On March 14, 2005, the State of Texas notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that an industrial radiographer’s dosimeter analysis indicated that the individual may have exceeded the NRC’s annual occupational total effective dose equivalent limit of 50 millisievert (mSv) or 5 rem.
On October 31, 2004, the State of Texas received a report from one of its licensees that a radiographer received an unexplained dose of 67.3 mSv (6.73 rem) during October 2004.The licensee initiated an investigation and determined through interviews with the radiographer, that he had dropped his dosimeter near a radiographic exposure device containing approximately 1.1 to 1.5 terabecquerels (30-40 curies) of iridium-192 for a period of ½ to one hour. The licensee stated that the radiographer did not report the dosimeter incident at that time or in his written statement describing his work activities. The licensee also noted that during a review of the monthly dosimetry reports, two of the three individuals assigned to work with this radiographer wore spare dosimeters.
The State of Texas conducted an inspection on March 14, 2005 and identified and cited the licensee with four violations of the regulatory requirements. Additionally, on March 23, 2005, the State of Texas provided the NRC with information concluding that the radiographer received an accrued annual dose of 77.8 mSv (7.78 rem) for calendar year 2004, a dose in excess of the NRC occupational dose limit of 50 mSv (5 rem).
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