Print View Posted on: 16 July 2020
The State of Texas reported that as a result of the failure of a fixed gauge on June 30, 2020, a worker likely received a dose exceeding 250 mSv (25 rem). The rotary element and the source tube came partially out of the gauge and while employees tried to put them back in, the source and the cover plate holding it came out of the source tube. Workers thought the 3.5 GBq (95 mCi) Cs-137 source was still in the gauge housing and picked up the pieces without knowing that one of the pieces was the source. One worker put the source into his shirt pocket. The licensee is conducting a re-enactment to collect information for dose reconstruction and calculation. The Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS) has been contacted for biodosimetry. The preliminary estimate of the dose received exceeds the U.S. statutory limit for total effective dose equivalent. NRC EN54706