Home NRC Library Document Collections Events, Reports Associated with Event Notification Reports 2019

Event Notification Report for May 07, 2019

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Operations Center

Event Reports For
5/6/2019 - 5/7/2019

** EVENT NUMBERS **

Agreement State	Event Number: 54030
Rep Org: WISCONSIN RADIATION PROTECTION Licensee: AHLSTROM-MUNKSJO NA SPECIALTY SOLUTIONS, LLC Region: 3 City: KAUKAUNA State: WI County: License #: 087-1129-01 Agreement: Y Docket: NRC Notified By: DAVID REINDL HQ OPS Officer: JOANNA BRIDGE	Notification Date: 04/26/2019 Notification Time: 17:22 [ET] Event Date: 04/22/2019 Event Time: 00:00 [CDT] Last Update Date: 04/26/2019
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY 10 CFR Section: AGREEMENT STATE	Person (Organization): DARIUSZ SZWARC (R3DO) NMSS_EVENTS_NOTIFICATION (EMAIL)

Event Text

AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - DAMAGED GAUGE

The following was received from the state of Wisconsin via e-mail:

"On April 26, 2019, Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) was notified that at the licensee's Kaukauna facility, a fixed gauge mounted to a coal chute had been damaged and failed with the shutter closed. The incident occurred on April 22, 2019. Maintenance staffs were repairing a valve located above an Ohmart/Vega Corporation Model SHLG-1 fixed gauge containing 5 mCi of Cs-137. The valve failed, rotated downward, and made contact with the shutter actuator handle which severed the handle from the device. The gauge was not in operation at the time of the incident and the shutter remained in the closed position, the licensee's [Radiation Safety Officer] (RSO) stated on the initial phone call that the shutter is now inoperable.

"The maintenance staff called the RSO on the day of the incident and he instructed them to cordon off the area and perform surveys of the device. The surveys indicated that the source was not impacted and the RSO later performed confirmatory surveys that yielded similar results.

"Wisconsin DHS intends to perform a reactive inspection when the licensee's service provider replaces the gauge; the date is still to be determined."

Event Report No.: WI 190001

Non-Agreement State	Event Number: 54032
Rep Org: IRISNDT, LLC Licensee: IRISNDT, LLC Region: 3 City: HAMMOND State: IN County: License #: 13-32791-01, AMD 5 Agreement: N Docket: NRC Notified By: KYLE LEDBETTER HQ OPS Officer: BETHANY CECERE	Notification Date: 04/28/2019 Notification Time: 15:04 [ET] Event Date: 04/28/2019 Event Time: 05:45 [CDT] Last Update Date: 04/28/2019
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY 10 CFR Section: 30.50(b)(2) - SAFETY EQUIPMENT FAILURE	Person (Organization): DARIUSZ SZWARC (R3DO) NMSS_EVENTS_NOTIFICATION (EMAIL)

Event Text

SAFETY EQUIPMENT FAILURE - RADIOGRAPHY SOURCE FAILED TO RETRACT

"This report is intended to serve the requirements of written notification of an inability to retract a radionuclide source assembly to its fully shielded position, per 10 CFR 34.101(a)(2). The incident occurred at NIPSCO Michigan City Generating Station [in] Michigan City, IN at 0545 CDT, on 28 April, 2019. The event consisted of a temporary inability of the radiography crew to immediately return a radionuclide source assembly of Cobalt-60 (76 Ci) to its fully shielded position.

"The cause of the incident is presumed to be a source guide [tube] positioned with too tight of a radius, through which the sealed source could not be fully retracted. The equipment involved was manufactured by Source Production and Equipment Co., and was a model SPEC-300 projector (SN: 0080) and model G-70 source assembly (SN: C60-100).

"The actions taken to return the source assembly to the projector consisted retracting the source as far as possible, the RSO [Radiation Safety Officer] approaching from behind the projector, using the intrinsic shielding of the exposure device as shielding, straightening the guide tube with the use of 7 ft. remote-handling tongs, allowing the source to clear the bend in the source guide tube, then retracting the source, as normal, using the control cables.

"The incident occurred at approximately 0545 CDT, and upon discovering that the inability to fully retract the source, radiographer called [the] RSO at 0552 [CDT], while [the] assistant radiographer extended barricades to emergency distance. [The] RSO left his home promptly to gather the retrieval kit from IRISNDT's Hammond, IN office. RSO arrived on site at approximately 0715 [CDT]. After performing an assessment, the source retrieval took approximately fifteen (15) minutes to complete, and the source was returned to the shielded position by 0745 [CDT].

"All retrieval operations were conducted by individuals who have been trained to perform such tasks. All associated remote-handling equipment was subsequently removed from service for inspection. No involved equipment was found to be damaged or defective.

"No members of the public received any dose. The lead radiographer, received a dose of 8.8 mrem from the start of his shift until the retrieval was complete, the assistant radiographer, received a dose of 0.2 mrem from the start of his shift until the retrieval was complete, and the RSO performing the retrieval, received a total dose of 4.3 mrem.

"Radiographic personnel responded appropriately in identifying that the source had not returned to the shielded position, reposting and monitoring emergency barricades, contacting the Radiation Safety Officer, maintaining the restricted area while awaiting the RSO's arrival to site, and assisting with the retrieval as instructed, and following all procedures and O&E instructions."

