CBRN event in Romania on Fri 3rd May 1996

The Sealing cladd of the radioactive source Co-60 used in the chemical reactor factory for the level measurement was detected as failed. Corrective actions initiated identified that the cladd was not sealed due to corrosion effects. As a result the plant was stopped and the operating licence withdrawn for the Co-60 radioactive source up to the clarification of the causes, implementation of the actions considered to be taken and evaluation of the consequences. Further investigations revealed that about half of the radioactive source was mixed up with the urea carbonate inside the cladd and the other half of about 100 mCi spread out inside the chemical reactor. No personnel was injured during the event, and the on-site contamination which was lower than the regulatory limits was removed. However, further investigations are still going on to identify if some off-site impact exists. Preliminary evaluations reveal that the individual and collective population doses were not exceeded even in the worst cases as a result of fertilizer contamination.