Re: 1988 Irradiator Incident

[Carl Paperiello <CJP1@nrc.gov>]

I have seen a number of replys to your question.  I can not find a copy of a NUREG on the event on my shelves.  I will ask my staff if we issued one.  Georga is an Agreement State.  There may have been a DOE investigation.  The capsules were not the usual doubly encapsulated sources.  If I recall correctly, the NRC concluded that the problem was likely due to thermal recycling.  The capsules would be raised from the pool to irradiate medical products and then be lowered into the pool for shielding.  This created a thermal stress on the capsule.  Subsequently all of these capsules used in a handful of irradiators around the country were replaced with cobalt or the irradiator taken completely out of service.  At the time I was Deputy Regional Administrator in the Midwest and we were doing surveys of shipped medical products around the country.  I do not know the costs.

Carl J. Paperiello, Deputy Exective Director for Materials,  Research and State Programs, USNRC

>>> "Otto G. Raabe" <ograabe@ucdavis.edu> 7/7/2000 8:34:38 PM >>>
July 7, 2000
Davis, CA

Local anti-nuclear activists claim that food irradiation is dangerous to
the environment and "has already caused environmental problems, including a
1988 incident at an irradiation plant in Decatur, GA, that cost $50 million
to clean up."

Can anyone give me the correct information about this 1988 irradiator
incident?

Thanks,

Otto
 *****************************************************
 Prof. Otto G. Raabe, Ph.D., CHP
 Institute of Toxicology & Environmental Health (ITEH)
 (Street Address: Bldg. 3792, Old Davis Road)
 University of California, Davis, CA 95616
 E-Mail: ograabe@ucdavis.edu 
 Phone:(530) 752-7754, FAX:(530) 758-6140
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