ML020730163
| ML020730163 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 03/13/2002 |
| From: | Clark K, Roger Hannah Office of Public Affairs Region II |
| To: | |
| References | |
| Press Release-II-02-007 | |
| Download: ML020730163 (1) | |
See also: see also:Press Release-II-02-007
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NRC NEWS
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION H
61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta GA 30303
Web Site: www.nrc.gov
No. 11-02-007
March 13, 2002
CONTACT: Ken Clark (404)562-4416 or Roger Hannah (404)562-4417/e-mail: OPA2@nrc.gov
NRC STAFF PROPOSES $7,500 CIVIL PENALTY AGAINST HOSPITAL
IN HATO REY, PUERTO RICO FOR NONCOMPLIANCE WITH REGULATIONS
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has proposed a $7,500 civil penalty against I. Gonzalez
Martinez Oncologic Hospital in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, for violation of NRC safety requirements after
a radioactive therapy source was misplaced, left unprotected in a room where an employee
unknowingly received unnecessary exposure, and found in a trash compactor in an alley outside the
hospital some 19 hours2.199074e-4 days <br />0.00528 hours <br />3.141534e-5 weeks <br />7.2295e-6 months <br /> after it was lost.
NRC officials said that around 11:30 a.m. on March 14, 2001, hospital personnel removed a
brachytherapy implant containing about 97 millicuries of radioactive Cesium-137 from a patient.
Failure to adequately label, count or control the radioactive material caused it to be misplaced, and it
was not until 8:00 p.m. that hospital personnel noted that it was missing.
Federal regulations require that the dose in any unrestricted area from external sources does not
exceed 2 millirems in any one hour. However, on March 14 and 15, 2001, the hospital created
radiation levels of up to approximately 50 millirems an hour in the vicinity of the trash compactor and
public parking lot. The NRC said hospital personnel also allowed the source to remain unshielded in a
brachytherapy preparation room, a restricted area, before it was sent to the trash compactor but did not
perform adequate surveys to ensure that a hospital employee entering the room was not exposed to
radioactivity in excess of allowable limits.
The NRC said hospital examination of the circumstances associated with the event indicated that
the employee, who was not a radiation worker, did not receive an exposure of more than 100
millirems, the annual limit for individuals not licensed to work with radioactive material. There was
also no indication that anyone received more than 100 millirems while the material was in the trash
compactor in the alley.
The hospital has 30 days from receipt of the Notice of Violation to either pay the civil penalty or to
protest it.