ILLINOIS RADIOGRAPHER RECEIVED 15 SIEVERT (1,5

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@EARTHLINK.NET>]

Courtesy of Mike Russell, as posted on Powernet:





AN ILLINOIS RADIOGRAPHER RECEIVED 15 SIEVERT (1,500 REM) TO HIS LOWER 

LEG in a June 2000 incident which the NRC has now rated at Level 3 on 

the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES). According to an item 

posted today on the IAEA's NEWS events web site, Illinois authorities 

have now concluded that the industrial radiographer received a 

radiation burn from the 81-curie iridium-192 source while X-raying 

pipe welds at a facility in Channahon. The incident wasn't reported 

at the time of occurrence because the radiographer didn't realize he 

had been irradiated, but after his condition worsened and he was 

examined, a physician concluded the burn had resulted from the 

unshielded source. The final Level 3 rating, indicating a serious 

incident, is the highest ever given to a U.S. radiation incident 

since the U.S. began using the international severity scale. It 

results from INES criteria for rating "overexposure of a worker 

resulting in acute health effects."  



-------------------------------------------------

Sandy Perle

Director, Technical

ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Service

ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue

Costa Mesa, CA 92626



Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100  Extension 2306

Fax:(714) 668-3149



E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net

E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com



Personal Website: http://sandy-travels.com

ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com



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