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| Discovered date | Reporting criterion | Title | Description | LER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENS 54628 | 31 March 2020 23:50:00 | Non | Notification of a Non-Emergency Unusual Event Due to a Seismic Event | The following is a summary of information received from the Idaho State University Reactor Facility via phone conversation: At 1750 MDT on March 31, 2020, the licensee declared a Notification of Unusual Event due to seismic activity felt from an earthquake originating in southern Idaho. The facility was closed due to the suspension of all campus activities set forth by the pandemic response. The reactor was shutdown at the time of the earthquake and is being constantly monitored by the campus public safety office. Inspections of the facility will be performed. The licensee notified the NRR Project Manager (Yin).
The licensee has finished conducting visual inspections and monitoring activity levels throughout the facility. All indications came back normal. The licensee also verified the seismic indicator was still in its proper position. Notified NRR PM (Yin) and NPR (Reed). | |
| ENS 53012 | 13 October 2017 06:00:00 | 10 CFR 20.2201(a)(1)(i) | Lost or Missing Material | A series 50 nuclear accident dosimeter S/N AP237 with a 1 gram 62 mCi Pu-239 source was determined missing on 10/13/17. The dosimeter was one of 14 received by Idaho State University from the Department of Energy (DOE) in 1991. In 2003, this particular dosimeter was found to have detectable surface contamination and determined to have a compromised source. The device was removed from local inventory in 2003 pending transfer. Attempts were made to transfer the device to Idaho National Lab (INEL), but were declined. The device is believed to have been placed in the Idaho State University nuclear waste stream, and may have been transferred in 2006 or 2011 with other waste via Thomas Gray to US Ecology, but there are no supporting records. Investigation is ongoing. THIS MATERIAL EVENT CONTAINS A "LESS THAN CAT 3" LEVEL OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL Sources that are "Less than IAEA Category 3 sources," are either sources that are very unlikely to cause permanent injury to individuals or contain a very small amount of radioactive material that would not cause any permanent injury. Some of these sources, such as moisture density gauges or thickness gauges that are Category 4, the amount of unshielded radioactive material, if not safely managed or securely protected, could possibly - although it is unlikely - temporarily injure someone who handled it or were otherwise in contact with it, or who were close to it for a period of many weeks. For additional information go to http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1227_web.pdf | |
| ENS 46225 | 2 September 2010 06:00:00 | 10 CFR 20.2201(a)(1)(i) | Misplaced Button Sources | On 9/2/2010, the licensee concluded that they were unable to account for two (2) Pu-239 solid sources that are about the size of a quarter each. Each source is estimated to weight about 1 gm with a source strength of 60 milliCuries and is in a non-dispersible form. The licensee noted that these sources were missing as a result of a normal inventory and leak test procedure on 8/19/10. Since that time the licensee has conducted an intensive search for the material both visually and using detection instrumentation but was unable to locate the material. The licensee discovered that the lost sources were last checked out of their storage location as part of a group of 10 such sources in April 2010. In July 2010 records indicate that only 8 of 10 sources were checked out since only 8 were available at the time. The licensee has restricted access to the sources and implemented additional controls for being able to check out the sources that include using a two man rule.
As of 2/11/11 at approximately 1710 EST, the licensee has formally declared the two plutonium button sources lost. The licensee stated that following extensive searching the sources are considered lost. The licensee notes that it has been in contact with responsible staff at NRC Region 4 and that the NRC had sent inspectors to the facility on October 4 and October 18, 2010. The licensee will continue to stress an awareness of the missing sources to personnel and emphasize continued vigilance for finding the sources. The licensee has not reached any conclusion as to what happened to the lost sources. R4DO (Clark), FSME (McConnell), and ILTAB (Hahn) notified.
The two missing plutonium sources have been found inside a source vault mixed in with other radioactive materials in storage for decay purposes. Notified R4DO(O'Keefe), FSME(Michalak), and ILTAB(Johnson). THIS MATERIAL EVENT CONTAINS A "LESS THAN CAT 3" LEVEL OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL Sources that are "Less than IAEA Category 3 sources," are either sources that are very unlikely to cause permanent injury to individuals or contain a very small amount of radioactive material that would not cause any permanent injury. Some of these sources, such as moisture density gauges or thickness gauges that are Category 4, the amount of unshielded radioactive material, if not safely managed or securely protected, could possibly - although it is unlikely - temporarily injure someone who handled it or were otherwise in contact with it, or who were close to it for a period of many weeks. For additional information go to http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1227_web.pdf This source is not amongst those sources or devices identified by the IAEA Code of Conduct for the Safety & Security of Radioactive Sources to be of concern from a radiological standpoint. Therefore is it being categorized as a less than Category 3 source | |
| ENS 40776 | 24 May 2004 15:00:00 | Non | Breach of Primary Fission Product Barrier | During routine annual maintenance, a fueled control rod was determined to have a cladding failure. The control rod end cap weld was broken and the fuel in the fueled control rod had been exposed. A preliminary radiological assessment was performed and showed negligible release. There was minimum surface contamination isolated to the area of the breach. Radiation readings on contact were less than 20 millirem/hour. All air sample concentrations were well below 10CFR20 Derived Air Concentration (DAC) limits. Licensee notified the NRC Program Manager for Non Power Reactors and the Region 4 RA. |