Event Notification Report for May 18, 2011

AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - RADIOACTIVE SHIPMENT LOST IN TRANSIT

"On May 19, 2011, the Agency [State of Texas] was notified by a shipper that on May 18, 2011, a package carrying a 297 Giga Becquerel Iridium (Ir) 192 source manufactured by Alpha-Omega Laboratory and shipped from Vinton, Louisiana was lost near the intersection of Rankin and Albine Westfield Roads in Houston, Texas. The source is used in a high dose afterloader. The source was being transported to DHL in Houston, Texas for shipment to the country of Brazil. The shipper stated that the door on the back of the truck popped opened and the driver could not see it open or any of the contents from the truck fall onto the road. The truck is a large truck with doors that swing open in the back. A member of the general public (MGP) saw several letters setting on the road and stopped to pick them up. He stated that he saw the small drum the source was packaged in across the road in a church parking lot and did not indicate that he saw any damage to the drum. He could not retrieve the drum because of the traffic and he was taking his wife to a doctor's appointment. On his way back from the doctor office about an hour later the MGP went back by the location where the drum had been and it was gone. He took the letters by a FedEx office and told them what had happened. FedEx responded by driving to the location and searching for the source. They also traced the path traveled by the truck three times, but they did not locate the source. The package the source is contained in is a Type A package, 34 cm in length, 34 cm wide, and 37 cm high and is similar to a 5 gallon paint bucket. The shipper stated that there was a locking device on the container. The container is labeled with a Yellow III label with a transport index of 1.3. Additional information will be provided as it is received in accordance with SA-300."

Later, the state reported that the source has been located at a Houston Area Fire Department. The state will provide additional information as it is received.

Texas Incident #: I - 8854

THIS MATERIAL EVENT CONTAINS A "CATEGORY 3" LEVEL OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL

Category 3 sources, if not safely managed or securely protected, could cause permanent injury to a person who handled them, or were otherwise in contact with them, for some hours. It could possibly - although it is unlikely - be fatal to be close to this amount of unshielded radioactive material for a period of days to weeks. These sources are typically used in practices such as fixed industrial gauges involving high activity sources (for example: level gauges, dredger gauges, conveyor gauges and spinning pipe gauges) and well logging. For additional information go to http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1227_web.pdf

Although IAEA categorization of this event is typically based on device type, the staff has been made aware of the actual activity of the source, and after calculation determines that it is a Category 3 event.

Note: the value assigned by device type "Category 2" is different than the calculated value "Category 3"

AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - LOST AND SUBSEQUENTLY RECOVERED TROXLER GAUGE

The following information was received from the North Carolina Radiation Protection Section via e-mail:

"On May 18, 2011, an employee of S&ME parked a company truck at his house. The truck had a Troxler 3411B Portable Nuclear Gauge double locked in an aluminum box in the bed of the truck.

"The next morning, he discovered the truck missing. Company management was notified, who in turn notified Local Law Enforcement and the agency [State of North Carolina]. About 15 minutes after the Agency notification. the police determined that the vehicle had been towed. The explanation for the towing of the vehicle was that the vehicle, which was in front of the employees residence, had its wheels on the grass.

"The vehicle was retrieved from the towing company. The gauge was still locked in its storage box and appeared untouched."

"Device/Material Info:

Troxler 3411B S/N 13772
Cs-137 S/N 50-2590 9 mCi
Am-241 S/N 47-9185 44 mCi"

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 - STUCK OPEN GAUGE SHUTTER

"On May 19, 2011, the Agency [State of Texas] was notified by the licensee that the shutter on an Ohmart/Vega model SH- F2 containing 1.6 curies of Cesium (Cs) - 137 would not close. The licensee stated that they were making preparations to enter a steel vessel that is 12 inches thick to perform maintenance. The gauge shutter was to be closed before maintenance was started. Open is the normal position for the shutter therefore the gauge does not pose any additional exposure hazard. Access to the tank has been secured and will not be granted until the gauge is repaired. The licensee has contacted a service provider to make the repairs. The gauge was installed in October 2009. The cause for the failure is under investigation. Additional information will be provided as it is received in accordance with SA-300."

Texas Incident number: I - 8852