ENS Event | |
|---|---|
05:00 Sep 6, 2024 | |
| Title | Missing Gauges |
| Event Description | The following is a summary of information provided by the Kentucky Department for Public Health and Safety, Radiation Health Branch (RHB) via phone:
In the conduct of their regulatory duties, RHB established a program to collect and store nuclear gauges from closed or abandoned mining sites. This initiative is aimed at preventing improper disposal of nuclear gauges during reclamation operations. On September 6, 2024, RHB inspected one such coal mining facility located in Helton, KY, in an attempt to recover six fixed Cs-137 level gauges with an aggregate activity of approximately 700 mCi. The storage facility for the gauges was found open and the gauges were missing. The last recorded inventory of the gauges occurred in 2021. Local law enforcement and state emergency operations were notified. It is believed that the gauges were improperly discarded either by the previous owner or by the reclamation company. RHB will continue to investigate this event and provide updates in accordance with SA-300. No risk to the public is anticipated from this event. 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 | |
|---|---|
| Coal Mining Facility Helton, Kentucky (NRC Region 1) | |
| License number: | TBD |
| Organization: | Kentucky Dept Of Radiation Control |
| Reporting | |
| Agreement State | |
| Time - Person (Reporting Time:+13.82 h0.576 days <br />0.0823 weeks <br />0.0189 months <br />) | |
| Opened: | Matthew Mckinley 18:49 Sep 6, 2024 |
| NRC Officer: | Josue Ramirez |
| Last Updated: | Sep 6, 2024 |
| 57312 - NRC Website | |
Coal Mining Facility with Agreement State | |
WEEKMONTHYEARENS 573122024-09-06T05:00:0006 September 2024 05:00:00
[Table view]Agreement State Missing Gauges 2024-09-06T05:00:00 | |