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P32 contamination



     This is the info that was distributed to us.
     
     Sandy Perle
     Supervisor Health Physics
     


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|GENERAL INFORMATION or OTHER      |              |EVENT NUMBER:  29008   |     
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|LICENSEE: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH          |NOTIFICATION DATE: 06/30/95  
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|    CITY: BETHESDA               REGION: 1      |NOTIFICATION TIME: 15:04[ET]|
|  COUNTY: MONTGOMERY              STATE: MD     |EVENT DATE:        06/28/95  
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|LICENSE#: 19-00296-10         AGREEMENT: Y      |EVENT TIME:       12:00[EDT]|
|  DOCKET:                                       |LAST UPDATE DATE:  07/14/95  
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|                                                
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|                                                |PERSON          ORGANIZATION|
|                                                |ROBERT BORES         RDO     
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|                                                |                             
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|NRC NOTIFIED BY: ZOON                           |                             
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|HQ OPS OFFICER:  TIM McGINTY                    |                             
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+------------------------------------------------+                             
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|EMERGENCY CLASS: NOT APPLICABLE                 |                             
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|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |                             
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|NINF                     INFORMATION ONLY       |                             
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                                   EVENT TEXT
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| INTERNAL CONTAMINATION OF AN INVESTIGATOR AT THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF       
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| HEALTH.                                                                      
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|                                                                              
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| MR. ZOON, OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH IN BETHESDA, MD, REPORTED AN   
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| INCIDENT THAT OCCURRED ON 6/28/95.  AN INVESTIGATOR AT THE NATIONAL CANCER   
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| INSTITUTE WAS REPORTED AS HAVING DETECTABLE RADIOACTIVITY BURDEN.  THE       
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| EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND FOLLOWUP HAS CONFIRMED THE EXISTENCE OF THE BURDEN.   
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| THIS EVENT IS BEING REPORTED AS INFORMATION, BECAUSE IT DOES NOT APPEAR      
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| THAT AN ANNUAL LIMIT ON INTAKE WAS EXCEEDED.  HOWEVER, THERE ARE SOME        
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| SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES REGARDING THE OCCURRENCE.  THE ISOTOPE THAT WAS     
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| INGESTED IS P-32.                                                            
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|                                                                              
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| THE INCIDENT IS UNDER INVESTIGATION BY THE NIH SAFETY AND SECURITY           
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| PROGRAMS.  THERE ARE NO ADVERSE HEALTH CONSEQUENCES EXPECTED FOR THE         
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| INVESTIGATOR.  THE ESTIMATED INGESTION IS ABOUT 300 MICROCURIES OF P-32,     
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| BASED ON URINE AND BLOOD SAMPLES.  P-32 EMITS A 1.7 Mev BETA.  THE LICENSEE  
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| BELIEVES THAT THE EVENT PROBABLY OCCURRED AROUND 1200 ON 6/28/95.            
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|                                                                              
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| THE NRC CONDUCTED A COMMISSIONER'S ASSISTANT'S BRIEFING AT 1200 ON 6/30/95.  
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| REGION 1 WILL BE DISPATCHING AN AIT.                                         
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|                                                                              
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| COMMISSIONERS ASSISTANTS BRIEFING NOTIFICATIONS: AEOD(JORDAN),               
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| ERB(BROCKMAN), CHMN SELIN(McCONNELL), JACKSON(WINSBERG), ROGERS(SORENSEN),   
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| de PLANQUE(LUBENAU), EDO(STABLIEN), NMSS(CAMPER, KNAPP), PAO(BEECHER),       
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| CAO(KEELING), SECY(HART), STATE(BANGART), IP(CONGDON), BRIEFER(DWYER),       
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| OI(CAPUTO), REGION 1(MARTIN, SHANKMAN, HEHL, BELLAMY).                       
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|                                                                              
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| NOTE:  SEE NRC PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATION #PNO-I-95-025.                       
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|                                                                              
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| ***UPDATE AT 17:00 7/14/95 BY SEBROSKY***                                    
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| COMMISSIONERS ASSISTANTS BRIEFING NOTIFICATIONS (*INDICATES OFFICE DID NOT   
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| PARTICIPATE): AEOD(JORDAN), IRB(BARRETT), CHMN JACKSON(BOYLE),               
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| ROGERS(COPLAN), EDO(STABLEIN),  RDO(KINNEMAN), PAO(BEECHER), CAO(GERKE),     
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| SECY(*), STATE(BANGART), IP(UPSHAW), BRIEFER(SHANKMAN), NMSS(COMBS, COOL,    
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| PAPERIELLO), REGION I(KANE, JOHANSEN), AND REGION II(MALLETT).  DURING THE   
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| INVESTIGATION OF THE ORIGINAL CONTAMINATION, THE LICENSEE IDENTIFIED A       
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| CONTAMINATED WATER COOLER.  WHEN THE LICENSEE REMOVED THE WATER BOTTLE FROM  
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| THE COOLER, THE COOLER SHOWED INTERNAL CONTAMINATION.  THE LICENSEE HAS      
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| ALSO IDENTIFIED 24 ADDITIONAL PERSONS WITH ELEVATED P-32 IN THEIR URINE.     
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| THE LICENSEE AND THE AIT ARE CONTINUING THEIR RESPECTIVE INVESTIGATIONS.     
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