The equipment supporting the collimator, guide tube, and extension tube fell from a height of 9 feet causing the guide tube to become entangled in the piping below. [The guide tubes fell on equipment below and the short radius bends prevented source retrieval.]
Equipment Involved:
7 foot flexible guide tube Serial Number GT060
7 foot flexible extension tube serial number EXT-15
Exposure device model: Sentinel Delta 880D, serial # D11876
Isotope: Ir-192, source Serial Number 17211G
Source Activity: 102.3 Ci
35 foot Control Assembly S/N 16681
Place: Salt Water Treatment Plant, Central Operating Area, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska
Actions taken to establish normal operations: The radiographer extended his restricted area and contacted the plant operator to inform him of the situation. He and the assistant radiographer then maintained security of the restricted area throughout the duration of the event. At no time did any member of the public enter the restricted area. The Radiation Safety Officer was contacted by the radiographer and arrived on the scene at 2320 hours [AKDT]. Remote handling tools were used to untangle the guide tube and extension tube. Once the equipment was properly laid out the source was retracted to the shielded position using the control assembly.
Corrective actions taken and planned to prevent reoccurrence: Retrain personnel on setup techniques with an increased focus on the stabilization of equipment.
Qualifications [and dose] of personnel involved in incident:
(1) IRRSP card holder, dose received, 7mR
(2) Assistant Radiographer, dose received, 17mR
(3) IRRSP card holder, dose received, 2mR
(4) Jeremey A. Dunning, Site Radiation Safety Officer, IRRSP card holder, Source Retrieval trained by LAMCO & Associate February 25, 2011, dose received, 23mR (Dosimeter)