Treasure Valley Radiological Investigation and Emergency Response

October 2014 to January 2015

Overview

» One Individual (RP) in One Boise Apartment» Manipulating/Modifying commercially available

Radioactive Products» One Incident spawned at least Four more

Potential Radiological Contamination Locations» Exposure threat to the Public» Releases to the Environment» Multiple Local, State, Federal Agencies involved» Radiological Contamination Response isn’t the

typical Hazmat Response.

Timeline

» Boise Apartment Discovery – October 8˃ Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and Idaho Department of Environmental

Quality (DEQ) inspects Boise apartment for radiological hazards. ˃ Discovers exposure and release hazards, DEQ activates Idaho Hazmat Response

Plan˃ Idaho Regional Response Team in Boise performs Initial Entry˃ DEQ requests EPA assistance to characterize/remove all HazMat˃ EPA OSC requests Department of Energy (DOE) Radiological Assistance Program

Team 6 (Idaho Falls) assistance

» EPA Initial Response and Assessment – October 9 to 14˃ RP Consent for Access = EPA Temporary Relocation Assistance˃ EPA (OSC, Attorney, Community Involvement Coordinator, Public Information

Officer) Mobilized Oct. 10 ˃ START/ERRS Contractor mobilized to begin Removal Assessment˃ RAP Team (8 personnel, sensitive survey equipment) onsite Dec. 10˃ Media/Public Outreach initiated

Timeline

» Site Operations – October 15 to 27˃ Remove Sources to conduct Contamination Survey˃ Hazard Categorize chemicals and mixed chem/rad unknowns˃ Sort through household trash, personal effects for other sources and areas of

contamination.˃ Decontaminate fixed items and personal effects.˃ Segregate items for disposal or return to RP. Arrange for storage/disposal˃ Carpet removal˃ Clearance survey of Apartment Interior

» Site Return to Use and Storage Shed Operations – October 28 to 31˃ Waste transferred to US Ecology˃ All garage units cleared and custody transferred back to property manager˃ Two storage units identified and surveyed˃ Radioactive material found in both units; one formerly cleared˃ Second transfer of waste to US Ecology

Timeline

» Metal Shop in Boise – December 8 to 10, 2014˃ NRC obtained Information that RP utilized metal shop to cut pieces of

Depleted Uranium metal ˃ Shop was screened/swiped while operating˃ Contamination found on a machine

» Caldwell Apartment Assessment – January 21, 2015˃ EPA obtained information that RP lived in a Caldwell Apartment where

he may have conducted similar activities˃ EPA and START mobilized to apartment to perform thorough scan of

interior/exterior˃ Conducted Radiological Survey, Collected swipe samples and two soil

samples

Apt Assessment

» Triage of Hazards at Boise Apt˃ RP and immediate belongings˃ Apartment interior/exterior˃ Vehicle (2nd vehicle is withheld for weeks)˃ Garages/Parking Spot

» Multiple Hazards Identified˃ Dozens of household containers with colored liquids/powders˃ Various empty/full household chemical containers throughout Apt˃ Poor Housekeeping - Personal Effects and household trash throughout apt˃ Chemical/Radiological materials segregated for Hazard Categorization˃ Radiological items included:

+ Fiesta Ware+ Uranium Glass+ Uranium Ore+ Old Smoke Detectors

Apt Assessment

Apt Assessment

» Initial clearance limit set at 2x background (28 cpm alpha, 152 cpm beta/gamma)

» Survey outside apartment identifies contamination on sidewalks, landings, hallways

» Sidewalk scabbled/ground and contamination captured

» 8 Soil samples collected» 16 bags household trash

removed from porch for segregation/screening in garage

» Access to offsite storage unit granted, no radiological material identified at that time

Apt Operations

» Entry made to segregate chem-only concerns from rad-only/mixed concerns

» All items removed screened for surface contamination using alpha and beta/gamma probes

