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Be Familiar with Radiation Protection Procedures
A recent radioactive contamination incident at Los Alamos National Laboratory, which led to offsite contamination in several neighboring states and an unexpected personnel dose, highlights the importance of complying with Berkeley Lab's procedures for the control of radioactive material. These include:
- All receipts and shipments of radioactive materials must be processed through the EH&S Transportation Office (75-113, x6228).
- Personal vehicles and public transportation may not be used to transport radioactive material.
- Radiation surveys must be conducted prior to, during and immediately following work, per work authorization or permit.
- Any item in a posted Radioactive Material Area (RMA) or Radioactive Material Storage Area (RSA) must be surveyed by an RCT (green-tagged) prior to unrestricted release.
For questions, contact the Radiological Control Manager, Gary Zeman (x6626), or Christine Donahue (x7736).
Details of the Los Alamos incident: A LANL worker recently violated radiological control procedures including improperly receiving radioactive material and failing to perform required surveys, which resulted in the spread of radioactive contamination ( 241 Am) throughout the work area, to his clothing and skin, his car and home and also to the homes of relatives in Colorado and Kansas. Radioactive contamination was also found at the home of a second LANL employee and at a testing facility in Pennsylvania where the contaminated items had been improperly shipped for analysis. A DOE Type B investigation is ongoing.
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