The Sandia National Laboratories this year lost a device that contained radioactive polonium 210, the Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessments [EA] said last week.
The New Mexico facility in 2014 leased two static-eliminating inline alpha ionizers that each contained 10 millicuries of the substance. One was sent to a Department of Defense site in October 2014 for use in a Sandia explosive handling operation, Steven Simonson, director of the EA Office of Enforcement, said in an Oct. 26 letter to lab Director Jill Hruby. The device was returned to the laboratory in April 2015.
“When the package was opened, the ionizer was not detected inside the box and the package and packing material were placed on the floor and subsequently assumed to have been picked up by building custodial services or another individual within the building,” the letter states.” Upon returning to work on April 23, 2015, the individual who opened the package noticed the packaging material was missing and contacted building custodial services to determine if the package was picked up. After an extensive search to locate the ionizer, Sandia declared the ionizer to be lost.”
The nature of the isotope and the sturdiness of the ionizer meant the “nuclear safety consequences” of the lost item were low, according to Simonson. However, failure to maintain control of the device appears to breach federal regulations on nuclear safety management and occupational radiation protection, the DOE official said.
In a prepared statement, lab spokesman James Danneskiold said “Sandia takes its responsibility to protect the public and the environment and to control radioactive material seriously. Sandia responded by initiating corrective actions that resulted in improvements that were identified in an extensive causal analysis. These improvements will mitigate the potential for recurrence. The ionizer is not a hazard to the public or the environment.” Steps taken to address the issue included reviewing policies for acquiring the ionizers and improving procedures for accounting for the devices and all other “accountable radioactive materials,” Danneskiold stated by email.
