NRC: News Release - Region III - 2001-012 - NRC Prohibits a Former Michigan Nuclear Medicine Technician From Participating in NRC-Licensed Activities

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NRC NEWS
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs, Region III
2443 Warrenville Road, Lisle, IL 60532
www.nrc.gov

No. III-01-012		April 6, 2001
CONTACT:	Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 Pam Alloway-Mueller (630) 829-9662	E-mail: OPA3.RegionIII@nrc.gov
NRC PROHIBITS A FORMER MICHIGAN NUCLEAR MEDICINE TECHNICIAN FROM PARTICIPATING IN NRC-LICENSED ACTIVITIES
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has issued an order prohibiting a former Michigan nuclear medicine technician from involvement in NRC-licensed activities for five years due to her violation of various NRC regulations. In the order, the NRC said Paige Rowland conspired to deliberately violate NRC requirements by having an unqualified individual perform a nuclear lung scan procedure on a patient at Central Michigan Community Hospital on August 2, 1996, without the supervision of an authorized user. The NRC investigation also found that Rowland provided false information to the NRC regarding the incident. At the time, Rowland was a nuclear medicine technician at Central Michigan Community Hospital in Mt. Pleasant. Rowland was convicted on November 30, 2000, in the U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan, of making false statements to the NRC. Previously, Rowland had told the NRC that she had administered technetium-99m to a patient on the day in question. She later admitted that she had telephoned an unqualified technician, directed the individual to perform the medical procedure, and talked the technician through the procedure by phone. The order states that while all activities were properly performed, the second technician was not qualified and was not supervised by an authorized user in accordance with NRC requirements. Technetium-99m, a radiopharmaceutical, is used in medicine as an imaging agent and a diagnostic tool. The NRC's order specifies that Rowland is prohibited from involvement in all NRC-licensed activities for five years from November 30, 2000, the date of her conviction. Additionally, the order states that for another five years - or from November 2005 to November 2110 - Rowland is required to notify the NRC the first time she accepts employment involving NRC-licensed activities or becomes involved in any NRC-licensed activity.
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