[ RadSafe ] News article from Belgium: Worker Critical afterhighradiation dose

Thu Apr 6 11:33:52 CDT 2006

The IAEA site for this accident is
http://www-news.iaea.org/news/topics/topic/default.asp?topicID=802
However it is necessary a User-ID,
to those that have not, I send the text

Jose Julio Rozental
joseroze at netvision.net.il
Israel

Event 2006-03-11

Send; 2006-04-02 12:16:00 UTC
Overexposure of employee in irradiation facility

STERIGENICS - Fleurus, Belgium

Fleurus, Belgium is the site of a Sterigenics irradiation sterilization
facility, performing principally medical device sterilization.  The facility
uses gamma radiation emitted from sealed cobalt 60 isotope source. The
cobalt 60 source is strictly contained in a thick concrete containment
vessel.
When, not in operation, this source is stored in a water pool. A secured
hydraulic system allows taking the source out of this pool in order to
irradiate the products put in the cell. Safety locks prevent the system to
take the source out of the pool when the door of the cell is open.
On Saturday March 11th, an employee went into the room where the cell is
located and observed that the gamma monitor was in high level alarm. The
door of the cell was open and the cell empty, no irradiation was performed
at that time. He reset the monitor and verified that the alarm was not
appearing again. He then decided to close the door of the irradiator. For
safety rules, this requires that he has to enter the cell and to switch on a
contact located in the back of the cell, proving that he verifies that
nobody was inside before shutting the door. He remained about 20 s in the
cell to perform this check. He did not notice any anomaly at this time,
neither inside the cell nor outside. The gamma monitor did not actuate
again.

Some while later he had nausea and vomited but did not consider that this
had anything to do with his work. Nearly three weeks later, he observed that
his hairs were massively falling down. He then went to the physician who
decided to investigate his blood. This showed that he was severely exposed
to high doses of radiations. According to the observed effects, the dose
could have been as high as about 4 Gy. The employee has been hospitalized on
March 31st in a French hospital highly specialized in treatment of radiation
exposure. The accident was not reported to facility or company management
until March 30th, 2006.

Computer records of the position of the source show that the "down" limit
switch was actuated at several time in the period while the employee was
inside the cell. It is provisionally assumed that during his short presence
in the cell, due to a presently not yet identified defect of the hydraulic
system, the source could have been slightly taken out of the water pool.
Further investigation is performed in order to check the working of the
hydraulic system and the electrical control system.

The specific causes of the accident are still under investigation.

We will communicate additional information as soon as it is available.

----- Original Message -----
From: <Rainer.Facius at dlr.de>
To: <Jim_Hardeman at dnr.state.ga.us>; <radsafe at radlab.nl>
Sent: Thursday, April 06, 2006 6:35 PM
Subject: AW: [ RadSafe ] News article from Belgium: Worker Critical
afterhighradiation dose

> Jim:
>
> If the numbers quoted were correct than the worker would have received
400*20 mSv = 8 Sv effective dose. In this case he would have shown severe
symptoms of the prodromal syndrome within hours and not some minor effect
like hair loss after 3 weeks. That and the purported life-threatening
condition simply do not fit. A European radiation protection expert who
incidentally was visiting us today thinks that he remembers a dose of 2 Gy
which would be 100 times the annual limit. Of course at that acute dose a
significantly increased cancer risk is threatening this man but no immediate
early mortality risk - unless it interfered with other health conditions of
the worker. If it were not whole but partial body irradiation and the
multiple of 400 pertained to the limit for the corresponding tissue dose he
would at least have suffered from immediate and severe erythema. Again the
numbers presented simply don't match.
>
> Regards, Rainer
>
> Dr. Rainer Facius
> German Aerospace Center
> Institute of Aerospace Medicine
> Linder Hoehe
> 51147 Koeln
> GERMANY
> Voice: +49 2203 601 3147 or 3150
> FAX:   +49 2203 61970
>
> -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
> Von: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] Im
Auftrag von Jim Hardeman
> Gesendet: Donnerstag, 6. April 2006 16:26
> An: radsafe at radlab.nl
> Betreff: [ RadSafe ] News article from Belgium: Worker Critical after
highradiation dose
>
> Colleagues *
>
> Does anybody have any additional information about this incident?
>
> Jim Hardeman
> Jim_Hardeman at dnr.state.ga.us
>
> ===========
>
> URL =
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=24&story_id=29
065&name=Worker+critical+after+high+radiation+dose
>
> Worker critical after high radiation dose
> 6 April 2006
> BRUSSELS * A worker at a Wallonian company who was rushed to a Paris
hospital after being exposed to a high dose of radiation is in an acute,
life-threatening condition.
> The Charleroi man, aged in his 50s, received within 20 seconds 400 times
the amount of radiation permitted in one year.
> The incident dates back to 11 March and investigations are now being
carried out to determine why safety procedures failed.
> The man spent 20 seconds in the radiation installation of the Wallonian
firm Sterigenics, a Fleurus-based company near Charleroi that sterilises
medical equipment.
> Three weeks later, the worker reported to the company doctor because his
hair started falling out, newspaper 'Het Nieuwsblad' reported on Thursday.
> When doctors confirmed a high level of radiation in his body, the man was
rushed to a specialist Paris hospital.
> Company director Patrick Gourmelon said on Wednesday the man is in a "very
serious" condition. The man is at risk of developing cancer and there are
limited medical treatments available.
> Workers usually carry a radiation measuring device and investigations must
now determine why the worker or his supervisor did not immediately raise
alarm.
> "Did the dosage meter not work, was it not examined or did the worker not
have it on" the chief of Belgian nuclear watchdog FANC-AFCN, Jean-Paul
Samain, said.
>
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