The radiological accident in Lia, Georgia - IAEA

1 @INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCYVIENNAISBN 978 92 0 103614 8 THE radiological accident IN LIA, GEORGIATHE radiological accident IN LIA, GEORGIAAFGHANISTANALBANIAALGERIAANGOLAAR GENTINAARMENIAAUSTRALIAAUSTRIAAZERBAIJAN BAHAMASBAHRAINBANGLADESHBELARUSBELGIUMBE LIZEBENINBOLIVIABOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINABOTSWANABRAZILBRUNEI DARUSSALAMBULGARIABURKINA FASOBURUNDICAMBODIACAMEROONCANADACENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLICCHADCHILECHINACOLOMBIACONGOCOSTA RICAC TE D IVOIRECROATIACUBACYPRUSCZECH REPUBLICDEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGODENMARKDOMINICADOMINICAN REPUBLICECUADOREGYPTEL

2 SALVADORERITREAESTONIAETHIOPIAFIJIFINLAN DFRANCEGABONGEORGIAGERMANYGHANAGREECEGUA TEMALAHAITIHOLY SEEHONDURASHUNGARYICELANDINDIAINDONESIAI RAN, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAQIRELANDISRAELITALYJAMAICAJAPANJORDAN KAZAKHSTANKENYAKOREA, REPUBLIC OFKUWAITKYRGYZSTANLAO PEOPLE S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICLATVIALEBANONLESOTHOLIBERIALIBYA LIECHTENSTEINLITHUANIALUXEMBOURGMADAGASC ARMALAWIMALAYSIAMALIMALTAMARSHALL ISLANDSMAURITANIA, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OFMAURITIUSMEXICOMONACOMONGOLIAMONTENEGR OMOROCCOMOZAMBIQUEMYANMARNAMIBIANEPALNET HERLANDSNEW ZEALANDNICARAGUANIGERNIGERIANORWAYOMANPA KISTANPALAUPANAMAPAPUA NEW GUINEAPARAGUAYPERUPHILIPPINESPOLANDPORTU GALQATARREPUBLIC OF MOLDOVAROMANIARUSSIAN FEDERATIONRWANDASAN MARINOSAUDI ARABIASENEGALSERBIASEYCHELLESSIERRA LEONESINGAPORESLOVAKIASLOVENIASOUTH AFRICASPAINSRI LANKASUDANSWAZILANDSWEDENSWITZERLANDSYRI AN ARAB REPUBLICTAJIKISTANTHAILANDTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIATOGOTRINIDAD AND

3 TOBAGOTUNISIATURKEYUGANDAUKRAINEUNITED ARAB EMIRATESUNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELANDUNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIAUNITED STATES OF AMERICAURUGUAYUZBEKISTANVENEZUELA, BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OFVIET NAMYEMENZAMBIAZIMBABWEThe following States are Members of the International Atomic Energy Agency:The Agency s Statute was approved on 23 October 1956 by the Conference on the Statute of the IAEA held at United Nations Headquarters, New York; it entered into force on 29 July 1957.

4 The Headquarters of the Agency are situated in Vienna. Its principal objective is to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world .THE radiological accident IN LIA, GEORGIAINTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCYVIENNA, 2014 IAEA Library Cataloguing in Publication DataThe radiological accident in Lia, Georgia . Vienna : International Atomic Energy Agency, ; 24 978 92 0 103614 8 Includes bibliographical Radiation injuries Georgia (Republic).

5 2. Radioactive sources. 3. Radionuclide generators. I. International Atomic Energy Agency. II. 14 00916 COPYRIGHT NOTICEAll IAEA scientific and technical publications are protected by the terms of the Universal Copyright Convention as adopted in 1952 (Berne) and as revised in 1972 (Paris). The copyright has since been extended by the World Intellectual Property Organization (Geneva) to include electronic and virtual intellectual property.

6 Permission to use whole or parts of texts contained in IAEA publications in printed or electronic form must be obtained and is usually subject to royalty agreements. Proposals for non-commercial reproductions and translations are welcomed and considered on a case-by-case basis. Enquiries should be addressed to the IAEA Publishing Section at: Marketing and Sales Unit, Publishing SectionInternational Atomic Energy AgencyVienna International CentrePO Box 1001400 Vienna, Austriafax: +43 1 2600 29302tel.

7 : +43 1 2600 22417email: IAEA, 2014 Printed by the IAEA in AustriaDecember 2014 STI/PUB/1660 FOREWORDThe use of radioactive material offers a wide range of benefits to medicine, research and industry throughout the world. Precautions are necessary, however, to limit the exposure of people to the radiation emitted. Where the amount of radioactive material is substantial, as in the case of radiotherapy or industrial radiography sources, great care is required to prevent accidents which could have severe consequences.

8 Nevertheless, in spite of the precautions taken, serious accidents involving radiation sources continue to occur, albeit infrequently. The IAEA conducts follow-up reviews of such serious accidents to provide an account of their circumstances and consequences, from which organizations with responsibilities for radiation protection, safety of sources and emergency preparedness and response may serious radiological accident occurred in Georgia on 2 December 2001, when three inhabitants of the village of Lia found two metal objects in the forest while collecting firewood.

9 These objects were 90Sr sources with an activity of 1295 TBq. The three inhabitants used the objects as heaters when spending the night in the forest. The major cause of the accident was the improper and unauthorized abandonment of radiation sources in Georgia and the absence of clear labels or radiation signs on the sources warning of the potential radiation hazard. Under the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear accident or radiological Emergency (Assistance Convention)

10 , the Georgian authorities requested assistance from the IAEA to advise on the dose assessment, source recovery and medical management of those involved in the their support provided under the Assistance Convention, the IAEA wishes to express its thanks to France and its Institute for radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety, the Burn Treatment Centre of the Percy Military Training Hospital, in Paris, and the Russian Federation and its Burnasyan Federal medical Biophysical Center The IAEA is grateful to the Government of Georgia for the opportunity to report on this accident to disseminate the valuable lessons learned.