Nukewatch Quarterly Winter 2013-2014
COATESVILLE, Pennsylvania — Three workers at Coatesville Scrap were exposed to cesium-137 on Oct. 31, after an outbound truck set off radiation alarms at the site, 40 miles west of Philadelphia. According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, an “orphan” sealed source had to be uncovered in a truckload of solid waste before being isolated. Employees used shovels to find the cesium-137, a strong emitter of beta particles and gamma radiation. One person carried the highly radioactive cesium by hand and, according to the NRC, received a dose of 10 rads to his hands. The cesium was placed in a lead pipe that was then crimped at both ends. The object was then carried by shovel approximately 200 feet and placed behind a piece of steel equipment. Almost a week later, an NRC inspector measured 320 micro-roentgens per hour on the pipe’s surface. An exposure of 500 roentgens in five hours is usually lethal for human beings. One worker spent about 2.5 hours in close proximity to the cesium and received a full-body dose of 364 micro-roentgens. An average background dose is 23 micro-roentgens per hour. Caution tape marked the area where the cesium was placed and radiation measured at the tape totaled 60 micro-roentgens per hour. — NRC Event Report PA130026; NuclearStreet.com (Waynesboro, Virgin-ia), Nov. 18, 2013
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