Radioactive Sources Lost

[lambert@HAL.HAHNEMANN.EDU]

I just returned from a trip to Houston, Texas and was suprised that there
was no mention on RADSAFE of a recent incident there.  Apparently,
several (3, I believe) industrial radiography cameras were stolen from a
bankrupt firm.  One source contained Ir-192 and according to news stories,
had decayed to "safe" levels.  The other two contained Co-60 in
"potentially deadly" quantities. 

As one would guess, the camera's ended up at a metal recycling facility.  
A forklift damaged one camera and the source capsule(s) were dislodged.  
19 people were potentially exposed including 2 children ages 2 and 3.  
The potentially exposed individuals are being tested at local hospitals 
for radiation injury.

It amazes me that we talk about proper shipping containers for nanocurie
sources, and other trivia (including an ALI or two P-32 uptake), when
these sort of incidents happen.  This is clearly an area where the
industry, the regulators, and the health physics profession have failed. 

The NRC, in its information notice regarding the P-32 incidents, stated
that licensees must *prevent* unauthorized use of byproduct material, and
they have proposed rulemaking requiring notification of unauthorized uses. 
How does this proposed rulemaking prevent serious incidents such
as described above? 

There needs to be a system that tracks these large sources.  There also 
needs 
to be a system which the NRC (or agreement state regulatory agency) is 
notified when licensees go bankrupt or out of business.  With computers 
and communication technology what it is, this should not be too 
difficult.  And the regulatory agency must react promptly to going out of 
business notices.  (I once was stuck cleaning a facility because my 
employer held the mortgage to it, but it was not on our license. The 
regulatory agency accepted the word of the defunct organization that the 
facility was clean, but took over 2 years to perform a confirmatory 
survey.  During that time, the principles had vanished.)

As a profession, we need to work with the industrial radiography industry. 
In the public's viewpoint, these sort of incidents give the radioactive
material users in general and the radiation safety community in particular
a black eye.  I hope to see some positive discussion about these issues.  
Our credibility is at stake.

Kent Lambert
LAMBERT@hal.hahnemann.edu

These are my thoughts.  If they are wrong
I accidentally pressed the send instead of
the delete key.  My employer makes no claim
to endorse my opinions.