» Swipe test performed for analysis in onsite rad analytical lab

» 2nd vehicle surveyed» Modified Hazard Categorization

using non-destructive assays performed to identify root hazard class

Apt Operations

» Once assessment complete, screened Apt interior˃ Sift through personal effects and debris/trash throughout apt˃ Personal effects, debris, trash, items in cabinets and drawers scanned for

fixed contamination˃ swiped for removable contamination˃ Established clean room and moved cleared personal effects to room˃ Surveyed all hard surfaces (walls, counters, bathtubs, furniture, etc.)

followed by random confirmation swipes

» Release criteria for screening of items/surfaces˃ 2x standard deviation of background ˃ Confirmation swipe samples collected

» Release criteria for swipes of items/surfaces˃ 50% the recommended value for TRUs in NRC Reg Guide 1.86 –

Termination of Ops Licenses for Reactors+ 10 dpm/100cm2 alpha+ 500 dpm/100cm2 beta/gamma

Apt Results

» Removal of building materials including carpet/traps

» List of items taken and justification provided to RP˃ 36 Hazardous Substances taken (chemical)˃ 102 Radiological sources or contaminated

items taken (rad)

» Some chemical and radiological items returned

» Property manager replaced building materials

» Personal effects returned to RP along with property

» Missing radiological source from 2nd vehicle

Community Relations, Public Information, Relocation

» RP and Girlfriend Relocated to Hotel for ~ 3 wks» Stipend for food, medicine, clothing» Repeated requests for retrieval of personal

effects» Significant Media Interest resulted in 1 Press

Release, 3 on-camera interviews, and 1 Press availability

» Strong Community Engagement with onsite CICs, DEQ Manager.

» Three Public Meetings held at Apt Complex.

Storage Units Ops

» EPA accessed all storage sheds associated with RP based on further info

» Original unit re-surveyed and additional amount of DU identified in tool box

» At second unit, source material, contaminated items, and HazMat identified on initial entry

» Operations transitioned to second unit

Storage Units Ops

» Screening process like apartment performed

» Waste transported to Grand View, ID

» Product samples shipped

» Resources demobed

Metal Shop Ops

» NRC provided info to DEQ and EPA that RP used a metal shop to process Depleted Uranium

» EPA mobilized to screen specific equipment (water jet, belt sander) used to process the metal

» Metal shop surfaces screened: no removable contamination

» Localized contamination identified on equipment and equipment waste streams

» Screened two workers who handled metal. Also screened POV, work clothes

» EPA, ATSDR, Idaho State Health Department provided Health Information session to shop employees

Metal Shop Ops

» Samples collected from contaminated equipment

» Equipment decontaminated to below clearance levels used in Boise Apt

» Facility screened: no removable contamination

» Localized contamination (metal slag) identified on equipment and in dust bag

» Slag and dust bag transported to waste locker in Grandview.

Caldwell Apt Screening

» During investigation, EPA identified several potential former residences for RP

» Consent for Access granted by Property Manager and Tenant

» Unit screened with instrumentation providing real-time results

» Found elevated soil readings near patio, soil samples collected

» No evidence of gross contamination identified

Health & Safety

» Modified Level C for initial entries or where contaminated items disturbed

» Continuous Air Monitoring in hot zones used to determine internal dose

» External dose tracked: mRads for initial entries, and Siemens EPDs for long-term ops

Challenges

» Sustained heavy resource needs during Boise Apt response

» Engagement with concerned community» Multi-agency integration, Data sharing» Data collection/Data Management» Managing sometimes uncooperative RP during

relocation» Slow, detailed survey of Apt items and surfaces » Special Laboratory analyses and limitations» Waste Segregation, Transportation, Disposal

Summary

» Multi-agency response involving radiological contamination at two apartment buildings/storage units, and one commercial facility

» Contamination caused by RP’s processing of commercially available/naturally occurring radiological materials

» All types of radiation (alpha/beta/gamma) encountered at site

» Uranium identified as primary contaminant of concern; Radium and Americium also identified

» Ongoing Investigation

Questions?