Agreement State	Event Number: 54033
Rep Org: ARIZONA DEPT OF HEALTH SERVICES Licensee: WESTERN TECHNOLOGIES INC Region: 4 City: PHOENIX State: AZ County: License #: 07-049 Agreement: Y Docket: NRC Notified By: BRIAN D. GORETZKI HQ OPS Officer: JOANNA BRIDGE	Notification Date: 04/28/2019 Notification Time: 14:57 [ET] Event Date: 04/28/2019 Event Time: 00:00 [MST] Last Update Date: 04/28/2019
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY 10 CFR Section: AGREEMENT STATE	Person (Organization): CALE YOUNG (R4DO) NMSS_EVENTS_NOTIFICATION (EMAIL) SCOTT MOORE (NMSS) LEAH SMITH (ILTAB) - CNSNS (MEXICO) (EMAIL)

This material event contains a "Category 2" level of radioactive material.

Event Text

AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - THEFT OF CAT 2 MATERIAL

The following was received from the state of Arizona via e-mail:

"The [Arizona Department of Health Services] received notification that an individual stole [three] industrial radiography cameras and threatened to use them. It is believed that the individual is a current or former worker at the licensee. The isotope is Iridium-192 for all three cameras and the approximate activity amounts are 30 Curies, 49 Curies, and 80 Curies. As of approximately 1120 [MDT], the individual was located, the material was secured, and the [Radiation Safety Office] is waiting to bring the material back to the storage location. The Department has requested additional information and continues to investigate the event.

Arizona Incident No.: 19-009

Notified DHS SWO, DOE Ops Center, FEMA Ops Center, HHS Ops Center, DHS NICC, USDA Ops Center, EPA Emergency Ops Center, FDA Emergency Ops Center (email), FEMA NWC (email), DHS Nuclear SSA (email), and Domestic Nuclear Detection Office Joint Analysis Center (email).

THIS MATERIAL EVENT CONTAINS A "CATEGORY 2" LEVEL OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL

Category 2 sources, if not safely managed or securely protected, could cause permanent injury to a person who handled them, or were otherwise in contact with them, for a short time (minutes to hours). It could possibly be fatal to be close to this amount of unshielded radioactive material for a period of hours to days. These sources are typically used in practices such as industrial gamma radiography, high dose rate brachytherapy and medium dose rate brachytherapy. For additional information go to http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1227_web.pdf

* * * UPDATE ON 4/28/19 AT 1920 EDT FROM BRIAN GORETZKI TO JOANNA BRIDGE * * *

The following is a summary of a telephone call:

The sources were safely recovered. They were found in the radiography cameras. It is widely believed that the suspect never removed the sources from the shielded cameras. The cameras have been returned to the storage facility.

Notified R4RDO (Young), NMSS Events Notification (email), NMSS (Moore), ILTAB (e-mail), CNSNS Mexico (email), IR MOC (Kennedy), ILTAB (Smith), NMSS INES Coordinator (email), INES National Officer (email).

Notified DHS SWO, DOE Ops Center, FEMA Ops Center, HHS Ops Center, DHS NICC, USDA Ops Center, EPA Emergency Ops Center, FDA Emergency Ops Center (email), FEMA NWC (email), DHS Nuclear SSA (email), and Domestic Nuclear Detection Office Joint Analysis Center (email).

Power Reactor	Event Number: 54052
Facility: BRUNSWICK Region: 2 State: NC Unit: [] [2] [] RX Type: [1] GE-4,[2] GE-4 NRC Notified By: KELLI DAVIS-HENDRIX HQ OPS Officer: JEFFREY WHITED	Notification Date: 05/06/2019 Notification Time: 22:49 [ET] Event Date: 05/06/2019 Event Time: 22:04 [EDT] Last Update Date: 05/07/2019
Emergency Class: UNUSUAL EVENT 10 CFR Section: 50.72(a) (1) (i) - EMERGENCY DECLARED	Person (Organization): JAMIE HEISSERER (R2DO) HO NIEH (NRR) CATHY HANEY (R2RA) WILLIAM GOTT (IRD) CHRIS MILLER (NRR EO)

Unit

SCRAM Code

RX Crit

Initial PWR

Initial RX Mode

Current PWR

Current RX Mode

100

Power Operation

Event Text

NOUE DUE TO FIRE LASTING LONGER THAN 15 MINUTES IN TURBINE BUILDING

At 2204 EDT on 5/6/19, a Notification of Unusual Event (NOUE) was declared due to a fire lasting greater than 15 minutes. The fire occurred in the '2B' Heater Drain Pump motor located in the turbine building. The fire was extinguished following initial Emergency Declaration.

There were no releases to the environment.

Unit 1 was unaffected by the event and remains in Mode 1 at 100 percent power.

The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector.

Notified DHS SWO, FEMA Operations Center, DHS NICC, FEMA NWC (email), DHS Nuclear SSA (email), and FEMA NRCC SASC (email).

* * * UPDATE ON 5/7/19 AT 0002 EDT FROM MICHAEL BRADEN TO BETHANY CECERE * * *

The NOUE was terminated as of 2359 EDT on 5/6/19. No off-site resources were required to extinguish the fire. The turbine building is now free of smoke.

The licensee will notify the NRC Resident Inspector, State of North Carolina, Brunswick County, New Hanover County, and the Coast Guard.

Notified R2DO (Heisserer), NRR EO (Miller), and IRD (Gott).

Notified DHS SWO, FEMA Operations Center, DHS NICC, FEMA NWC (email), DHS Nuclear SSA (email), and FEMA NRCC SASC (email).

Page Last Reviewed/Updated Wednesday, March 24, 2021