Home > Electronic Reading Room > Document Collections > News Releases > 1997 > I-97-098

	NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION I 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406
	CONTACT:	Diane Screnci (610)337-5330/ e-mail: dps@nrc.gov Neil A. Sheehan (610)337-5331/e-mail: nas@nrc.gov

I-97-98

August 4, 1997

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has issued orders, effective immediately, to Magdy Elamir, M.D., and Aharon Ben-Haim, Ph.D., barring them from involvement in NRC-licensed activities for providing false information to the agency.

Dr. Elamir is the president and owner of Newark Medical Associates, which holds an NRC license authorizing the possession and use of any NRC-licensed radiopharmaceutical for imaging and localization procedures. Ben-Haim is his consultant.

NRC also has directed Newark Medical Associates to tell the agency why its license should not be suspended or revoked.

An NRC inspection in January found that the individuals acting as the authorized user of radioactive materials at Newark Medical Associates and as its radiation safety officer were not listed on the license, as NRC requires. A subsequent investigation by the NRC's Office of Investigations determined that the application for the license listed an individual as the sole authorized user and radiation safety officer without that individual's consent or knowledge. Investigators further found that the individual has never been associated with Newark Medical Associates.

This inaccurate information provided in the February 22, 1996, application formed, in part, the basis for the issuance of the license. The NRC has determined that the violation was deliberate on the part of both Dr. Elamir and Ben-Haim.

Activities prohibited by the order include, but are not limited to, supervision of licensed activities, such as hiring, directing or managing individuals engaged in those activities. Dr. Elamir and Ben-Haim and any other person adversely affected by this order have 20 days to request a hearing.

In addition, the NRC staff has issued a demand for information to Newark Medical Associates to explain why its NRC license should not be suspended or revoked. Failure to respond to the demand for information within the prescribed 20 days may result in further enforcement action.

Newark Medical Associates currently is authorized to continue operations under its NRC license under the direction of a new individual who has since been approved as the authorized user and radiation safety officer, so long as Dr. Elamir and Ben-Haim are not involved.