NRC NOTIFIES USERS OF AMERSHAM MODEL 660

[Mike Grissom <mikeg@SLAC.Stanford.EDU>]

Radsafers,

The following is on the NRC Web site at URL:

  http://www.nrc.gov/OPA/gmo/nrarcv/97-183.htm

Happy Holidays to all and Happy New Year 1998!

S.,

MikeG.


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Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Office of Public Affairs
Washington DC 20555
Telephone: 301/415-8200 -- E-mail: opa@nrc.gov

No. 97-183

December 18, 1997

             NRC NOTIFIES USERS OF AMERSHAM MODEL 660
           OF POTENTIAL PROBLEMS, COMPENSATORY MEASURES

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has notified users of Amersham
Corporation's Model 660 radiography devices of problems found
during transportation safety testing of the devices.

The advisory -- known as an Information Notice -- outlines
compensatory measures that should be taken, until the devices are
re-designed and re-tested, to ensure that they will be resistant to
transportation accidents and fires.

Radiography devices are used in industrial applications to detect
flaws in dense metal objects, such as pipes. The devices, which
contain nuclear material, serve as their own transportation
packages. They must meet NRC testing requirements designed to show
the packages' ability to withstand hypothetical accident
conditions.

Amersham, which is located in Burlington, Massachusetts, holds
several NRC certificates of compliance for radioactive material
transportation packages.

An NRC inspection in June identified problems regarding Amersham's
performance of the required tests. Later that month the NRC issued
a Confirmatory Action Letter to Amersham, documenting the
company's agreement to suspend fabrication of all NRC-certified
transportation packages; to notify all users of questions raised by
NRC regarding the packages; to conduct retesting; and to advise
users of any administrative controls needed for packages already in
use, pending completion of Amersham's retesting.

In October, Amersham performed the required retests of the Model
660 packaging. The test sequence consisted of a 30-foot free drop,
a 40-inch drop onto a puncture bar and a fire test. Because of
damage sustained in the drop and puncture tests, the radiation
shielding in one test unit was partially exposed during the
subsequent fire test. As a result, the test unit no longer provided
sufficient shielding to meet the post-accident limits specified in
NRC regulations for the amount of radiation detectable on the
exterior of the package.

The Information Notice sets out the following additional controls
for Model 660 series packages:

-- The package may be transported in a private vehicle if it is
   properly secured within a box attached to the vehicle. The
   package must be properly blocked, braced and supported to
   prevent shifting of the device within the box during transport.

-- The package may be transported in a private vehicle or by a
   common carrier in a container that is not attached to the
   vehicle. In this case the container must be a steel box of
   welded construction or a steel drum. The package must be
   properly blocked, braced and supported to prevent the device
   from shifting within the steel box or steel drum during
   transport. In addition, the steel box or drum must be blocked,
   braced and secured against movement within the vehicle.

Amersham's certificate of compliance has been revised to reflect
these additional controls, which are temporary measures pending the
development and testing of more permanent package design
modifications.

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Michael P. Grissom
Asst Dir (ES&H)
SLAC MS-84
Phone: (650) 926-2346
Fax:   (650) 926-3030
E-mail: mikeg@slac.stanford.edu