Re: RE: RE: Late charges for unreturned badges

[LIPTONW@dteenergy.com]

See attached item from the NRC morning report regarding the inadvertent 
release of material with rad symbols.  Note that the Sheriff is interviewing 
the RSO, NOT "the RSC, Management and the Investigator..." 
 
The opinions expressed are strictly mine. 
It's not about dose, it's about trust. 
 
Bill Lipton 
liptonw@dteenergy.com 
 
REGION III  MORNING REPORT     PAGE  4          JULY 14, 1999 
 
Licensee/Facility:                     Notification: 
 
                                       MR Number: 3-99-0060 
Ohio State University                  Date: 07/09/99 
Columbus,Ohio                          Phone call from OH Dept. of Health  
Dockets: 03002640  
 
Subject: Containers with radiation symbols in public domain               
 
Discussion: 
 
On July 9, 1999, representatives of the Ohio Department of Health         
notified Region III of an incident in progress regarding the Ohio State   
University. The University had transferred an unspecified number of       
leaded containers ("pigs") to a metals recycler, who subsequently sold    
eleven of them to a member of the public. When the individual examined    
the containers at his residence, he identified two that exhibited labels  
with the radiation symbol and other identifiers of radioactive material,  
primarily iodine-131, which is byproduct material. The individual         
contacted the Franklin County (Ohio) Sheriff's Department, who            
implemented its emergency response plan. The Sheriff's Department         
contacted the local Emergency Management Agency, Battelle Laboratory (an  
NRC Licensee) for radiological support, and the Ohio Department of        
Health. Surveys of the containers and their contents did not identify any 
radiation levels above background and the labels indicated that the       
earliest reference date for the iodine-131was January 1999. Iodine-131    
has an 8 day radioactive half life; therefore, no detectable              
radioactivity would be expected. A subsequent search at the recycler's    
facility identified a 55 gallon drum filled with leaded containers, with  
a large (unspecified) number exhibiting the radiation symbol and other    
radioactive material identifiers. All of the labels identified in that    
drum referred to accelerator-produced materials (thallium-201 and         
iodine-123), which are not subject to NRC jurisdiction.  
*************** 
NOTE: [emphasis mine] 
 
The Sheriff's     
Department is pursuing a pre-investigation of the matter and plans to     
interview the University's Radiation Safety Officer on July 13, 1999.     
*************** 
Regional Action: 
 
Region III is monitoring the Sheriff's Department pre-investigation and   
any parallel actions by the Ohio Department of Health, but does not       
intend to conduct any independent reviews of this incident. The State of  
Ohio is expected to become an Agreement State on, or about, August 31,    
1999, and the Ohio Department of Health will have full jurisdiction over  
all of the issues pertaining to this incident. Assistance from Region III 
has not been requested by either the Ohio Department of Health or the     
Franklin County Sheriff's Department for this matter.                     
 
Contact:  J. Cameron, DNMS           (630)829-9833 
_ 
 
 
You wrote: 
 
	  
          >I feel in an open and well organized program these decisions (and
 
          >thus the accountability) comes through a collaborative effort  
          >between the RSO, the RSC, Management and the Investigator.  The  
          >licensee is responsible and the RSO is only one player.  If all  
          >are informed all will see the potential ramifications of any  
          >action/inaction. 
 
 
... 
 
	  >William A. Lorenzen 
          >Children's Hospital 
          >Boston, MA 02115 
           
          >lorenzen_w@a1.tch.harvard.edu   

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