Press Release-III-09-036, NRC to Hold Enforcement Conference Dec. 17 with Department of Veterans Affairs

Press Release-III-09-036: NRC to Hold Enforcement Conference Dec. 17 with Department of Veterans Affairs

ML093440822
Person / Time
Issue date:	12/10/2009
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region II
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Category:Press Release
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Press Release-III-09-036
Download: ML093440822 (2)

Text

No. III 036 Contacts:

Viktoria Mitlyng 630-829-9662

Prema Chandrathil 630-829-9663 December 10, 2009 E-Mail: opa3@nrc.gov Web site: www.nrc.gov NRC TO HOLD ENFORCEMENT CONFERENCE DEC. 17 WITH DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a predecisional enforcement conference Dec. 17 in Rockville, Md., with officials fro m the Veterans Affair s Medical Center in Philadelphia (VA Philadelphia) a nd the Department of Veterans Affairs to discuss apparent violations of NRC requirements associated with a large number of medical errors at VA Philadelphia.

Medical errors at VA Philade lphia involved the incorrect placement of iodine-125 seeds to treat prostate cancer. The N RC conducted special inspections to determine how 97 out of 116 procedures that took place between 2002 and 2008 could have been executed incorrectly. NRC inspectors identified eight apparent violations. They are associated with the lack of procedures that would help ensure that each prostate cancer treatment adheres to the prescription written by the physician; absence of verification tools to ensure that the treatment was delivered

as prescribed; failure to instruct personnel in identification and reporting requirements for medical events; failure to record the dose received by a patient on the doctors' prescription form;

failure to make sure a ll written reports are complete and accu rate; and failure to notify the NRC no later than the next calendar day after discovery of a medical event.

The meeting, which will be open to public obs ervation, will be at 1 PM (EST), in the Commissioners' Conference Room, One White F lint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md. This conference is being held to obtain information to assist the NRC in making an enforcement decision. No fina l decisions will be made during this conference.

Webcast of this meeting can be viewed at http://video.nrc.gov/live/

at 1:00 p.m. (EST). The "View Live Meeting Webcast" link on this page will become active one hour prior to the start of the meeting.

After the predecisional enforcement conference, the NRC will review the information received during the conference and the conclusions of the special inspection to determine what type of action will be taken against the Department of Veterans Affairs.

NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Region III 2443 Warrenville Road Lisle IL 60532

Special inspection reports and other documents associated with the Veterans Affairs issue will be available through the NRC RIII Office of Public Affairs and at the NRC web site: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html

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