The following report was received from the
Texas Department of Health Radiation Branch via e-mail:
On June 23, 2011, the Agency [Texas Dept of Health] was notified by the licensee that a 67.5 Curie Iridium (Ir) - 192 source disconnected from its drive cable during radiographic operations. The licensee reported that the radiographer had completed the first shoot of the day and when he tried to retract the source to the QSA Global 880D camera, he noted that the source had disconnected from the drive cable. The radiographer isolated the area and contacted his Radiation Safety Officer (RSO). A source retrieval team was sent to the location. The source retrieval team verified that the source was in the collimator and then detached the guide tube from the camera. Using remote handling tools, the source was shaken out of the guide tube and placed into the camera.
The RSO stated that no overexposure occurred and that there was no exposure to any member of the general public. The personnel dosimetry devices of the retrieval team have been sent to the licensee's processor for immediate reading. The cause for the source disconnect is unknown at this time. The camera will be returned to the manufacturer for inspection and for assistance in determining why the connector between the source pigtail and the drive cable disconnected. Additional information will be provided as it is received in accordance with SA-300.
Texas Incident # I - 8865