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| Entered date | Event description | |
|---|---|---|
| ENS 54429 | 9 December 2019 16:45:00 | EN Revision Text: AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - LOST TRITIUM EXIT SIGN This is a summary of information received from the state of Nebraska via a phone call: On November 20, 2019, the state of Nebraska identified a lost tritium exit sign during their quarterly reports. The general licensee indicated that they improperly disposed of the exit sign by donating it to a second-hand store on May 15, 2019. The exit sign has not been located at this time. The second-hand store turns over their inventory every six months, so it is believed that the exit sign has been sold or disposed of. The tritium exit sign is a Betalux model BX-20-BK (S/N: C167432) with an activity of 17.51 Ci. No further investigation is planned at this time and Nebraska has closed the event. Nebraska incident number: NE190005
The following was received from the state of Nebraska via email: On 11/20/2019, Dr. Michael Meyer, M.D. left a message reporting the loss of an exit sign that contained 17.51 Curies of Tritium, indicating he had donated the sign to Goodwill at 156th Street and Maple Road in Omaha approximately May 15, 2019. On 11/21/2019, the department (Nebraska Division of Public Health) spoke with the manager of the donation site who was unable to locate the sign. On 11/22/2019 the department spoke with Dr. Meyer again to see if he had obtained a receipt for his donation as he could not remember the exact date it was disposed of. He claimed it was put in a box with some clothes and taken to the drop-off site. Dr. Meyer did not obtain a receipt and Goodwill does not keep copies of donation receipts. The department then spoke with Goodwill's Director of Operations on 11/25/2019. The Director stated that all donations are processed within 24 hours of receipt and Goodwill does not have inventory tracking detailed enough to be able to tell if/when it was sold. Inventory is turned over every six months and after the six month period unsold items are taken to the landfill. There will be no further follow-up. Notified R4DO (Josey) and NMSS Events (email). 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 54432 | 10 December 2019 10:14:00 | EN Revision Text: AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - LOST TRITIUM EXIT SIGN This is a summary of information received from the state of Nebraska via a phone call: On December 2, 2019, the state of Nebraska identified a lost tritium exit sign that was improperly transferred by the licensee to the state of Wisconsin. The general licensee indicated that they transferred the exit sign to a electronics company in Wisconsin, which was not licensed to possess radioactive materials. It is believed that the sign was reused by the electric company. The company was contacted and is working with the Wisconsin Department of Health on ascertaining the exit sign's location. The tritium exit sign is a Isolite model 2000 (S/N: H114041) with an activity of 12.57 Ci. No further investigation is planned at this time and Nebraska has closed the event. Nebraska incident number: NE190006
This is a summary of information received from the state of Nebraska via email: On 12/12/2019 the Wisconsin Radioactive Program confirmed the sign (S/N: H114041) had been found and installed in Joliet, IL. Notified R4DO (Drake) and NMSS Events (email). 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 54490 | 22 January 2020 17:46:00 | The following was received via phone notification from the State of Nebraska Department of Radiological Health (NDRH): On January 22, 2020, the NDRH received notification in the mail that during the annual survey, the Gateway Mall identified that 2 self luminous signs were missing and 7 signs that were removed during construction were unaccounted for. These signs contained tritium (H3), originally in the amount of 11.5 Curies each. NDRH is going to follow-up on this event.
It was identified that eight of the tritium signs contained 11.5 Curies each and one of the signs contained 20 Curies. The Gateway Mall will follow up with the construction company to verify whether the signs have been properly disposed of as well as double checking with the maintenance shop to see if the report of the missing signs had been made in error. Notified R4DO (Silvia), ILTAB (email), and NMSS Events (email).
