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Accidential Exposure of Industrial Radiography Worker

Print View Posted on: 26 December 2024

Event Date: 12 September 2023 Event Type: Radiation Source Event Location: Korea, Republic of, Yeosu INES Rating: 2 (Final)

On September 12, 2023, during industrial radiography, the control cable of the equipment ruptured, causing the radiation source(Ir-192, 1.75 TBq) to detach inside the guide tube. The worker was unable to notice the detachment of the radiation source in time due to the lack of proper radiation safety equipment and continued working. After completing the work, it was confirmed that all the taken film were overexposed, leading to the realization that the radiation source had detached. Although no clinically significant effects, such as blood abnormalities or skin tissue reactions, were observed, the radiation dose assessment indicated an effective dose of 116 mSv and a hand (skin) equivalent dose of 1967 mSv.

INES Rating: 2 – Incident (Final) as per 29 January 2024

Impact on people and the environment Release beyond authorized limits? No Overexposure of a

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Exposure of Workers at a Facility using a Radiation Generating Device

Print View Posted on: 26 December 2024

Event Date: 15 July 2019 Event Type: Radiation Source Event Location: Korea, Republic of, Ansan INES Rating: 3 (Final)

In July 2017, at a semiconductor manufacturing company, seven workers were exposed to radiation due to the abnormal use of an X-ray generator(100 kVp, 0.1 mA) for product defect inspection. The X-ray generator was a cabinet-type device with a shielding door interlock, but the workers manually disabled the interlock, allowing the shielding door to be opened while the X-rays continued to emit. While the X-rays were being emitted, the workers inserted their hands and upper bodies into the device to perform the work. Among the seven exposed workers, two workers developed radiation effects on their hands, including erythema, pain, and blisters. Radiation dose assessments conducted that while the effective dose for the seven workers did not exceed the annual dose limit, the skin equivalent dose exceeded the annual dose limit for all of them.

INES Rating: 3 – Serious incident (Final) as per 17 March 2020

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Accidential Exposure of Industrial Radiography Worker

Print View Posted on: 26 December 2024

Event Date: 24 August 2018 Event Type: Radiation Source Event Location: Korea, Republic of, Geoje INES Rating: 2 (Final)

On August 24, 2018, during industrial radiography using a sealed radiation source (Ir-192, 1.22 TBq), the radiation source became stuck inside the guide tube, making it impossible to retrieve. During the initial response, the remote control cable was incorrectly assembled in the opposite direction, but the worker did not notice this mistake. The worker believed that the source had been safely retrieved into a shielding container, but instead, the source was pushed outside the container and remained inside the guide tube. When the worker attempted to detach the guide tube from the shielding container, the source became exposed. The worker then physically handled the source capsule with bare hands, resulting in radiation exposure. At the time, the worker did not have a radiation detector, so the exact position of the source was unknown. The source was later safely retrieved by another worker. The worker’s hand equivalent dose was assessed as 960 mSv, which exceeds the dose limit.

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