INDUSTRIAL RADIOGRAPHY ACCIDENTS IN MALAYSIA Dr. Abd. Nassir Ibrahim Industrial Technology Division Malaysia Nuclear Agency President Maaysia Society for NDT

Content of Presentation Background Absorbed dose by radiographers Accidents in radiography Factors affecting exposure to radiographers Proposal for improving radiation safety in industrial radiography

WHAT IAEA SAID ABOUT RADIOGRAPHERS INDUSTRIAL RADIOGRAPHY ACCOUNTS FOR APPROXIMATELY HALF OF ALL THE REPORTED ACCIDENTS FOR THE NUCLEAR RELATED INDUSTRY IN BOTH DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES- IAEA HANDBOOK

Background of Industrial Radiography Services in Malaysia Governed by the Atomic Energy Licensing Act, Act 304 In 2011 71 NDT Companies providing radiography services 3500-4000 NDT personnel Beneficiaries PETRONAS, TNB, MAS, AIROD, SHIPBUILDING, VESSEL AND BOILER CONSTRUCTION NDT TRAINING ORGANIZATIONS NUCLEAR MALAYSIA, SIRIM, TATI, ITC, KISMEC

GURUN High density radiography activity area KERTEH PENANG GEBENG Location of most NDT companies PASIR GUDANG

High density radiography activity area KOTA KINABALU MIRI LABUAN BINTULU KUCHING

Absorbed Dose By Radiographers YEAR NO OF RADIOGRAPHERS % TO TOTAL RADIATIONWORKERS TOTAL ABSORBED DOSE (MAN SEIVERT) % TOTAL ABSORBED DOSE BY ALL WORKERS 2005 753 5.91 2552.51 40.68 2006 693 5.0 3198.47 53.79 2007 745 4.76 2649.61 24.54 2008 1140 6.10 7079.29 58.27 2009 1181 5.61 7590.67 57.25 2010 1201 6.27% 5087.82 55.27

Absorbed Dose compare with other Radiation Workers Year Average dose mSv Compare to other industrial radiation workers Compare to medical radiation workers 2005 3.39 8 times 15.4 times 2006 4.62 42 times 16 times 2007 3.56 20 times 4 times 2008 6.21 77.7 times 13.2 times 2009 6.73 74.8 times 14 times

Cases Exceeding Operational Limit (20mSv/y)

REASONS FOR HIGH EXPOSURES

ACCIDENT 1 OCCURS ON 19TH APRIL 2005, AM Place: Kuching, Sarawak 2 RADIOGRAPHERS (20 AND 34 YEARS OLD) PERFORMING RADIOGRAPHY AT SHIPYARD Ir-192 Source dislodge inside the pipe and only realized 5 hours later Symptom developed: blisters, nausea and diarrohea. Examination indicated both suffer low white blood count 20 years old guy get worst Kuching Shipyard

ACCIDENT 2 OCCURS ON 2nd July 1986, 4AM Port Dickson OCCURS ON 2nd July 1986, 4AM Place: Port Dickson, Negri Sembilan 1 26 years old RADIOGRAPHER (PERFORMING RADIOGRAPHY OF PIPELINE) Ir-192 Source stuck at the guide tube, direct exposure for 15 mins Symptom developed: blisters, swell and sharp pain in bones Received first treatment 20th July 1986

MOST NOTABLE LESSON In both cases, accidents could have been avoided if radiographers use Radiation surveymeter

Reasons for High Dose Exposure Radiographers ‘do not care’ attitude Use of high radiation energy and intensity Failure to perform monitoring prior, during and after radiography operation Situation at the site sometime does not allow safety measure to be adhered Failure to use collimator (as it reduces productivity) Odd working time (at night can easily lost focus)

Reasons for High Dose Exposure Pressure from contractors forces the company to employ many teams at one site or cutting short safety procedures to improve production speed Financial offer for ‘higher performer’ entice radiographers to target for quantity.

Proposal to Improve Radiation Safety in Industrial Radiography NDT services company (Licensees) must implement continuous safety awareness program NDT services company must develop safety culture within the company NDT services company must adhere to procedure regardless of pressure from contractors NDT services company must stop the practice of paying more for more quantity Workers shall be considered as assistant radiographers for at least 3 years before recognized as a full radiographer by the authority

Proposal to Improve Radiation Safety in Industrial Radiography Training syllabus for operators and RPO must be standardized Made RPO as a special post (many current RPOs are also holding other post) Minimum qualification, age and experience for RPO (industrial radiography) must be defined Radiation safety awareness should be extended to end users and contractors Production of a special video (the best is by IAEA) showing the effect of radiation to human bodies and made this video as a part of the training program

Thanks for Attention

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