ENS Event | |
|---|---|
04:00 Jun 15, 2021 | |
| Title | Private Citizen in Possession of Nuclear Material |
| Event Description | The following was received from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) via email:
On Tuesday evening, June 15, 2021, the DEP was notified that a member of the public had come to the Mountain Lakes police HQ to report that he had in his possession some radioactive material that he had obtained 60 years ago when he worked for Westinghouse as an engineer. The material was reported to be "Nuclear Reactor grade U-238 with 5 percent U-235 enriched". The citizen further stated that the material is wrapped in lead foil and placed in a lead pipe with the ends pinched over. The material allegedly consists of three or four rejected pellets, approximately 3/8 inch diameter. These were rejected because of dimensional irregularities. They are allegedly doughnut shaped with a hole in the center. They were reportedly to be used in Westinghouse nuclear reactors/steam power. The citizen stated that the material in question has been stored for decades in a lead pipe, sealed off at the ends, and then tightly wrapped in lead sheeting. It was also clearly labelled with the word "Radioactive" and then placed inside a large can, which has been securely stored in the citizen's garage for several decades. DEP personnel responded to the citizen's home on June 17, 2021. The material was found stored as the citizen had previously described. The container was not opened. There was no detectable removable contamination on the outside of the container. The material was returned to the garage where it will be secured pending proper disposal. |
| Where | |
|---|---|
| Private Citizen Mountain Lakes, New Jersey (NRC Region 1) | |
| License number: | N/A |
| Organization: | Nj Dept Of Environmental Protection |
| Reporting | |
| Agreement State | |
| Time - Person (Reporting Time:+62.12 h2.588 days <br />0.37 weeks <br />0.0851 months <br />) | |
| Opened: | Richard Peros 18:07 Jun 17, 2021 |
| NRC Officer: | Jeffrey Whited |
| Last Updated: | Jun 17, 2021 |
| 55315 - NRC Website | |
Private Citizen with Agreement State | |
WEEKMONTHYEARENS 553162021-06-16T04:00:00016 June 2021 04:00:00
[Table view]Agreement State Private Citizen in Possession of Nuclear Material ENS 553152021-06-15T04:00:00015 June 2021 04:00:00 Agreement State Private Citizen in Possession of Nuclear Material ENS 450542009-05-07T06:00:0007 May 2009 06:00:00 Agreement State Agreement State Report - Radium Source Found 2021-06-16T04:00:00 | |