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	NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION III 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle IL 60532
	CONTACT:	Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663/e-mail: rjs2@nrc.gov
		Angela Dauginas (630) 829-9662/e-mail: opa3@nrc.gov

NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT: RIII-97-67

July 16, 1997

The university, located in Columbus, Ohio, is licensed by the NRC to possess and use radioactive material for academic, medical, and research purposes.

The meeting, which is open to public observation, will be at 1 p.m. in the Third Floor Conference Room, NRC Region III Office, 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle, Illinois.

The apparent violations were identified in three NRC inspections and an investigation by its Office of Investigations. They were conducted between June 1996 and April of this year.

These apparent violations involve exceeding time limits for storage of radioactive waste, failing to make periodic inventories of radiation sources, failing to report lost or missing radioactive material or not reporting the loss promptly, and failing to properly secure packages containing radioactive material and laboratories where the material was used.

Some of the violations were similar to violations found in earlier NRC inspections.

The NRC issued a Confirmatory Action Letter to the university in August 1996, documenting its plans to correct the violations.

A subsequent NRC inspection in December found that adequate corrective actions were being taken for most of the problems. In April NRC inspectors observed considerable improvement in the storage and disposal of radioactive waste.

The decision to hold an enforcement conference does not mean the NRC has determined that a violation has occurred or that enforcement action will be taken. Rather, the purpose is to discuss apparent violations, their causes and safety significance; to provide the licensee an opportunity to point out any errors that may have been made in the NRC inspection report; and to enable the company to outline its proposed corrective actions.

No decision on the apparent violations or any contemplated enforcement action, such as a fine, will be made at this conference. Those decisions will be made by senior NRC officials at a later date.