Radioactive Source Found in Buhovo

Site with SIR or place of the event: Radioactive source found in Buhovo

Event description:

On 08.07.2009 at 9:50 pm the NRA received information from a citizen that near to the residential block No.20 in the city of Buhovo (located about 10 km north from Sofia) has been measured increased gamma radiation background. NRA notifies about the event the General Directorate National Civil Protection (GDNSCP) in the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES), the National Center of Radiobiology and Radiation Protection (NCRRP) in the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Interior (MI). According to the procedures an Inter institutional emergency response team was created to clarify the case and to manage the situation in the city of Buhovo.

The radiation monitoring showed that the gamma radiation background is increased within the area with dimensions 50x50 centimeters of dirt road located at a distance of 7 meters from the block 20 in the town of Buhovo. The measured values of the dose rate are as follows:

• On the surface - about 50 μSv/h;
• At a distance of 1 meter - about 1 μSv/h.

The place was encircled and labeled and placed under security by the Ministry of interior. On 09.07.2009 the emergency response team comprising of representatives from GDNSCP, NRA, NCRRP, MI and State Enterprise "RAW" ("Radioactive waste"), continued the work on searching and making safe the radioactive source, accidentally found in this place. After digging around a depth of 50 centimeters the unshielded radioactive source was found. It looks like a metal cylindrical ampoule with a length of about 50 millimeters and a diameter of about 8 millimeters containing ²²⁶Ra (the dose rate at the surface of the source was 4,5 mSv/h). These types of sources were used in the past by the former uranium company "Rare metals”. The source was collected in a lead container and transported by the SE RAW for long-term storage in the repository located in the town of Novi Han.