Date: 5 January 1996

Location: Jilin, Xinzhou, PRC

Type of event: exposure to lost source

Description:

A worker found a 2.765 TBq iridium-192 source on the ground at his workplace at 7:40 AM and picked it up. He held it in his hand about 15 minutes, then put it in a pants pocket. He began vomiting at 10:30 AM and went home to rest at noon, putting his pants with the source under his bed. At 5:00 PM an officer came and retrieved the source and the man was hospitalized. On day 8 the man's left hand and most of his right leg were amputated, and on day 145 the rest of his right leg was amputated. Estimated dose was 10,500 rad to the left wrist, 21,800-83,000 rad to the palm of left hand, up to 23,000-45,000 rad to the right femur, and 290 rad whole body.

Consequences: 1 injury.

References:

• Ye Genyao, Wang Guilin, Lou Qingliang, Yang Zhixiang, and Mao Bingzhi, 1997, "Joint report of the Jilin 192Ir radiation accident: a clinical study on a case of moderate degree bone marrow form of acute radiation sickness with extremely severe local radiation injury," on line at CRID [http://www.crid.or.cr/digitalizacion/pdf/eng/doc12350/doc12350-contenido.pdf].

© 2007 by Wm. Robert Johnston.
Last modified 25 September 2007.
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