International Isotopes said Thursday it incurred over $2.1 million in expenses through the end of September in connection with a radiological contamination incident last spring that occurred as its workers were removing a blood irradiator from a hospital research facility in Seattle.
However, the Idaho Falls, Idaho, nuclear medicine company said it also received $964,958 in associated insurance payments through Sept. 30 and anticipates a slightly larger amount in the future. It has also requested full indemnification for the event from its client on the project, the Department of Energy.
“Under the terms of the contract the Company believes it should be indemnified from financial liability for this event by the DOE under the Price Anderson Act (PAA),” International Isotopes said in its latest 10-Q filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. “While the DOE’s review of the request is still underway the Company believes that a determination of indemnification under the PAA is probable. Such indemnification would allow the Company to recoup all its costs associated with this contamination event.”
The 1957 legislation established a “system of indemnification,” or compensation, for costs incurred in a nuclear incident that occurs during an operation contracted by the Department of Energy.
The SEC filing did not provide details of the expenses from the accident.
International Isotopes, a specialist in radioactive source removal, was working for DOE’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to take the irradiator from a medical research building at the University of Washington’s Harborview Medical Center. The agency conducts such missions as part of its radiologiccal security mission.
A cesium-137 capsule was breached during the extraction, spreading radioactive contamination over seven floors of the facility. The cause of the incident remains under investigation, according to the 10-Q.
Company personnel completed removal of the cesium source and early remediation operations. It wrapped up its role in the cleanup last August. That left the Energy Department to manage the work, along with “all of the past and future financial obligations associated with the contractor currently hired to carry out all of the facility recovery operations,” the 10-Q says.
The NNSA said late Thursday it would not be able to answer questions regarding the status of cleanup and the investigation by deadline for RadWaste Monitor. International Isotopes did not respond to a query by deadline.
In its third quarter, ended Sept. 30, International Isotopes reported just over $2.3 million in revenue. That was down by 13% from nearly $2.7 million in the same quarter of 2018. Management attributed the drop primarily to lower revenue in the cobalt products business, which plunged from $1.1 million to $97,849 on a year-over-year basis. Higher revenue in the company’s radiochemical products and radiological services businesses helped counter that loss.
Cobalt products include manufacturing bulk cobalt, production of capsules for radiation therapy and industrial uses, and recycling of used sources. Ongoing delays in supply of cobalt from a Department of Energy reactor left the company unable to provide the material to customers this year. A separate supply agreement sealed last November is expected to enable International Isotopes to resume deliveries at the beginning of 2020, the 10-Q says.
The accident in Seattle actually boosted net income for the quarter, to $236,462 in 2019 from a net loss of $333,222 in 2018.
“This is an increase in net income of $569,684 and is a result of timing of recognition for estimated cost recovery of expenses related to the cleanup of the contamination event that occurred at an offsite location in the State of Washington,” the SEC filing says.
