Event Notification Report for September 22, 2022

AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - LOSS OF SOURCES

The following information was provided by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (the Department) via email:

"Today, September 14, 2022, Air Liquide notified the Department that their two dew point testers are considered lost at this time. The dew point tester was manufactured by ALNOR. The device model numbers were 7280U with serial number 12476 and 7200U with serial number 22469. Both devices each contained 6.25 microCuries of Ra-226."

The following additional information was obtained from the licensee in accordance with Headquarters Operations Officers Report Guidance:

The last known inventory of the two missing sources occurred in 2007. The facility in which the missing sources were held closed in 2021.

Louisiana Incident Number: LA20220009

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.

AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - STUCK OPEN SHUTTER

The following information was provided by the Texas Department of State Health Services (Agency) via email:

"On September 14, 2022, the Agency was notified by the licensee that the shutter on a Thermo Fisher Scientific model 5208 gauge had failed to close during routine testing. The gauge contains a 1,000 milliCurie cesium - 137 source. Open is the normal operating position for the gauge shutter. The failure does not present an exposure risk to any individual. The licensee is unsure if they will have the gauge repaired or replaced. Additional information will be provided in accordance with SA-300."

Texas Incident Number: I-9958

AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - DAMAGED GAUGE WITH SOURCE DISPLACEMENT

The following information was provided by the Kentucky Department for Public Health & Safety, Radiation Health Branch (KYRHB) via email:

"KYRHB was notified on 9/14/2022 by the RSO [Radiation Safety Officer] from SME, New Albany, Indiana, that a Troxler 3411-B portable moisture density gauge (Serial Number 13640; Cs-137: 8 mCi; Am-241:Be: 40 mCi) was significantly damaged after it was impacted by a bulldozer at a temporary jobsite. The gauge was in use when the operator of the bulldozer stopped within 8-10 feet of the moisture density gauge. After a brief pause and despite attempts by the authorized user to stop the driver, [the bulldozer] proceeded forward and subsequently impacted the device, resulting in breakage of the notched index rod, and displacement of the entire source rod (Cs-137) from the device minus the lead shielding. The area was cordoned off in a 100-foot diameter circle and the RSO was contacted. The source rod containing the Cs-137 source was successfully reinserted into the device and readings with a GM detector confirmed no residual radioactivity remained after removal of the gauge from the site. The condition of the 40 mCi Am-241:Be source was not determined but the gauge housing did not suffer significant damage. No overexposures are expected from the incident, but dosimetry for the personnel involved has been requested. The damaged gauge will be transported to the company's headquarters in Plymouth, MI for leak testing and final disposition. A follow-up inspection of the licensee is planned as a follow up to this incident."

Kentucky Incident Number: KY 220005