AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - DENSITY GAUGE FOUND AT SCRAP YARD
The following was received from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services Radiation Protection Section (the Department) via email:
"On December 6, 2019, the Department was notified by a local scrap facility that they had refused a load of material on December 4 after setting off portal monitors at their site. No reports were made at that time. On December 6, safety staff from the scrap facility assisted in characterization of the material at the originating location. The device was identified as a Seaman Nuclear Density Gauge (Model R-75, SN: 3032). These are manufactured with a maximum activity of 5 mCi Radium-226. No residual contamination was identified in any areas the gauge had been.
"The Department has dispatched inspectors to perform their own investigation and characterization of the material, and will provide updates as they become available."
* * * UPDATE ON 12/06/019 AT 1805 EST FROM KYLE WALTON TO OSSY FONT * * *
The following update was received from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (the Department) via email:
"Inspectors arrived at the originating location. The material is currently secured in a cargo container away from members of the public. Surveys and swipes do not indicate a leaking source or removable contamination. Surface readings of up to 13 mR/h were observed. The manufacturer has been contacted to identify the last known owner of the gauge."
Event Report ID No.: WI190016
Notified R3DO (Daley) and NMSS Events Notification via email.
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 |