Date: ~August 2006

Location: Dakar, Senegal, and Abidjan, Ivory Coast

Type of event: accidental exposure to radiography source

Description:

Following use of an iridium-192 source in radiography equipment in Dakar, Senegal, the source failed to retract into the shielded storage container. Users were not aware that the source was not secure, and the equipment was stored under a staircase for several weeks and later moved to Abidjan, Ivory Coast, for use there. Operators discovered the source was not secure when preparing to use it again. Between the two locations, four employees suffered sufficient exposure to warrant transfer to Paris, France, for medical treatment: all with localized radiation injuries and one additionally reportedly in "particularly serious" condition. Other employees at both sites are being tested for exposure.

Consequences: 4 injuries.

References:

• Bureau Veritas, 1 Sept. 2006, "Accidental exposure to ionising radiation in Senegal and the Ivory Coast: four people receive treatment in France," Bureau Veritas, on line [http://www.bureauveritas.com/webapp/servlet/RequestHandler?mode=displayArchiveDetail&contentID=63992&nextpage=ViewArticle.jsp].
• IRSN, 31 Aug. 2006, "Accident de gammagraphie en Afrique: l'IRSN apporte son assistance et mobilise ses experts dans le domaine de l'irradiation accidentelle," IRSN, on line [http://www.irsn.fr/].
• IRSN, 15 Feb. 2007, "Les accidents dus aux rayonnements ionisants: le bilan sur un demi-siecle," IRSN, on line [http://www.irsn.org/document/site_1/fckfiles/File/Internet/documents_doctrines_et_syntheses/les_accidents_dus_aux_rayonnements_ionisants.pdf].

© 2006, 2007 by Wm. Robert Johnston.
Last modified 24 September 2007.
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