Event Notification Report for September 19, 2005

STOLEN HUMBOLDT SCIENTIFIC MOISTURE DENSITY GAUGE

An employee of Geomechanics notified his company that a Humboldt Scientific gauge was stolen from his truck. The moisture density gauge is a Humboldt Scientific (Model 5001, S/N 4731) with 40 millicuries of Am-241/Be and 10 millicuries of Cs-137. The source serial numbers are NJ04997 and 5850CM respectively. The employee was parked overnight in a Holiday Inn Express parking lot in Charleston West Virginia when the theft occurred. The gauge was locked in a container, which was chained to the bed of the truck. The licensee notified the LLEA and they are investigating the incident. The licensee is not expecting any media attention, and is not offering a reward.

Less than the quantity of an IAEA Category 3 source.

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.

For some of these sources, such as moisture density gauges or thickness gauges that are IAEA 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.

**** UPDATE 09/23/05 at 1530 EDT from Clay Carney and Walter Lorence to MacKinnon ****

Operations Officer for the State of West Virginia Homeland Security tied the NRC Headquarters Operation Officer with Geomechanics Radiation Safety Officer. The Emergency Director for Boone County, West Virginia, has found the stolen Humboldt Moisture Density gauge intact and in its case. A State of West Virginia police officer is on scene guarding the missing gauge. Geomechanics will be sending a consultant from Applied Health Physics out of Pittsburgh, PA to check the gauge out and bring it back to Geomechanics. Notified NRC R1DO(P. Henderson) & NMSS EO (Scott Moore) and emailed to TAS (L. English).

STOLEN TROXLER MOISTURE DENSITY GAUGE

An employee of GeoTest notified his company that a moisture density gauge was stolen from his job site in Jefferson County, MO. The gauge is a Troxler (Model 3440, S/N 36277) with 40 millicuries of Am-241/Be and 8 millicuries of Cs-137. The employee had the gauge locked inside a cabinet that was inside a locked trailer at the job site. The licensee notified the LLEA (Police Dept in Herculaneum, MO) and they are investigating the incident. The licensee is not expecting any media attention, and is not offering a reward.

Less than the quantity of an IAEA Category 3 source.

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.

For some of these sources, such as moisture density gauges or thickness gauges that are IAEA 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.

UNUSUAL EVENT DECLARED DUE TO HURRICANE RITA

"Turkey Point nuclear power plant is under a hurricane warning from the National Hurricane Center, starting at 11:00 EDT for Tropical Storm Rita."

On-site facilities are not being activated at this time. No off-site assistance is requested. All 4 Emergency Diesel Generators are available and fully operable if needed. The electrical grid is stable. The licensee has notified the State and local agencies.

The licensee will notify the NRC Resident Inspector.

* * * UPDATE FROM D. FUNK TO W GOTT AT 1917 ON 09/19/05 * * *

Tropical storm force winds are expected between 0700 and 2100 on 09/20/05. Maximum expected sustained wind speed is 53 MPH.

The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector.

Notified R2DO (C Ogle) and R2 IRC (J. Hufham)

* * * UPDATE FROM C. MONTGOMERY TO M. RIPLEY 1410 EDT 09/20/05 * * *

"As of 1353 EDT 09/20/05, Turkey Point nuclear power plant is no longer in an Unusual Event due to a hurricane warning from the National Hurricane Center for Hurricane Rita."

The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector, and State and County officials . Notified R2 DO (Ogle), IRD Mgr (Wilson), NNR EO (Benner), FEMA (Liggett), HERO (Gott), DHS via DOE Nuclear Event Notification Desk (J. Everett)

FITNESS FOR DUTY

A licensed employee supervisor had a confirmed positive for alcohol during a random fitness-for-duty test. The employee's access to the plant has been terminated. Contact the Headquarters Operations Officer for additional details.

The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector.

* * * UPDATE ON 9/20/05 TO CORRECT ERROR * * *

The text should read: A non-licensed employee supervisor had a confirmed positive for alcohol during a random fitness-for-duty test. The employee's access to the plant has been terminated. Contact the Headquarters Operations Officer for additional details.

The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector.

AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - LOST NICKEL-63 SOURCES

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts submitted the following report via e-mail:

"A shipment of 23 devices was scheduled for delivery to a customer in Georgia. AIT Worldwide Logistics, the contract freight forwarder, acknowledged receipt of the 23 devices on September 14, 2005 from GE Ion Track. On Sept. 19th, 2005, when the truck checked into the forwarder's final distribution hub, the shipment was noted to be 2 devices short. The freighter forwarder conducted searches of its distribution centers, and was unable to locate the devices.

"GE Ion Track performed a thorough search of their Wilmington, MA facility and the devices were not located. GE Ion Track's and its subcontractor's database showed that the devices had not been transferred to another customer or recipient.

"GE Ion Track discovered that these sources were missing on January 24, 2005 and made notification to the Massachusetts Radiation Control Program on January 30, 2006.

"The customer in Kuwait and Georgia compared the shipping list to what they received and it was determined that the two missing devices are:
"1) Vapor Tracer 2, serial number 120014, source number 09-13171
"2) Itemizer 3, serial number 20566, source number 09-13480

"Each device contained an 8 mCi source of Ni 63 in a foil form, model NER 004 manufactured by Isotope Products Laboratories.

"GE Ion Track has concluded that the devices were lost in shipment. As a preventative measure, freight forwarders and transport companies will be asked to verify quantity before accepting shipment from GE Ion Track.

"MRCP will be visiting the licensee on Monday March 6, 2006 for investigation."

The missing sources were originally reported in a lost voice mail message to the Massachusetts Radiation Control Program on 1/30/2006. The state verified the loss on 3/3/2006.

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.

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