ENS 54961
ENS Event | |
|---|---|
21:30 Oct 19, 2020 | |
| Title | Lost and Found Portable Gauge |
| Event Description | The following was received from the State of Washington via email:
At approximately 1430 [PDT] on October 19, 2020, a portable gauge technician, working for GN Northern, had completed performing compaction tests at Mt. Adams Elementary School in Harrah, Washington. At the end of the job, about 1500 [PDT] he placed his gauge (not in its case) on his pickup tailgate and did his write-up. Then at approximately 1515 [PDT] he drove off down the highway toward the GN Northern's home office in Yakima with the gauge on the tailgate. Then at approximately 1530 [PDT], the technician looked behind and noticed his tailgate down and remembered the gauge on the tailgate but [was] no longer there. The technician then turned around to look for it for about three (3) hours. He then called the RSO [Radiation Safety Officer] of GN Northern, and reported what had happened. After returning to Yakima the two of them looked for the gauge with flashlights along the highway but could not find it. The RSO then called 206-Nuclear and reported it to the Radiological Emergency Preparedness Section who then notified the Radioactive Materials Section the following morning. The Radioactive Materials Section then learned on the morning of October 20, 2020 from the RSO and the Washington State Patrol (WSP) that a private citizen ran over the gauge during the afternoon of October 19th and notified the WSP. At approximately 1600 [PDT] on October 19th, a WSP Trooper was notified by dispatch that there was a male individual at the WSP office in Union Gap, WA with a damaged gauge that he had struck on the highway and drug it while it was lodged underneath until he could [pull] over. The Union Gap police had also stopped to assist and advised the two males to deliver the gauge to the WSP for safe keeping. WSP Troopers took the gauge and delivered it to the WSP impound facility in Union Gap, WA for safe keeping. Meanwhile, during the afternoon of October 19th, GN Northern had notified Yakima County Sherriff's Department. Shortly after, the Yakima County Sherriff's Department notified other law enforcement agencies including WSP. Therefore, at approximately 0730 [PDT] on October 20th, WSP called GN Northern to let them know that they have their gauge. GN Northern then came and picked up their damaged gauge from WSP at approximately 0830 [PDT] on October 20, 2020. WA incident no.: WA-20-021
The following update was received from Washington State via email: The WSP personnel were not able to perform an adequate survey to check for external radiation levels or count wipes for removable contamination from a possible breech of one or both sources. Therefore, [on 10/21/2020,] one of the inspectors from the Richland office drove to Yakima to perform radiation and contamination checks. To summarize, there was no removable contamination and no radiation levels above what would be expected while the sources are in their shielded positions. Hence, while the portable gauge has been damaged beyond repair, the source holders remain intact. Notified R4DO (Pick) 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 |
| Where | |
|---|---|
| Gn Northern Yakima, Washington (NRC Region 4) | |
| License number: | I0457 |
| Organization: | Wa Office Of Radiation Protection |
| Reporting | |
| Agreement State | |
| Time - Person (Reporting Time:+23.7 h0.988 days <br />0.141 weeks <br />0.0325 months <br />) | |
| Opened: | Steve Matthews 21:12 Oct 20, 2020 |
| NRC Officer: | Brian Lin |
| Last Updated: | Oct 28, 2020 |
| 54961 - NRC Website | |
Gn Northern with Agreement State | |
WEEKMONTHYEARENS 549612020-10-19T21:30:00019 October 2020 21:30:00
[Table view]Agreement State Lost and Found Portable Gauge 2020-10-19T21:30:00 | |