31 workers over-exposed in Montana!!!

[Tony Hedges <thedges1@TWCNY.RR.COM>]

Radsafers,



Here is a NRC notice that the anti-nukers haven't gotten around to posting.

Maybe they over looked it because it doesn't involve a nuclear power plant.

In the Davis-Bessie and St. Lucie events it looks like the workers received

a small amount of unplanned radiation dose. In the event below, a number of

workers were exposed by a source that if left unfound could have delivered

lethal doses... LETHAL. Where can you find these sources? In your

neighborhood. In your neighbors driveway; in a truck; in the truck bed; in

a box in the truck bed. A number of them are lost or stolen every month.

Never makes the news, never shows up in the anti-nuke discussion boards. I

guess that is the good radiation. I wonder if these lost sources were

factored into the cancer studies performed around nuclear power plant.

Whoops don't want to go there ;-)



If you are interested in the number of lost sources just browse through the

daily event reports at the NRC's web site. Just pick a month and review the

events, you'll be shock at the number you'll find.



http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/event-status/event/



[------------------------------------------]

No. IV-02-041

 September 26, 2002   



                       

CONTACT:       Breck Henderson

                      

                Phone: 817-860-8128

                       



                       

NRC SENDS AUGMENTED INSPECTION TEAM TO REVIEW CIRCUMSTANCES RELATED TO

RADIATION EXPOSURES AT TEXAS FIRM'S JOB SITE IN 

MONTANA

           



                        



The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Region IV office in Arlington, Texas,

is looking into circumstances associated with an apparent radiation

over-exposure of 31 workers at a Texas company's temporary well drilling

site near Havre, Montana, in May of this year. 



NRC officials said the radiation safety officer for Schlumberger Technology

Corporation of Sugar Land, Texas, notified the agency on May 23 of the

temporary loss 

of control of a radioactive well logging source containing 1.2 curies of

Cesium-137. The company reported that a logging engineer failed to properly

transfer the radioactive source from the well logging tool to its shielded

transportation container following well logging operations at the Montana

site on May 21. The source apparently fell from a handling tool onto the

drilling rig floor where it remained unshielded until recovered by the

company, some 48 hours later, on the evening  of May 23. During that time, the 

portable rig was dismantled, moved to another drill site some five miles

away, and reassembled.

                                 



Radioactive well logging sources are used by drilling companies to measure

the properties of rock and other materials where a well is being dug to help 

determine the presence of water, gas or oil.

                                                        



On August 30 the NRC was provided the results of tests which indicated that

one of the exposed individuals may have received a higher exposure than 

 originally estimated. 



The NRC Region IV office conducted a special reactive inspection on May 25

and 26 and upgraded it to a special Augmented Inspection Team upon receipt

of information on August 30 that the potential existed for several drill

rig crew members to have received exposures greater than previously

estimated. The AIT is 

reviewing the circumstances associated with the cause of the source being

unshielded and unsecured.  



[-------------------------------------------]



tony



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