ENS 48634
ENS Event | |
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08:00 Dec 13, 2012 | |
Title | Agreement State Report - Open Transport Vehicle with Rad Levels Exceeding Limits |
Event Description | The following information was received from the Washington State Division of Radiation Protection via e-mail:
Shipment number GE-IL-120712-USEW arrived at the US Ecology waste site on the morning of December 11, 2012. The shipment manifest listed Zn-65 and Co60 as the isotopes. The material is NARM material. Total activity 3.02E6 MBq. Total volume 6.07 m3. Total weight 15,082 Kg. Waste class A- stable. The drums were accelerator targets from GE Healthcare in Illinois and New Jersey, loaded in boxes, which were again loaded in drums and cemented in place. The outer drums were DOT 7A containers. The entity signing the shippers certification on the manifest was GE Healthcare in Illinois. US Ecology staff conducted surveys of the shipping vehicle, and reported to Washington State Department of Health that the dose rate on the bottom of the truck was greater than 200 mr/hr with a side wall GM detector. Washington State Department of Health inspector used an Eberline RO2 ion chamber to get a more accurate measurement, and found that the dose rate measured with the meter bottom flush with the bottom of the floor I beams was 250 mr/hr. The shipment shifted in transportation, and was not braced to withstand conditions of normal transportation. The shipment contained drums strapped to small pallets. Upon inspecting the shipment, the drums were not tightly contained in the trailer, noted by gaps between the toe boards and the drums, loose straps in the rear of the drums, and large spaces between the load locks and the drums. The driver was asked if his trip was normal, without any abnormal stops, turns, stops or bumps, and he said it was a very smooth ride, all on interstate, but he picked the load up in Iowa after the 1st truck had mechanical issues. One large drum in the center of the shipment had lead shielding blankets underneath the pallet it was on, and this drum could be rocked back and forth a few inches, while it was still strapped in the truck. A more detailed inspection of the packages occurred on the December 12th and 13th, including using the RO2 on the bottom of drums that exhibited higher than manifested dose rates. Two drums were found to have external, on contact dose rates of 1.5 R/hr. One drum's lid was not correctly installed. While there was no evidence of leakage, nor did the lid come off, it was not properly installed. The shipment required the use of 7A containers. One drum could not be correlated to the manifest, as there was a transposition error in the drum number. A call to the generator corrected the problem. The dose rate at the drivers area and the outside of the shipment vehicle were within the limits for transportation. No material was detected to have leaked from the containers. There is no suspected overexposures caused by this incident. Washington State Report WA-12-081 |
Where | |
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Ge Healthcare Arlington Heights, Washington (NRC Region 4) | |
Organization: | Wa Division Of Radiation Protection |
Reporting | |
Agreement State | |
Time - Person (Reporting Time:+369.45 h15.394 days <br />2.199 weeks <br />0.506 months <br />) | |
Opened: | Sean Murphy 17:27 Dec 28, 2012 |
NRC Officer: | Bill Huffman |
Last Updated: | Dec 28, 2012 |
48634 - NRC Website | |
Ge Healthcare with Agreement State | |
WEEKMONTHYEARENS 567912023-10-12T05:00:00012 October 2023 05:00:00
[Table view]Agreement State Missing Radiopharmaceutical Package Shipment ENS 559952022-07-14T01:22:00014 July 2022 01:22:00 Agreement State Lost Sources ENS 539512019-03-18T04:00:00018 March 2019 04:00:00 Agreement State Agreement State Report - Generator Lost in Transit ENS 538802019-02-14T08:00:00014 February 2019 08:00:00 Agreement State Agreement State Report - Lost Mo-99/Tc-99 Generator ENS 533392018-04-16T19:15:00016 April 2018 19:15:00 Agreement State Agreement State Report - Technetium-99M Generator Lost in Transit ENS 521602016-08-08T05:00:0008 August 2016 05:00:00 Agreement State Agreement State Report: Lost Iodine-125 Seeds ENS 496562013-12-16T06:00:00016 December 2013 06:00:00 Agreement State Agreement State Report - Lost Vial of Thallium-201 ENS 486342012-12-13T08:00:00013 December 2012 08:00:00 Agreement State Agreement State Report - Open Transport Vehicle with Rad Levels Exceeding Limits ENS 452912009-07-09T05:00:0009 July 2009 05:00:00 Agreement State Agreement State Report - Medical Event Involving Radiopharmaceuticals 2023-10-12T05:00:00 | |