Press Release-I-12-048, NRC to Discuss Corrective Actions on Dec. 10 with Self-Shielded Irradiator Services Company

Press Release-I-12-048: NRC to Discuss Corrective Actions on Dec. 10 with Self-Shielded Irradiator Services Company

ML16141B165
Person / Time
Issue date:	12/03/2012
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region I
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-I-12-048
Download: ML16141B165 (1)

Text

NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region I 2100 Renaissance Blvd., King of Prussia, Pa. 19406-2713 E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov Site: www.nrc.gov Blog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov No. I-12-048 Dec. 3, 2012

Contact:

Diane Screnci, (610) 337-5330 Email: opa1.resource@nrc.gov Neil Sheehan, (610) 337-5331 NRC TO DISCUSS CORRECTIVE ACTIONS ON DEC. 10 WITH SELF-SHIELDED IRRADIATOR SERVICES COMPANY Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold a public meeting with Gamma Irradiator Service (GIS) on Monday, Dec. 10, to discuss the actions taken and planned by the Pennsylvania-based company to prevent a recurrence of an overexposure event involving an irradiator in New Jersey on Oct. 8, 2011.

The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. at the NRC Region I Office, at 2100 Renaissance Blvd.

in King of Prussia, Pa. (Directions to the office can be found at: http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/locations/region1.html ). It will take place in the Yellowstone Meeting Room (Room 2109).

Members of the public will be able to ask questions of NRC staff prior to the meetings adjournment.

Interested members of the public can participate in this meeting via a toll-free teleconference. For details about the teleconference, or if you wish to attend the meeting in person, contact Kathy Modes at 610-337-5251 or by e-mail at Kathy.Modes@NRC.GOV by Dec. 6.

GIS, which is based in Benton, Pa., performs preventive maintenance and other services on irradiators. On Oct. 8, 2011, employees of the firm were involved in an event at an irradiator facility in Raritan, N.J., in which a GIS employee and two subcontractors were exposed to radiation in excess of regulatory limits. The overexposure event occurred while a radioactive source was being loaded into an irradiator.

While there were no expected health impacts for the workers involved in this event, the NRC is interested in the actions taken since then to prevent a recurrence or more serious event from occurring, NRC Region I Administrator Bill Dean said.

At the time of the event, the work was being performed under the jurisdiction of the State of New Jersey. However, the event raised questions for the NRC regarding the adequacy of radiological controls used by GIS, since they would also be utilized when the company was performing work that is under NRC jurisdiction.

On Oct. 20, 2011, the NRC issued a Confirmatory Action Letter to GIS (available in the NRCs electronic documents system at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html under Accession number ML112930388). That letter listed actions to be taken by the company to address issues associated with the Oct. 8, 2011 event, including retaining a third party to assess the adequacy of the companys operating and emergency procedures. With over a year since the event to implement corrective actions, GIS management will discuss those actions with the NRC at the Dec. 10th meeting.

In addition to NRC staff, representatives from regulatory agencies in New Jersey and Pennsylvania responsible for overseeing GIS activities in their respective states are expected to attend the meeting.

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