PNO-I-99-024, on 990516,Saratoga Sheriff Dept Received Call That Suspicious Persons Were Seen Outside Facility Operated by Wright-Malta Corp in Saratoga County,Ny.Sheriff Dept Responded & Found That Facility Had Been Broken Into
| ML20206S016 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 03015089 |
| Issue date: | 05/18/1999 |
| From: | Henderson P, Elizabeth Ullrich NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | |
| References | |
| PNO-I-99-024, PNO-I-99-24, NUDOCS 9905210031 | |
| Download: ML20206S016 (2) | |
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May_18, 1999 L
PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATION OF EVENT OR UNUSUAL OCCURRENCE PNO-I-99-024 This-preliminary notification constitutes EARLY notice of events of POSSIBLE 1 safety or public interest significance. The.information is as initially
. received without' verification or evaluation, and is basically all that is known by Region _I staff in King of Prussia. Pennsylvania on this date.
-Facility. .
Ljcensee Emeroency Classification
' Dept. Of The Army Notification of Unusual Event
" Watervliet Arsenal- Alert Watervliet New York -12189-4050 Site Area Emergency Dockets: 03015089 License No: 31-07595-02 General Emergency X Not Applicable r-
Subject:
POSSIBLE LOSS OF A 3 CURIE TRITIUM SOURCE On the~ evening of Sunday. May 16. 1999, the Saratoga Sheriff's Department
~ received a call that suspicious persons were seen outside a facility -
operated by the Wright-Malta Corporation (WMC) in Saratoga County, New York. The Sheriff's De)artment responded and found that the WMC facility had apparently been brocen into and discovered several military devices abandoned outside the facility. Some of the devices were labeled with
. radiation symbols and a Hazmat team was called. The Hazmat team contacted the Fire Department at the U.S.. Army's Watervliet Arsenal for
' assistance. At 10:00 p.m., the Fire Department contacted Watervliet Arsenal Radiation Safety Officer (RS0) for assistance.
The RSO and'a colleague proceeded to the WMC facility and recovered a
-M1Alcollimatorcontaininga10curiesourceoftritium. A M140
. alignment device that woM normally contain a 3 curie source of tritium
-was also recovered. IM the 3 curie tritium source may be missing as.there is~a hole with t m is on the alignment device that makes it a) pear that the source i e, ceen removed. It is not known at this time
- w1 ether the device .was tiansferred to the WMC without the 3 curie tritium source or whether the source was removed and stolen during the break-in.
Both devices are support instruments for a M109 Self Propelled (SP)
Howitzer. The RS0 determined that the Howitzer and its support instruments have been at the WMC facility since 1996. WMC is a private contractor who develops gun tubes (cannons). WMC does not-hold a raoicactive materials license, nor according to a company official were they ever informed by the contracting office about the presence of the radioactive items on the Howitzer. WMC is located approximately 35 miles frcm the Watervliet Arsenal. According to the Watervliet RSO, staff from the Benet Weapons Lab. which is a tenant organization at the Watervliet Arsenal, have been working at the WMC facility. The Watervliet RSO leak tested the M1A1 and the M140 devices and determined that there is not
. detectable contamination.
The Army is attempting to determine whether the M140 alignment device was sent to WMC with or without the 3 curio source. The Army is also auditing the contracting process to determine the identity of the license
-from which the Howitzer originated. Their initial belief is that the i devices originated from the Watervliet Arsenal, which is licensed for tritium, and is the closest Army installation to WMC and the Benet Weapons Lab has been working at the WMC facility. However, the Army
,,osu oost 990sts o\\ l nuam a u -
hPN6.I-99-024-' ,; .,
l . continues to investigate other possible sources.
The' Army has. custody of the devices and'is cooperating with the local authorities. The individuals' responsible for the break-in have not been P1 apprehended, b The: Army notified'the NRC Operations Center. RI and RIII of this matter on the mcrning of Monday, May 17. 1999. The information in this preliminary notification has been reviewed with licensee management.
The' State of. New York Departments of. Environmental Conservation and' '
Health have been notified.
This information .is current as.of_10:15 a.m.-(EST) on Tuesday, May 18, 1999.
Contact:
Pamela.Henderson- Elizabeth Ullrich (610)337-6952 (610)337-5040 i
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