The Radiological Accident in Gilan

On 24 July 1996 a serious accident occurred at the Gilan combined cycle fossil fuel power plant in the Islamic Republic of Iran. A worker unknowingly put an unshielded 185 GBq iridium-192 source used for industrial radiography in his pocket. As a result of exposure to the iridium source, the worker suffered from severe haematopoietic syndrome (bone marrow depression) and an unusually extended localized radiation injury requiring plastic surgery. This report gives a detailed account of the medical aspects of the accident and the lessons learned. Contents: 1. Introduction; 2. Circumstances of the accident; 3. Medical aspects of the accident; 4. Physical reconstruction of exposures; 5. Dose estimation from clinical observations and laboratory investigations; 6. Conclusions and recommendations; Figures and photos.

STI/PUB/1123, 46 pp.; 4 figures; 2002, ISBN 92-0-110502-9, English. 15.00 Euro. Date of Issue: 4/25/2002. Full Text, (File Size: 933 KB).

Subject Classification: 0101 - Nuclear medicine (including radiopharmaceuticals); 0103 - Medical physics (including dosimetry); 0609 - Radiation protection; 0610 - Accident response.

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