Alert

Due to a lapse in appropriations, the NRC has ceased normal operations. However, excepted and exempted activities necessary to maintain critical health and safety functions—as well as essential progress on designated critical activities, including those specified in Executive Order 14300—will continue, consistent with the OMB-Approved NRC Lapse Plan.

Event Notification Report for November 16, 2017

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Operations Center

Event Reports For
11/15/2017 - 11/16/2017

** EVENT NUMBERS **

53062

53063

Agreement State	Event Number: 53062
Rep Org: OHIO BUREAU OF RADIATION PROTECTION Licensee: NOT SPECIFIED Region: 3 City: AKRON State: OH County: License #: GENERAL LICEN Agreement: Y Docket: NRC Notified By: STEPHEN JAMES HQ OPS Officer: VINCE KLCO	Notification Date: 11/08/2017 Notification Time: 15:06 [ET] Event Date: 09/02/2017 Event Time: [EST] Last Update Date: 11/08/2017
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY 10 CFR Section: AGREEMENT STATE	Person (Organization): HIRONORI PETERSON (R3DO) NMSS_EVENTS_NOTIFICA (EMAI) CNSC (CANADA) (EMAI) ILTAB (EMAI)

This material event contains a "Less than Cat 3 " level of radioactive material.

Event Text

AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - MATERIAL STOLEN AND NOT RECOVERED

The following information was received from the State of Ohio via email:

"A local Health District employee had a Niton Xlp 300 XRF with a 50 mCi Cadmium-109 source stolen overnight on Saturday, September 2, 2017. It was in the car in their garage and someone came in and took it. The employee had worked late at a job site that day and brought the gauge home instead of returning to the office. Employee's garage door did not close for some reason that night and they were unaware that it was open when they went to bed. There were several other cars broken into that night in employee's neighborhood. A report was filed with local police department. Device has not yet been recovered."

Source/Radioactive Material: Sealed Source; Radionuclide: Cd-109; Activity: 50mCi; Device Name: X-RAY Fluorescence (XRF); Model Number: Niton XLp 300; Manufacturer: Thermo Scientific Analytical; Serial Number: 98149.

Ohio Item Number: OH170007

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	Event Number: 53063
Rep Org: NV DIV OF RAD HEALTH Licensee: UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, LAS VEGAS Region: 4 City: LAS VEGAS State: NV County: License #: 03-13-0305-01 Agreement: Y Docket: NRC Notified By: MICHAEL SCHMIDT HQ OPS Officer: MARK ABRAMOVITZ	Notification Date: 11/08/2017 Notification Time: 19:10 [ET] Event Date: 11/07/2017 Event Time: [PST] Last Update Date: 11/08/2017
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY 10 CFR Section: AGREEMENT STATE	Person (Organization): JEREMY GROOM (R4DO) NMSS_EVENTS_NOTIFICA (EMAI) DENNIS ALLSTON (emai (ILTA)

This material event contains a "Less than Cat 3 " level of radioactive material.

Event Text

AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - LOST URANIUM SOURCE

"The RSO [Radiation Safety Officer] from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, phoned to report a missing/lost source of 3 microcuries of U-235, 90% enriched, 1.4 grams, form metallic (non-dispersible). The source package was received and surveyed on 10/30/2017, surface 90microrad/hr and 11microrad/hr at 1 meter. The source was then delivered to the Office of the Professor who ordered the source where it sat to be taken to a research area. The package was placed under a desk next to a trash can and a recycle can in the Professor's office. The Professor forgot about the package and never delivered it to the research area, but saw the source on November 3rd under the desk, then failed to deliver the source once again and the source was left over the weekend. On Monday, November 6th, when the Professor remembered the source, the source was gone. On November 7th the Professor reported the lost/missing source to the RSO. The RSO immediately started an investigation. The garbage in the Professor's office was collected on Monday evening, November 6th. The dumpster the trash went to was emptied Tuesday morning, November 7th, into the normal waste stream. The RSO looked through all the dumpsters and was unable to find the package.

Because of the low activity of the source it would probably not be detected at the landfill. The RSO is emailing a preliminary report, ASAP. This is an ongoing investigation."

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

Page Last Reviewed/Updated Wednesday, March 24, 2021