CBRN event in Argentina on Thu 7th December 2006

On December 7th, 2006 the radiation safety officer of a licensed facility notified the Nuclear Regulatory Authority about the incidental exposure of twenty-six workers that were carrying out maintenance tasks and inspection inside coke cameras, commonly used in the process of petroleum refineries .
These workers were exposed to neutron radiation of nuclear gauges containing approximately 37 GBq of Am-241 (Be), located in those cameras.
As a result of the evaluation of the event, the investigation concluded that the effective dose received by the workers were as follows: five workers received a maximum value of 20 mSv and the others received doses between 0,5 mSv and 6 mSv.
Although the company has specific procedures to work in this area, it was observed failure in accomplishing procedures as well as lack of Safety Culture at the facility.