The following is a summary of a phone call from the licensee:
NVI (Non-Destructive and Visual Inspections) notified the NRC that a radiography camera with a less than 22 Ci Ir-192 source was lost when it fell into approximately 200 feet of international waters from an oil platform in South Pass Section 60-A. The camera (SPEC 150 Model 0605; Source SPEC G-60 S/N AC0160) was locked in the shielded position during setup when the radiographer slipped. The licensee does not plan to retrieve the device.
Additionally, the licensee notified NRC R-IV and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.
THIS MATERIAL EVENT CONTAINS A "CATEGORY 3" LEVEL OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL
Category 3 sources, if not safely managed or securely protected, could cause permanent injury to a person who handled them, or were otherwise in contact with them, for some hours. It could possibly - although it is unlikely - be fatal to be close to this amount of unshielded radioactive material for a period of days to weeks. These sources are typically used in practices such as fixed industrial gauges involving high activity sources (for example: level gauges, dredger gauges, conveyor gauges and spinning pipe gauges) and well logging. For additional information go to http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1227_web.pdf
Note: This device is assigned an
IAEA Category 3 value based on the actual radioactivity of the source, not on the device type. (Reference
IAEA RG-G-1.9)