Event Notification Report for May 22, 2024

AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - LOST BRACHYTHERAPY SEED

The following was provided by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (the Agency) via email:

"The Agency was contacted on 5/13/24 concerning one lost iodine-125 brachytherapy seed with an activity of approximately 0.267 millicuries. On 5/13/24, Bard Brachytherapy received a package from Northside Hospital - Gwinnett (Lawrenceville, GA), and initially identified a total of seven of the nineteen iodine-125 brachytherapy seeds were missing. Five seeds were found shortly thereafter in the packing material. The common carrier was called to return to the Bard facility and an additional seed was located within the delivery vehicle. Additional searches of the local Schaumburg, IL [common carrier] hub and O'Hare airport facility were unsuccessful in locating the final seed. The Agency was notified that the final seed was considered lost. The package is reported as having left Lawrenceville, GA and then Norcross, GA before arriving at the Schaumburg, IL facility. Reportedly, the package had no indication of damage from transit. The cause of the loss seed appears to be inadequate packaging when shipped."

Illinois event number: IL240013.

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