Event Notification Report for June 30, 2000

- GRAND VIEW HOSPITAL, SELLERSVILLE, PA, MISSING TWO 0.38 MILLICURIE I-125 SEEDS -

At 1100 on 06/30/00, Grand View Hospital, Sellersville, PA, received a shipment of two vials of I-125 seeds from Imagyn Medical Technologies, Lenexa, KS. The shipping papers stated that the first vial contained one calibration seed and the second vial contained 81 seeds. Each seed contained 0.38 millicuries of I-125. However, when hospital personnel opened the vials, the second vial contained only 80 seeds instead of 81 seeds. Hospital personnel notified Imagyn, the shipper, International Isotopes, Benton, TX, and NRC Region 1 (Neelam Bhalla). Imagyn started an investigation into the missing seed.

On 07/17/00, Grand View Hospital received another shipment of two vials of I-125 seeds from Imagyn. The shipping papers stated that the first vial contained one calibration seed and the second vial contained 94 seeds. Each seed contained 0.38 millicuries of I-125. However, when hospital personnel opened the shipping container, the container contained only one vial, the one with the calibration seed.

Hospital personnel notified Imagyn and requested an emergency shipment of the missing vial containing 94 seeds.

At 0300 on 07/18/00, hospital personnel received the emergency shipment of one vial of I-125 seeds from Imagyn. The shipping papers stated that the vial contained 94 seeds. However, when hospital personnel opened the vial, it contained only 93 seeds instead of 94 seeds. Hospital personnel notified Imagyn and NRC Region 1 (Neelam Bhalla).

STOLEN AND RECOVERED GENERALLY LICENSED X-RAY FLOURESCENCE ANALYZER

A representative for the EPA reported that a Thermo Fisher Scientific Niton XLp 722W XRF metal analyzer was stolen and subsequently recovered. The analyzer was inside a car parked at a hotel in Anderson, South Carolina and was stolen sometime during the night of 6/30/11. The technician using the gauge discovered the theft in the morning and filed a police report. Shortly thereafter, on 6/30/11, the police recovered the gauge at a nearby dumpster. The gauge appear to be undamaged but was sent to the vendor for inspection. The gauge has been returned to the EPA and is currently back in service. The gauge contains a 40 milliCurie Cd-109 source and two Am-241 sources with a total activity of 14.005 milliCuries.

The licensee did not originally recognize the reportability of this event. After discussions with NRC R1 (Welling) and NRC FSME HQ (McIntosh), the licensee is making this report.

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