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Event Report Forms (ERFs) are filed to the IAEA. Sometimes there are multiple event reports, updating the rating, the event description. Here you only see the latest event report

ERF send date: Tue, 09-09-2008
ERF description: On September 2, 2008, a team of three radiographers, consisting of the main radiographer and two assistants, were performing radiographs of pipeline welds near Ardmore, Oklahoma.
The camera, which contained an Ir-192 source with an activity of 4.1 TBq (111 curies) was mounted on an all terrain vehicle. Assistant #2 was responsible for positioning the camera and making exposures at each weld.
At approximately 10:00 a.m. local time, the radiography camera fell off the all terrain vehicle, causing the guide tube to bend where it attaches to the camera. One of the assistants straightened the guide tube to the point they were able to crank the source in and out, although with increased resistance. It is speculated that this improvised repair almost surely contributed to the failure to retract the source, which in turn, contributed to the overexposure that later occurred.

At approximately noon local time, Assistant #2 approached a rough terrain area. Assistant #2 then dismounted his vehicle and disassembled the radiography configuration so that he could make the next exposure. When he unscrewed the guide tube, he saw the cable and realized the source had not been retracted back inside the camera from the previous exposure. He then realized his pocket dosimeter was off-scale and his alarming rate meter was inoperable (though a later check of the utilization log states it was working when it was checked out). The State of Oklahoma also reports that the crew had a survey meter, but were not using it. Assistant #2’s film badge was sent for emergency processing. It was determined he received a whole body dose of approximately 160 mSv (16 rem).

Update (01 October 2008): As a result of blood analysis conducted by the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States of America, the estimate of the whole body dose to Assistant #2 is 110 mSv (11 rem).

The final rating for this event is Level 2.
A Level 2 is warranted for exposure to an individual worker in excess of the statutory limits. See Section 2.3.1, “INES Scale User’s Manual – Draft 4.4, 19 June 2008.”
ERF rating date: 08-09-2008
ERF contact person: Cynthia Jones
ERF address: Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response Washington, DC USA
ERF affiliation: United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

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