Volume 2, 2017

Radiation Protection

CALCULATION OF THE EXPECTED DOSE FOR A RADIATION INCIDENT INVOLVING THE THEFT OF RADIOACTIVE SOURCES

Natasha Ivanova, Severina Ivanova

Pages: 80-84

DOI: 10.21175/RadProc.2017.17

On 10 September 2012, the Regional Health Inspectorate (RHI) in Varna received a signal for a radiation incident that occurred in Polimeri AD: three level switches, containing radionuclide cesium 137 had been stolen. The investigators found that the theft was carried out on 2 September 2012 by Roma residents of the residential area Gabena Mahala, Devnya. After the theft, the sources have been dismantled from their protective shielding and hidden in the neighborhood of the thieves. The sources were detected and removed from the living area after a joined action of the police department in Devnya, the Regional Health Inspectorate (RHI) Varna and the Civil Protection - Varna. Later, the radioactive sources were stored in the temporary repository for radioactive waste (RRW) of Polimeri AD. During the radiation incident and the elimination of the consequences the author of the article worked as an inspector physicist in the Department for Radiation Control at the Regional Health Inspectorate Varna and participated directly in all activities regarding the removal of the hidden resources and storing them in the repository for radioactive waste, as well as in all inspections and corrective actions.
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