On September 16, 2013, the licensee notified the Agency [Texas Department of Health] that on September 13, 2013, one of its radiography crews had been unable to retract a
Iridium-192 source back into a SPEC 150 exposure device at a temporary work site in Tilden,
Texas. Following the first exposure of the morning, the source pigtail would not retract fully into the device. An authorized person performed the source retrieval. This individual received 20 millirem and the individual that assisted him received 10 millirem. No member of the public received any exposure as a result of this event.
The licensee's radiation safety officer inspected the inside of the source guide tube using a tube scope and found that the coil in the source guide tube was pushed out into the inside of the tube where the connector fitting was crimped onto the guide tube. The connector had just been replaced by a local service company. An investigation into this event is ongoing. Information will be provided as it is obtained in accordance with SA-300.
Texas State Report # I-9114