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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 |
I-96-62 September 16, 1996
Contact: Diane Screnci FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Roger Hannah
NRC ISSUES ORDER SUSPENDING LICENSE OF
DR. SHASHI K. AGARWAL OF ORANGE, NEW JERSEY
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued an order
suspending the license of Dr. Shashi K. Agarwal, a physician in
Orange, New Jersey, for failure to comply with numerous NRC
requirements in the use of radioactive materials.
NRC also has issued a demand for information requiring Dr.
Agarwal, within 20 days, to inform the agency why his license
to use radioactive materials should not be revoked.
Both the order, which is effective immediately, and the
demand for information are based in part on violations found
during an NRC inspection on April 18 and 30 at Dr. Agarwal's
facility in Orange.
These violations include a lack of oversight of licensed
nuclear medicine activities by an authorized user; continued
use of licensed radioactive material following the resignation
of the authorized user (who was also the radiation safety
officer); a large number of violations indicative of a
programmatic breakdown pertaining to NRC regulatory
requirements; and providing inaccurate information to the NRC.
Dr. Agarwal failed to appear at a scheduled predecisional
enforcement conference to discuss the apparent violations with
NRC representatives.
In the order, Hugh L. Thompson, Deputy Executive Director
for Nuclear Materials Safety, Safeguards, and Operations
Support, said: "These actions by the licensee have raised
serious doubts as to whether the licensee can be relied upon in
the future to comply with NRC requirements and to provide
complete and accurate information to the NRC."
The order requires that Dr. Agarwal suspend all NRC-
licensed activities and place all NRC-licensed materials be
placed in secured storage. It further requires that he keep
all records related to licensed activities in their original
form, and prohibits him from ordering, purchasing, receiving or
transferring any licensed material while this order is in
effect.
Dr. Agarwal has 20 days to respond to the order or to
request a hearing. Such a request will not stay the immediate
effectiveness of this order.
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