U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Operations Center Event Reports For 12/04/2017 - 12/05/2017 ** EVENT NUMBERS ** | Non-Agreement State | Event Number: 53093 | Rep Org: GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY Licensee: GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL Region: 1 City: WASHINGTON State: DC County: License #: 08-30607-01 Agreement: N Docket: NRC Notified By: ARNOLD ABLE HQ OPS Officer: STEVEN VITTO | Notification Date: 11/27/2017 Notification Time: 12:06 [ET] Event Date: 11/07/2017 Event Time: [EST] Last Update Date: 11/27/2017 | Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY 10 CFR Section: 20.2201(a)(1)(ii) - LOST/STOLEN LNM>10X | Person (Organization): MEL GRAY (R1DO) NMSS_EVENTS_NOTIFICA (EMAI) | This material event contains a "Less than Cat 3 " level of radioactive material. | Event Text LOST IODINE-125 IMPLANT SEED The following is an excerpt from the 30 day report submitted from George Washington University Hospital: "On Tuesday, 11/7/2017, one of the pathologists' assistants completed the first seed case of the new week. After placing the seed in the vial which included the prior week's seeds, she counted only 10 seeds. However, there should have been 11; e.g. 10 from the previous week plus the new one from the current week. "Radiation safety confirmed that there were 10 seeds in the vial. Since only 10 lot numbers were written on the vial, this suggests that only 10 seeds were ever placed in the vial (as opposed to 11 being put in the vial, and one of them falling out at some point.) "Radiation safety confirmed that there were 11 flow sheets. Each flow sheet was initialized by a pathologists' assistant that the seed had been recovered and stored in the cabinet. This suggests that one of the pathologists' assistants was distracted and signed the sheet without placing the seed in the vial as per procedure. "The pathology laboratory was surveyed by two individuals from the Radiation Safety Office. The surveys covered all areas of the lab including the work stations, sinks, floors, waste specimens, desks, and storage cabinets. The seed was not located. "The licensed material that has been lost is a single I-125 seed, made by IsoAid for the localization of nonpalpable breast lesions. The seed is a sealed source approximately 5 mm in length. It had a nominal activity of 200 microCi on October 24, 2017." 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: 53094 | Rep Org: OHIO BUREAU OF RADIATION PROTECTION Licensee: ALT & WITZIG ENGINEERING, INC. Region: 3 City: WEST CHESTER State: OH County: License #: 31210990003 Agreement: Y Docket: NRC Notified By: MICHAEL SNEE HQ OPS Officer: STEVEN VITTO | Notification Date: 11/27/2017 Notification Time: 15:26 [ET] Event Date: 11/24/2017 Event Time: [EST] Last Update Date: 11/29/2017 | Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY 10 CFR Section: AGREEMENT STATE | Person (Organization): ERIC DUNCAN (R3DO) NMSS_EVENTS_NOTIFICA (EMAI) ILTAB (EMAI) CNSC (CANADA) (EMAI) | This material event contains a "Less than Cat 3 " level of radioactive material. | Event Text AGREEMENT STATE EVENT REPORT - STOLEN PORTABLE GAUGE The following was received from the State of Ohio via email: "The licensee's technician performed work using the gauge at a job site in Blue Ash, Ohio on 11/24/17. After leaving the job site, the technician stopped at several locations [before] arriving home. The gauge was discovered missing on 11/27/17 when the technician arrived at the licensee's facility. The storage container for the gauge was not broken into indicating that it had not been locked. A report was filed with the Cincinnati Police Department. "Device Name: PORTABLE GAUGE Manufacturer: CAMPBELL PACIFIC NUC Model Number: MC-1 Serial Number: 70603768 Activity: Cs-137:10mCi and Am-Be: 50mCi" Ohio Reference Number: OH 2017-070 * * * UPDATE AT 0919 EST ON 11/29/2017 FROM STEPHEN JAMES TO MARK ABRAMOVITZ * * * The following report was received via e-mail: "On 11/28/17 ODH [Ohio Department of Health] inspectors visited each of the locations the technician visited after leaving the job site on 11/24/17. The inspectors searched in dumpsters, other containers, and around the buildings to try to locate the device. They also took radiation surveys in each of the areas. The surveys indicated no increased radiation levels and the gauge was not found by the ODH inspectors. This incident remains open." Ohio Report: OH170010 Notified the R3DO (Duncan) and NMSS Events Resource (via e-mail). 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 | |