The licensee-radiographer, climbed a ladder to remove the guide tube from an SA Model 880 radiography camera, which contained a 1.8 TBq (49.3 curie) Ir-192 source. The radiography camera was suspended by a rope. As he did this, another employee walked by and noticed that the survey meter, which was on the ground, had pegged off scale. He communicated this to the radiographer on the ladder who then realized the source was not retracted into the camera, but was still in the guide tube. He then climbed down the ladder and retracted the source. The licensee immediately sent his badge for processing. The result was a whole-body dose of 42 mSv (4.2 rem), which brought his total for the year to 52 mSv (5.2 rem). Furthermore, as a result of the licensee’s investigation, it was determined that the radiographer also received an estimated dose 580 mSv (58 rem) to his left hand, which had been on the guide tube. This was consistent with the estimated extremity dose calculation performed by the State of Texas, who is the regulatory authority.
The licensee has indicated that 580 mSv (58 rem) is the final, calculated dose to the radiographer's hands. The State of Texas has closed out its investigation of this event.
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, […]
From the IPFM: During a visit to the Civaux nuclear power plant on 18 March 2024, France's Minister of the Armed Forces unveiled a plan to use the plant to produce tritium for the French nuclear weapons program. Civaux is a civilian power plant that belongs to and is operated by Electricité de France. According […]
An analysis by the Norwegian NGO Bellona of transborder trade operations with the customs code 840130 (irradiated fuel assemblies or fuel elements) show a more than twofold increase of import to EU countries of fresh nuclear fuel in cash terms – from 280 million Euros in 2022 to 686 million Euros in 2023. In physical […]
The French government has said it is "seriously" studying the option of building a plant to convert and enrich reprocessed uranium to cut its reliance on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. The only plant in the world that currently converts reprocessed uranium for use in nuclear power plants is in Russia. "The option of […]