Press Release-11-116, NRC Issues Annual Report on Abnormal Occurrences for FY2010

Press Release-11-116: NRC Issues Annual Report on Abnormal Occurrences for FY2010

ML11180A033
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Issue date:	06/29/2011
From:	Office of Public Affairs
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Press Release-11-116
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NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 E-mail: opa.resource@nrc.gov Site: www.nrc.gov Blog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov No.11-116 June 29, 2011 NRC ISSUES ANNUAL REPORT ON ABNORMAL OCCURRENCES FOR FY2010 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has released its annual report on abnormal occurrences for fiscal year 2010, citing 15 events that occurred at licensed medical facilities during that period.

An accident or event is considered an abnormal occurrence if it involves a major reduction in the degree of protection of public health and safety. Abnormal occurrences can include, but are not necessarily limited to, moderate exposure to or release of radioactive material licensed by the NRC or a state agency; major degradation of safety-related equipment; or major deficiencies in design, construction, use of or management controls for facilities or radioactive material at NRC-licensed facilities.

For FY 2010, there were no abnormal occurrences at the 104 NRC-licensed nuclear power reactors. Eight of the 15 abnormal occurrences in medical facilities involved NRC licensees, while the rest involved Agreement State licensees. (Thirty-seven states have entered into agreements with the NRC to regulate radioactive materials.) One of the NRC events and two of the Agreement State events involved exposure of an embryo or fetus. The rest were medical events, such as misadministration of radioactive material during diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. Thousands of such procedures are conducted in U.S. medical facilities each year.

The report details investigations of each incident by the NRC, Agreement States and licensees, as well as measures taken to ensure such incidents do not recur.

This years report updates information on two abnormal occurrences at medical facilities described in the FY 2009 report. A section on other items of interest discusses three events at nuclear power plants and one that occurred at a fuel cycle facility - these events did not meet the criteria to be classified as abnormal occurrences but are included in the report because of high public and media interest.

The report on abnormal occurrences for fiscal year 2010 is published as NUREG-0090, Vol. 33. It was transmitted to Congress on June 22 and published today in the Federal Register. It will soon be available on the NRC website at:

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr0090/.

News releases are available through a free listserv subscription at the following Web address:

http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC homepage at www.nrc.gov also offers a SUBSCRIBE link. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRCs website.