000 curies. The outside of each container was surveyed after receipt and contamination levels were found to be below their limits. SWR opened one of the containers used to ship the sources to leak test the source. The source was a Neutron Products Inc. model no. NPU-25-13000 capsule serial # T-96-5. The container was opened in SWR hot cell using manipulator arms. Upon opening the source container, it appeared that the source capsule had been breached. The leak test results indicated 5 E6 dpm of contamination. The container was sealed and no other sources were opened. The sources were removed from the hot cell. The hot cell was surveyed and found to be contaminated. The hot cell was decontaminated and returned to service. R4DO (Dale Powers) & NMSS EO (Greg Morell) notified.
The State of Texas, Department of State Health Services, Radiation Control Program, is retracting event number TX-07-43188 (NRC EN #43188). The eight sources sent to Southwest Research of San Antonio, Texas, were included in a group of sources identified at White Sands Missile Range in 1996 by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) as failing during use. NMED item Number 960300, (and) NRC EN# 30353 documents this as well as an Executive Summary Report done by the United States Army. These sources were removed from service, and the source carrier and source itself were redesigned to operate as required. The State was not aware that the NRC had already addressed the source failures prior to sending our Event Notification (#43188) to the NRC." R4DO (Chuck Cain) & FSME EO (Larry Camper) notified. | ||
| ENS 51656 | 14 January 2016 06:00:00 | Agreement State | Agreement State - Radiation Levels on Package Greater than 1 Rem/Hr Limit | The following report was received from the Texas Department of State Health Services via email: On January 14, 2016, the licensee notified the Agency (Texas Department of State Health Services) that it had received an exclusive use shipment of sources in Type A containers that originated in Maryland. The dose rate on one of the containers, which held an 8.4 curie Cobalt-60 source (current activity/decay corrected), exceeded the 1,000 mR/hr limit. The highest dose rate reading on the exterior of the container was 1,900 mR/hr. The licensee surveyed the cab of the truck and measured a dose rate of less than 0.05 mR/hr for the driver. The exterior of the trailer was surveyed and the left side highest measurement was 120 mR/hr and the right side was 50 mR/hr. These dose rates for cab and trailer are below regulatory limits. The licensee reported that none of its workers received any overexposure. More information will be provided as it is obtained in accordance with SA-300. Texas Incident #: I 9371
The following event retraction was received from the State of Texas via email: Texas does not have any regulatory authority for this event. The shipper is licensed by the State of California. Event information has been sent to Robert Greger in California. Headquarters Operations Officer and NMSS Regional Coordinator directed that we (State of Texas) retract our event and for California to report. Notified the R4DO (Farnholtz), NMSS Events Notification, RGN-IV (Erickson), and RGN-IV (Tharakan) via email. |