Source: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/DAILY/der.htm
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Daily Events Report
                    U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
                              Operations Center

                              Event Reports For
                           02/26/2001 - 02/27/2001

|General Information or Other                     |Event Number:   37781
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| REP ORG:  OHIO DEPT OF HEALTH                  |NOTIFICATION DATE: 02/26/2001|
|LICENSEE:  NONE                                 |NOTIFICATION TIME: 09:08[EST]|
|    CITY:  UHRICHSVILLE             REGION:  3  |EVENT DATE: 02/21/2001|
|  COUNTY:  TUSCARAWAS                STATE:  OH |EVENT TIME: 12:00[EST]|
|LICENSE#:                        AGREEMENT:  Y  |LAST UPDATE DATE: 02/26/2001|
|  DOCKET:
|+------------------------------------------+
|                                                |PERSON ORGANIZATION |
|                                                |ANTON VEGEL          R3
|                                                |JOHN HICKEY          NMSS
+-------------------------------------------+  GLENN MEYER         R1
|
| NRC NOTIFIED BY:  MICHAEL SNEE                 |
|  HQ OPS OFFICER:  DOUG WEAVER               |
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|
|EMERGENCY CLASS:          N/A           |
|
|10 CFR SECTION:                                 |
|
|NAGR                     AGREEMENT STATE        |
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                                   EVENT TEXT
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| AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - ALUMINUM CONTAMINATED WITH DEPLETED URANIUM
|
| The entrance gate radiation detectors at IMCO Recycling were tripped on
|
| February 20, 2001, by a load of aluminum leaving the facility that had been
| melted into ingots and de-ox cones.   The load was detained at the facility
| and the unprocessed scrap associated with the contaminated processed
| aluminum was surveyed.   A total of four pieces of depleted uranium was
| found attached to pieces of aluminum scrap.  The Department was notified on
| February 21, 2001,  of the incident.  The processed aluminum had maximum
| contact readings of 50 uR/hr with an 8 uR/hr background.
| IMCO hired a contract Health Physicist to survey the facility prior to the
| arrival the Department staff.  All process areas from the scrap aluminum
| storage area, through the smelting furnaces, to the final product and
| byproduct areas were surveyed.  No contamination was found.  Wipe tests of
| the depleted uranium revealed loose removable contamination, as would be
| expected for the exposed depleted uranium surfaces.
|
| A total of 118,000 pounds of aluminum ingots and de-ox cones have varying
| levels of contamination since the processing is a pseudo-continuous smelting
| process.
|
| Follow-up information tracked the origin of the scrap aluminum to Cousin's
|
| Industries, in Oceanside, NY.  The NY Department of Health has been notified
| of the incident and the intent to return the materials to Cousin's
|
| Industries. There is reportedly a total of eight shipments of the scrap
|
| aluminum.  The first shipment did not set off radiation alarms at IMCO. The
| second and third shipments were those identified at the IMCO facility, with
| five more shipments in route or remaining at the Cousins Industry facility.