The following was received from the
California Department of Public Health, Radiologic Health Branch via email:
On May 4, 2022, the Radiation Safety Officer for Eckert & Ziegler Isotope Products, Inc. (EZIP) contacted Los Angeles County Radiation Management regarding two missing sources. Pennsylvania licensee Abington Jefferson Health, located in North Wales, PA, shipped a package on October 21, 2021, and [the common carrier] tracking information indicated the package was delivered to EZIP with no receipt signature on October 22, 2021. Abington Jefferson Health contacted EZIP on November 10, 2021, requesting a receipt for confirmation of the returned sources. The sources were two gadolinium-153 line sources, with approximately 13 millicuries (mCi) each (greater than 1000 times the Appendix C value of 10 microCi). EZIP did not have a record of receipt of the package, and a search of the EZIP facility did not find the sources.
The notification to Los Angeles County Radiation Management by EZIP was delayed due to confusion by EZIP regarding whether the package had been returned to Abington Jefferson Health by [the common carrier].
5010 Number: 050422
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