U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Region III Office of Public Affairs

801 Warrenville Road, Lisle, IL 60532-4351

NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT: RIII-97-83 September 11, 1997

CONTACT: Jan Strasma 630/829-9663

Angela Dauginas 630/829-9662

E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov

NRC STAFF PROPOSES $2,500 FINE AGAINST S.C. JOHNSON & SONS,

FOR A RADIATION SAFETY VIOLATION

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has proposed a

$2,500 fine against S.C. Johnson & Sons, Inc., Racine, Wisconsin,

for the unauthorized disposal of a nuclear gauge.

The company, a manufacturer of a wide variety of consumer

and commercial products, uses industrial gauges with a sealed

radiation source containing americium-241 or cesium-137 primarily

for detecting the fullness of aerosol cans on an assembly line.

In August of last year, S.C. Johnson employees removed a

nuclear gauge containing americium-241 from an assembly line in

preparation for replacement without informing the company’s

Radiation Safety Officer. The gauge was placed in an equipment

scrap area and a month later was disassembled by company staff

for scrap metal. Parts of the gauge were placed in nonradioactive trash bins which were disposed of in a local

landfill, and the other parts were placed in bins containing

metal for recycling.

In November, when the Radiation Safety Officer realized that

the gauge was missing from the assembly line, searches and

surveys were performed of the company’s facility, the metal

recycling center, and the landfill. The missing source was not

located during the searches and no abnormal radiation levels or

contamination were detected. The company believes that the part

of the gauge containing the americium-241 source was disposed of

as non-radioactive trash and sent to the landfill where it is

buried 15 to 30 feet below the surface.

(The americium-241 is sealed in ceramic enamel which is

bonded to a stainless steel capsule and inside a metal protective

box. As long as the source remained in the protective housing

with the source shutter closed, it would not represent a

significant environmental or safety hazard. The gauge’s source

shutter automatically closes when power is off.)

NRC inspectors in November and December performed radiation

surveys at the facilities and selected areas of the landfill

where the source may have been deposited. Inspectors determined

that landfill operations were unlikely to cause damage to the
sealed source.

In a letter to the company, NRC’s Regional Administrator A.

Bill Beach said:

"The lack of basic radiation safety instruction for

employees frequenting areas where nuclear gauges are installed

contributed to this incident which resulted in the loss of a 300

millicurie americium-241 source...Although [S.C. Johnson & Sons]

is reasonably certain that the source is buried in a local

landfill, this violation is of significant regulatory concern

because several S.C. Johnson & Sons’ employees failed to follow

established procedures regarding the handling of nuclear gauges."

The company was also cited for unauthorized removal of the

gauge, storing the gauge in an unsecured area, and failing to

immediately report the missing source to the NRC. No fine was

assessed for these three violations.

The company has until October 3 to pay the fine or to

protest it. If the fine is protested and subsequently imposed by

the NRC staff, the company may request a hearing.

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