The following report was received by the
Texas Dept of State Health Services Investigations Unit Radiation Branch via e-mail:
On October 14, 2011, the Agency [Texas Dept of State Health Services] was notified by the licensee that on October 14, 2011, a radiography team was unable to retract a 32 curie Iridium - 192 source to the exposure device. The QSA model 880 D exposure device was set on a pipe to perform radiography on an adjacent pipe. The exposure device fell off the pipe approximately 18 inches and the return portion of the crankout tube was crimped preventing the radiographer from fully retracting the source. The radiographer contacted his Radiation Safety Officer and notified them of the event. The radiographer is qualified to perform source recoveries, so he dismantled the crankout device, pulled the drive cable out of the crankout device, and manually retracted the source to its fully retracted and locked position. No member of the general public received any exposure during this event. The radiographer received a total of 20 millirem for the day. Visual inspection of the exposure device did not find any damage to the camera. The licensee has removed the exposure device and crankout device from service and will send them back to the manufacturer for inspection and repair. Additional information will be provided as it is received in accordance with SA-300.
Texas Incident Number: I-8893