While doing the radiography work at the construction site for the oil rig Bunga Orkid D (BOD) from 11:30 to 12:30, 28 December 2007, the radiography workers of the Alpha Company dropped a radiation source Ir-192 with the radioactivity 26,68 Ci. The source after that was recovered and placed in the container at 15:40. Since 31 December 2007, the construction site came into normal operation. A report on this incident was submitted by the Ministry of Science and Technology to the Prime Minister on 3 January 2008.

Brief on the source and incident

The incident where an industrial radiography source dropped out the radiography equipment occurred on 28 December 2007 on the construction site for the oil rig Bunga Orkid D (BOD), Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province.

The responsibility for the incident is born by the Alpha Company, Subcontractor of the Contractor PTSC Supply Base Services (a Subsidary of the Petrolium Technical Services Company), who is carrying out the radiography work to detect flaws of the oil rig BOD which is under construction in the Project Bunga Orkid by the PTSC Mechanical and Construction Services (another Subsidary of the Petrolium Technical Services Company).

The radiation source in the incident is Ir-192, with the registered number N071226, radioactivity 26,68 Ci on 28 December 2007. The Alpha Company was granted a licence to use this source by the Vietnam Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety and Control (VARANSAC) on 14 November 2007.

On 28 December 2007, according to the Work Permit no. 127 granted by the PTSC, the Alpha Company used the source to take photos in the BOD rig from 11:30 to 12:30 (the break time for workers). More than one hour since the work on the BOD rig was finished, the Radiography workers developed films and got white films, that meaned the source had not been fixed in the radiography equipment by the time they took photos. Awaring the incident and potential risk, the Radiography workers immediately announced the Alpha Company so that response actions could be taken in timely manner.

Incident Response

Receiving the annoucement on the incident, the PTSC Supply Base Services and the Alpha Company promtly took response actions in accordance with the safety procedures. At 13:55, workers started getting out of the site and by 14:15, the evacuation had been completed; at 15:00 the Alpha Company’s Emergency Group started searching the missing source; at 15:30 the source was found; at 15:40 the source was placed in the safety container; at 16:20 the source was placed in the Alpha Company’s storage in Industrial Zone Dong Xuyen.

Since 31 December 2007, the site for BOD construction came into normal operation.