United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Public Affairs, Region I

475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19401

Phone: 610/337-5330 Fax: 610/337-5241

Internet: dps@nrc.gov or nas@nrc.gov

I-97-76 July 3, 1997

Contact: Diane Screnci FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Neil A. Sheehan

NRC STAFF, REPRESENTATIVES OF THREE FIRMS TO MEET JULY 10

TO DISCUSS HANDLING, DISPOSAL OF SIGNS CONTAINING TRITIUM

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with

representatives from three companies July 10 to discuss the

manner in which three “EXIT” signs containing radioactive

material were transferred and disposed of in New Jersey.

In May, a 16-year-old boy removed three “EXIT” signs from

a Union, N.J., demolition site, took them to his home and opened

one of them, exposing himself and his family’s home to

radioactive tritium gas. No one suffered any adverse health

effects as a result of the incident. However, NRC staff has

scheduled a predecisional enforcement conference with

representatives of three companies that at various times

possessed or owned the building where the signs were installed to

discuss possible violations of agency rules and regulations.

Representatives of Pneumo Abex Corporation of Chicago,

Selrite Millworks Corporation of Union, N.J., and Carco

Construction of Randolph, N.J., will meet with NRC staff at 10

a.m. on July 10 in the NRC Region 1 office in King of Prussia,

Pa. The meeting, which will be held in the public meeting room,

will be open to the public for observation only.

An inspection by the NRC following the incident determined

that Pneumo Abex purchased the signs in 1983 for use at its

property in Union, N.J. But Pneumo Abex apparently failed to

provide the required documentation to Selrite Millworks and the

NRC when it transferred the site to Selrite. Similarly, it

appears Selrite failed to provide documentation to Carco

Construction and the NRC when it transferred the site to Carco.

Finally, Carco apparently removed the signs from the site and

either abandoned them or disposed of them improperly.

On May 10, the teen-age boy took the signs from the

demolition site and brought them home. While eating a snack in

his basement bedroom, he dismantled one of the signs, breaking
several tubes containing tritium. He contacted local emergency

response personnel after seeing a radioactive materials label.

Emergency personnel contacted the State of New Jersey Department

of Environmental Protection, which notified the NRC.

Preliminary estimates indicated that the boy received a

radioactive dose equivalent to one year of exposure to natural

background radiation. Surveys of the boy’s bedroom showed

moderate contamination, while only trace amounts were found

elsewhere in the house.

The decision to hold a predecisional enforcement

conference does not mean that the NRC has determined a violation

has occurred or that enforcement action will be taken. Rather,

the purpose is to discuss apparent violations, their causes and

safety significance; to provide the licensee with an opportunity

to point out any errors that may have been made in the NRC

inspection report; and to enable the licensee to outline its

proposed corrective action.

No decision on the apparent violations will be made at

this conference. That decision will be made by NRC officials at

a later time.

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