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NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION IV 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400, Arlington TX 76011

NRC PROPOSES $2,750 FINE FOR GLENDIVE MEDICAL CENTER

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has proposed a $2,750 civil penalty for Glendive Medical Center, Glendive, Montana, for failing to secure containers of radioactive material delivered to the nuclear medicine department.

NRC inspections at the Glendive Medical Center found that on certain weekends packages containing radioactive materials were delivered to the nuclear medicine imaging room and remained unsecured for several hours. Inspectors found 19 instances when the packages were left for several hours in a hallway that was accessible to the public, which is a violation of NRC regulations for control of radioactive materials.

The packages provided ample protection from the radioactive materials inside. However, unauthorized tampering with the packages, such as theft or inadvertent opening by untrained people, could have posed a radiation hazard to the general public. Since the violation was found, Glendive has implemented improved procedures to prevent recurrence of this problem.

In a letter to Ms. Sandra McGovern, Glendive Director of Human Resources, NRC Regional Administrator Ellis W. Merschoff said, "The potential safety significance of the violation is that the loss of a generator [package] containing millicurie quantities of byproduct [radioactive] material could pose a significant potential for exposure to members of the general public. Therefore, this violation has been categorized . . . at Severity Level III."

The NRC rates violations on a four-level scale, with Level I being the most serious. Because Glendive Medical Center has implemented an effective procedure to make certain weekend deliveries of radioactive materials are properly secured, the civil penalty was limited to $2,750.

Glendive Medical Center has 30 days to pay the penalty or file a protest. If the protest is denied, the company may request a hearing by the NRC.

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