A radiographer and two assistants were working at an asphalt plant when a magnetic stand fell from the side of a tank and crushed a section of the guide tube of the radiography camera in use. Several attempts by the radiography crew to retract the source into the radiography camera using the crank were unsuccessful. Additional shielding was applied to the area of the tube containing the stuck source to reduce exposures and allow personnel to get closer to the area. The individuals were able to retract the source back into the camera by cutting the guide tube which allowed enough space to pull the source back through the crimp. Before performing the source retrieval, all three individuals moved their dosimetry to their wrist watches to account for accurate doses to the extremities. The dosimetry badges were sent to Landauer for emergency processing. The badges showed the individuals involved received whole body doses of 63.577 rem (635.77 mSv), 10.439 rem (104.39 mSv), and 2.608 rem (26.08 mSv) to the extremities. The whole-body doses obtained from the direct read dosimeters worn on the chest were 2.519 rem (25.19 mSv), 2.178 rem (21.78 mSv), and 0.798 rem (7.98 mSv). All three individuals involved were removed from radiography operations for the remainder of the calendar year. Corrective actions by the licensee included the modification of procedures and personnel retraining; ensuring that the magnetic stand is rated for the weight placed on it; ensuring the stand surface is free of debris and rust; and applying stress to the stand to determine the breaking point. The highest extremity dose received exceeds the U.S. statutory limit of 50 rem (500 mSv). NRC EN54813
Everywhere you look, the nuclear industry’s hype machine is in overdrive. Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, and the UK government all tout small modular reactors as the silver bullet for climate change and energy security. Tech billionaires are hiring nuclear veterans. Wall Street is whispering about “round-the-clock power” for artificial intelligence data centers. For those old enough […]
Kernenergie en veiligheid: A wargame sought to test if a major radiological release that would prompt the evacuation of millions of civilians in South Korea could distract key US allies from assisting and rebuffing an all-out military invasion of Taiwan. The short answer was yes. The game originally presumed that China, wanting to keep the […]
Big batteries and EVs to the rescue again as faults with new nuclear plant cause chaos on Nordic grids The Finnish nuclear power plant Olkiluoto was finally connected to the grid last year, at an estimated cost of €11 billion compared to the original budget of €3 billion. That cost blowout forced its developer, the […]
A vast subsea nuclear graveyard planned to hold Britain’s burgeoning piles of radioactive waste is set to become the biggest, longest-lasting and most expensive infrastructure project ever undertaken in the UK. The project [UK's nuclear waste dump] is now predicted to take more than 150yrs to complete with lifetime costs of £66bn in today’s money...The […]
Last year, the Dutch Province of Limburg started an alliance in which, besides the local government, research institutes, small nuclear reactor (SMR) developers, utilities, industrial customers and funders cooperated. With this "Limburg SMR alliance" Limburg tried to lead the way towards an SMR in Limburg. The preferred site for a first SMR would be Chemelot, […]