Gateway Mall General Manager was able to contact the construction company. It was determined that the signs had been removed from service by the construction company and stored at Gateway Mall. Signs reported missing in the maintenance shop were located as well. All nine signs have been located and accounted for. Notified R4DO (Silvia), ILTAB (email), and NMSS Events (email). 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 54500 | 29 January 2020 17:30:00 | This is a summary of information received from the state of Nebraska via a phone call: On 1/29/2020, the licensee notified Nebraska that they are currently unable to locate 31 tritium exit signs. The tritium exit signs have all been replaced by LED signs, but management has been unable to locate the disposal records and are considering the signs lost at this time. 29 of the signs contain approximately 9.21 Ci of tritium each and 2 of the signs contain approximately 7.09 Ci of tritium each. Nebraska incident number: NE200002 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 54793 | 20 July 2020 17:35:00 | The following was received from the state of Nebraska via email and phone: Approximately April 2019, a tritium exit sign was thrown away with construction debris while a contractor was cleaning up to remodel from catastrophic flooding in Pender, Nebraska. The sign was discovered missing when inventory was taken 7/17/2020. Device Name: RADIOLUMINESCENT SIGN Manufacturer: Best Lighting Model Number: SLTURW10 Serial Number: 165713 Radionuclide: H-3 Activity: 7.03 Ci (260.11 GBq) Nebraska Incident Report No.: NE200005 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 54878 | 3 September 2020 16:17:00 | EN Revision Imported Date : 10/2/2020 AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - LOST TRITIUM EXIT SIGNS This is information received from the state of Nebraska via email: In conducting a search for records for NRC Event #54500, it was determined that Home Depot #3210 was remodeled at the same time as Home Depot #3208 in Grand Island, NE and all (16) tritium exit signs were exchanged for LED in May 2012. Disposal records are unavailable due to Staybright Electric, the contractor in charge of replacement and disposal, going out of business. Home Depot was unable to produce disposal records but it is their belief that the signs were disposed of properly as Staybright conducted tritium exit sign removals for other Home Depots in the region prior to their closing for which records of disposal were obtained, demonstrating knowledge of proper procedure. The State of Nebraska also checked with Tritiumdisposal.com and SRBT in attempt to locate records as the outlets of disposal for Staybright, but no records were found. Home Depot currently has a plan in place that was submitted to the NRC in July of 2009 for facility management to reiterate tritium exit sign management requirements to existing vendors to ensure signs are managed within NRC requirements. As part of ongoing tritium exit sign servicing it is very reasonable to believe that Staybright transferred and disposed of tritium exit sign inventory properly. Home Depot continues to proactively address and replace (as appropriate) its remaining tritium exit sign inventories through the use of professional, third party vendors and continues to responsibly manage its existing inventories at current stores throughout the United States. A Home Depot corporate representative will track all purchases and returned signs to ensure accurate inventory and disposal. All Tritium Exit Signs have been replaced with LED. Home Depot will no longer install tritium exit signs within newly constructed locations. Nebraska Item Number: NE200006
This is information received from the state of Nebraska via email: While the Home Depots were remodeled at similar times, it was found that the tritium exit signs at Store 3210 in Scottsbluff were kept in service until the end of their useful life. Records were recovered showing all signs being disposed of by Curie Environmental Services in Albuquerque, NM on 9/20/2019. Notified R4DO (Silva), NMSS Events (email), and ILTAB (email). 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 54990 | 10 November 2020 16:27:00 | The following was received from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (the Department) via email: On November 2, 2020, the Department received a call from a licensee about disposal of a sealed source device. The licensee was getting ready to dispose of their device and was informed by their surplus department that it had been accidentally sold at a surplus auction on September 17, 2020. Sale information was retrieved from auction records on November 3, 2020, and the purchaser was located and contacted. The device had been delivered to the purchaser in Columbus, Ohio and the purchaser is working with the licensee to properly dispose of the device. The device is to be retrieved from Columbus, Ohio by the disposal company, but a date has not yet been set. The licensee will notify the Department when disposal arrangements have been finalized. Nebraska Incident Number: NE200009. 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 55062 | 12 January 2021 10:00:00 | The following is a summary of a telephone notification from the Nebraska Division of Radioactive Materials (the Department): The Department was notified by the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints (church) that they were replacing their Tritium exit signs with LED signs. When the Department compared the inventory lists they identified that two signs were missing from the list. The church is investigating, with the signs identified as missing at this time. The documentation indicates the two missing signs are Isolite brand with serial numbers A391989 and A391995. The original curie content was 11.5 curies of tritium each. The Department will update this report when they receive more information.
