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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 |
or vld@nrc.gov
I-96-51
Contact: Diane Screnci FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Victor Dricks July 26, 1996
NRC STAFF PROPOSES $2,500 FINE AGAINST SYNCOR INTERNATIONAL
CORPORATION FOR DELIBERATE MISUSE OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has proposed a
$2,500 fine against Syncor International Corporation, of
Chatsworth, California, for a violation of its requirements
governing use of radioactive materials at its nuclear
pharmacy in Pittsburgh, PA.
The violation was found during an NRC inspection
conducted after an August 10, 1995 incident in which an
individual's lock and locker in an unrestricted area of the
facility were deliberately contaminated with technetium-99m.
The individual, who did not suffer any adverse health
consequences as a result of the incident, detected the
contamination when surveying himself.
In a letter to the licensee, Region I Administrator Thomas
T. Martin said that the NRC has "... concluded that the
violation most likely was deliberate because of the amount of
contamination that was concentrated on the lock and the fact
that the only other contamination at the facility correlated
with the activities of the contaminated individual after his
visit to the locker."
Syncor was cited by the NRC staff in November 1994 for
violating regulations after a worker deliberately sprayed
radioactive material on butterflies at a Syncor facility in
Kansas City, Missouri. Although that individual was
terminated, the company did not take "corporate-wide" action
at that time to inform managers and employees at its other
facilities about the event and of the significance of
deliberate misuse of radioactive material, Mr. Martin said in
his letter.
Syncor has 30 days either to pay the proposed fine or to
request in writing that part or all of it be withdrawn. The
company also has 30 days to admit or deny the alleged
violations, and to describe the actions it has taken or plans
to take to prevent recurrence.
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