The following information was provided by the
South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (the Department) via email:
On September 16, 2024, at 1415 EDT, the Department was notified by Alpek Polyester (the licensee) that while performing semi-annual shutter checks the licensee discovered that two
gauges (model: Berthold
LB 300 IRL) had cables that were malfunctioning, and that the sources were unable to be retracted to the shielded and locked position. One
gauge contains a 6 mCi (original activity)
cobalt-60 source and the other contains a 2.5 mCi (original activity)
cobalt-60 source. Currently the
cobalt sources are 1.07 mCi and 0.044 mCi, respectively. These sources were placed into service on September 17, 2011. On September 17, 2024, the department on-call duty officer met the licensee's radiation safety officer at 0900 EDT to perform a visual inspection and radiation survey of the
gauge. The highest radiation measured was 0.5 microR/hr. The licensee has contacted a licensed vendor to schedule the repair of the drive cables.