The following retraction was received via telephone from the Department: The two missing tritium exit signs were found. Notified R4DO (O'Keefe) and NMSS Events Notification and ILTAB via email. 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 55073 | 19 January 2021 16:37:00 | The following information was received via E-mail: The licensee's facility management group was going through their records and inventory. They discovered that six tritium exit signs at the Church in Blair, NE had been replaced with non-tritium signs in 2007. They are unable to find the documentation regarding the signs' disposal and therefore are unable to determine if they were disposed of properly. The building and storage buildings were searched and the signs were not found. Due to the lapse in time and purchase date of 10/25/1993, serial numbers were not available and no further follow-up will be conducted. Nebraska Item Number: NE210002 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 55672 | 23 December 2021 10:05:00 | The following information was provided by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services via email: During annual inventory inspection, two devices were found missing and new non-radioactive exit lights had been installed. Further investigation found that on October 11, 2021, Slater Electric of Grand Island, NE was hired to install the devices. Removal of the tritium (23 curies) devices was not part of the scope of work, but Slater took it upon themselves to remove the old devices and disposed of them in the garbage at their shop in Grand Island, NE which has since went to the landfill. To avoid future instances, Aurora Cooperative discussed with Slater Electric the importance of proper disposal of the signs containing radioactive material and steps to take if hired to do such work again. No further follow up is needed. Item Number: NE210004 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 55676 | 27 December 2021 17:20:00 | The following was received from the state of Nebraska via email: During annual inventory, it was noticed by Siouxland Ethanol that one device was missing. The device was not scheduled to be removed or replaced. Part of the mounting hardware and a small portion of the sign casing remained, but the rest of the sign was no longer intact or accounted for. (An employee) checked with maintenance who reported that they had not removed the sign and offered that by the look of what was left it looked like it may have been hit by an implement and the remainder cleaned up by staff not knowing it contained radioactive material. The sign is presumed to have been thrown away in the trash and taken to the landfill. It will be replaced with an LED. No further follow-up is needed. We spoke to them about the need for these signs to be properly disposed of as quite a few in their inventory are nearing the end of their useful life and directed them to where they could find disposal instructions. Nebraska Item Number: NE210005 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 55846 | 15 April 2022 14:56:00 | The following was received from the state of Nebraska, Office of Radiological Health via email: We (Office of Radiological Health) received Central Valley Agriculture GL0746's Annual Radioactive Material Current Inventory and they indicated that they were no longer in possession of 2 tritium exit signs. We spoke with them and they said that the Oak Street property had been sold several years ago and the building torn down. We contacted the new property tenant to confirm, and it was determined that the signs were not on the property, assumed to have been demolished with the previous building. Follow-up complete, no further investigation is needed. Nebraska event number: NE220001 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 55948 | 16 June 2022 15:24:00 | The following is a synopsis of information received via E-mail: Upon inventory inspection, Frenchman Valley discovered that two tritium exit signs that had been in their possession had been replaced. The property was then thoroughly searched twice and the signs were not located. The whereabouts of the signs are unknown and no replacement records were found. The signs were manufactured by Isolite. Both signs were model SLX60. The serial numbers were 12-01067 and 12-01068 with each sign containing 8 Curies of tritium. Nebraska Item Number: NE220002 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 56263 | 7 December 2022 11:02:00 | The following information was provided by the Nebraska Dept. of Health and Human Services via email: The licensee discovered two tritium exit signs were lost. The exit signs are Isolite model SLX60 containing 7.5 Ci of tritium (H-3) each. This is being reported under 10 CFR 20.2202(a)(1)(i). Nebraska Incident No.: NE220006 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.pd |