The following was received via facsimile:
An empty Type B, 30 gallon drum container was shipped on August 20, 2009 via public carrier from NSSI Sources and Services Inc. from Houston, Texas. It was delivered on August 25, 2009 to a Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) job site within a building at Penn State University in State College, PA. The shipping container was found to have external removable alpha contamination in excess of the US DOT limits noted in 49 CFR 173. LANL personnel informed their management and the carrier. Steps were also taken to verify that the contamination did not originate at Penn State. The individual truck that delivered the package to Penn State was surveyed by LANL personnel at about 2100 on 8/25/09. No contamination was found in the truck or the driver's area. There was no risk to any personnel at this facility due to this event. The first wipe found removable alpha contamination well in excess of the 2.2 dpm/centimeter squared DOT limit. After hours of decon, the removable contamination on the shipping containers was still over the limit. Onsite measurements noted little or no associated gamma radiation, and a sample was sent to LANL for alpha spectrum analysis. The material has been tentatively identified as curium-244 (Cm-244).
PA DEP (Department of Radiation Protection) Bureau of Radiation Protection (BRP) was initially notified August 26, 2009 and has continued to receive more complete information through September 1st. LANL will put a new lid on the drum, package up the waste, and get things ready for shipping on September 2, 2009.
The Commonwealth of PA has provided email notices of preliminary information related to this event to the NRC Region 1 State Liaison, and will continue to keep NRC informed of the status of our investigation.
See also EN #45309 for the Texas report on the same event.
State Event #: PA090028