Event Notification Report for October 18, 2007

AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - LOST AM241/BE SOURCE FROM DAMAGED TROXLER GAUGE MODEL 3430

The State provided the following information via email:

"On October 18, 2007, the agency was contacted at 12:49 p.m. by their emergency answering service, reporting that a licensee had lost a gauge in Houston and was requesting Incident Investigation Program (IIP) to call them back to assist them with [the lost gauge].

"IIP called the licensee back and talked with [DELETED], Site RSO for their LaPorte, TX location. [RSO] reported that his technician was driving down the highway in Houston and discovered that the gauge had fallen out of his truck around 12:15 -12:30 p.m. on 10/18/07. The RSO stated that the tailgate was up, but the gauge may not have been braced down.

"The technician immediately called the RSO, who drove down the highway and found pieces of the gauge, the handle, and the Cs-137 source. The RSO stated the Cs-137 source is intact. He remains on location with the agency's investigator. The agency's investigator has surveyed the area and the gauge pieces that were recovered with a NaI detector and was not able to locate the AmBe source.

"The gauge specifications are: Mfg: Troxler Model 3430, Serial #: 29328, Last Leak test: 10/11/07

"Source Information: 1) Cs-137 Serial #: 750-2544; 8 mCi 2) AmBe Serial #: 47-26370; 40 mCi. The source is double-encapsulated in stainless steel, with dimensions of: .4 in.x.3 in. and is less than 1/2 in. long and 1/4 in. in diameter.

"Mfg states that the chance of the source encapsulation being broken and breached is remote.

"The agency has notified local law enforcement (LLE) to shut down the 3-lane highway (so that) safe surveying for the AmBe source can be accomplished. The agency has asked LLE to contact and coordinate with the local HAZMAT team. IIP will continue to investigate and assist with locating the lost AmBe source. Additionally, the licensee was given contact information for two consultants to assist with this incident and location of the lost source. Incident Investigations will continue to update this incident as current information is received.

"Disposition/Action Taken: 1) Report to NRC and NMED, 2) Contacted local law enforcement (LLE) and local HAZMAT.

"Texas Incident Number: I - 8449, Event Report: TX-07-43606"

* * * UPDATE FROM ART TUCKER TO JOE O'HARA AT 2125 ON 10/18/07 * * *

The state along with DOD personnel performed a search of highway 225 for the missing source. However, the search was unsuccessful. The highway has been reopened, and the state will meet tomorrow to discuss further follow-up actions.

Notified R4DO(Proulx), FSME EO(Tschiltz), ILTAB(e-mail), and Mexico(fax).


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.

AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - INABILITY TO RETRACT RADIOGRAPHY SOURCE

The following information was received from the State of Texas via Email:

"On November 9 2007, the agency was notified by the licensee of an event that occurred while they were performing radiography operations at a remote location. The licensee reported that the guide tube on a radiography camera containing a 75 curie Iridium (Ir) - 192 source was damaged, preventing them from being able to retrieve the radiation source back into the camera. The radiographer contacted the licensee's main office and was instructed to monitor the area and restrict access until the source retrieval supervisor arrived at the location. The supervisor was able to remove the crimp in the guide tube, allowing them to sufficiently retract the source into the camera. No exposures were received that exceeded regulatory limits. The licensee is redesigning their holder to prevent this from occurring in the future and provided additional training to their personnel. This event is closed.

"This event was reported within 24 hours of the event using the NMED reporting system and not to the HOO [NRC Headquarters Operations Officer]. Failure to properly report this event was determined after a review was conducted of all radiography related events reported in the State of Texas from September 1, 2006 to March 31, 2009. This review was initiated in response to the State of Texas Incident Investigation Program (IIP) determining that they had failed to correctly interpret the requirements for reporting this type of event. The state used 10 CFR 34.101 to report these events, and not 10 CFR 30.50(b)(2), due to conflicting interpretations of NRC rules requiring reporting.

"In an effort to prevent a reoccurrence of this, each member of IIP was required to read Information Notice 2001-03, Incident Reporting Requirements for Radiography Licenses, dated April 6, 2001. In addition, the IIP database has been changed to clarify the reporting requirement and bring it in line with the NRC requirements."

Texas Incident Report: I-8454

* * * UPDATE PROVIDED TO KOZAL FROM TUCKER AT 1735 ON 04/08/09 * * *

Upon request of the State the reference to 10 CFR 30.50(b)(a) was changed to 10 CFR 30.50(b)(2).