Press Release-I-21-009, NRC Issues Confirmatory Action Letter to West Virginia Hospital
| ML21326A089 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 03003370 |
| Issue date: | 11/19/2021 |
| From: | Office of Public Affairs Region I |
| To: | |
| Category:Press Release | |
| References | |
| Press Release-I-21-009 | |
| Download: ML21326A089 (1) | |
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No: I-21-009 November 19, 2021 CONTACT: Diane Screnci, 610-337-5330 Neil Sheehan, 610-337-5331 NRC Issues Confirmatory Action Letter to West Virginia Hospital The NRC has issued a Confirmatory Action Letter to Cabell Huntington Hospital, located in Huntington, West Virginia, documenting a series of corrective actions it has agreed to carry out in response to a potential overexposure to radiation involving a physician.
Cabell Huntington submitted a report to the NRC on Oct. 23 stating that the physician experienced radiological exposure to his extremities in excess of NRC safety limits. The exposures occurred throughout 2021, and involved nuclear medicine treatments using yttrium-90, or Y-90 microspheres, and technetium-99m, or Tc-99m, as well as state-licensed radiation sources.
In the Nov. 18 letter to Cabell Huntington, the NRC confirms the actions taken by the hospital in response, including a review of radiation safety protocols, enhanced procedures when radioactive materials are being used and new signage reinforcing adherence to safety precautions.
A team of NRC inspectors will independently evaluate the hospitals corrective actions to ensure the changes are thorough and sufficient to prevent a recurrence. In addition, the inspectors will, among other things, review the facilitys initial response to the potential overexposure and assess the physicians actual exposure levels at the hospital and other medical facilities where the physician practices.
Y-90 microspheres are most commonly used to target tumors during radiation therapy treatments. Tc99m is a radiopharmaceutical commonly used in diagnostic studies.
A publicly available report summarizing the teams inspection findings will be issued following completion of all inspection activities.