ENS 53706
ENS Event | |
|---|---|
05:00 Oct 1, 2018 | |
| Title | Missing Electron Capture Devices |
| Event Description | The following was received via email:
Specific Location Information Where Incident Occurred: Pace Analytical Services, Beaver-WV Environmental Laboratory Incident, Amount: In [Pace's] inventory, [Pace] had six spare Agilent ECDs [Electron Capture Devices]. [Pace] believes they were accidentally placed in the trash for disposal and were subsequently placed in the local landfill. The ECDs have a sealed source with approximately 15 milliCuries of Nickel 63 each. These were the ECDs only and not the entire instrument, Gas Chromatograph (GC). ECDs / Models: F6470 / 19233 F6526 / 19233 L2643 / 19233 L7189 / 19233 F4602 / 19233 F6242 / 19233 Date of Lost/Misplaced ECDs, Last Time Seen: Identified as missing October 1, 2018. Confirmed to be missing October 3, 2018 Last seen September 26, 2018. Believed to be placed in the laboratory trash September 26th-29th, 2018. Root Cause: During a clean-up/lean event employees were going through the lab and reorganizing/disposing of unneeded materials. The six ECDs were used as reserves for GC instrumentation and placed in a bag in efforts to not dispose of them. At some point later in the week, it is believed that either an employee or cleaning person mistook the bag as garbage and threw them away. Measures to Recover: Upon discovering the lost ECDs, Pace contacted the trash hauler - Raleigh County Solid Waste Authority. They stated that, due to the length of time that has passed since disposal, the likelihood of recovery is essentially zero. Due to the process of filling hollow-like areas, anything disposed has approximately 20 feet of additional material over it, and they have no way of knowing where the truck would have dumped the materials. 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 |
| Where | |
|---|---|
| Pace Analytical Services Minneapolis, Minnesota (NRC Region 3) | |
| License number: | Gl |
| Organization: | Pace Analytical Services |
| Reporting | |
| 10 CFR 20.2201(a)(1)(i) | |
| Time - Person (Reporting Time:+725.3 h30.221 days <br />4.317 weeks <br />0.994 months <br />) | |
| Opened: | Adam Netzer 10:18 Oct 31, 2018 |
| NRC Officer: | Bethany Cecere |
| Last Updated: | Oct 31, 2018 |
| 53706 - NRC Website | |
Pace Analytical Services with 10 CFR 20.2201(a)(1)(i) | |
WEEKMONTHYEARENS 537062018-10-01T05:00:0001 October 2018 05:00:00
[Table view]10 CFR 20.2201(a)(1)(i) Missing Electron Capture Devices 2018-10-01T05:00:00 | |