Mallinckrodt overexposures

[GlennACarlson@aol.com]

Excerpt appears below.  Complete story is available at 
http://www.stlnet.com/postnet/stories.nsf/ByDocID/B8DA0E93B3AAFE14862568F70034
F819
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Posted: Wednesday, June 7, 2000 | 7:24 a.m. 
Radiation mishap uncovers wider problems
By Virginia Baldwin Gilbert of the Post-Dispatch 
Copyright 2000, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Investigators have discovered that at least 15 workers at Mallinckrodt Inc.'s 
nuclear medical products plant in Maryland Heights were exposed to 
unacceptably high levels of radiation during the past five years.

 The investigation has raised questions not only about how Mallinckrodt 
workers have been handling radioactive materials, but how they have been 
monitored for exposure.

 Moreover, the findings could have implications for worker safety at 
hospitals and nuclear pharmacies across the country.

 "We have talked informally to our competitors and some of our customers, 
letting them know what we found," said Roy Brown, director of regulatory 
compliance for Mallinckrodt.

 Once the investigation is completed, Brown said, the company plans to send a 
letter to customers and competitors with more detail.

 An estimated 14 million nuclear medical procedures are performed in the 
United States each year. They are used to diagnose conditions in the heart, 
lungs and other internal organs as well as to diagnose and treat cancer and 
other diseases.

 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced last month that it was 
investigating procedures at the plant, located in two industrial buildings at 
2703 Wagner Place and 11480 Warnen Road, after Mallinckrodt executives 
notified the agency of a worker's high radiation exposure.

 The worker's error had exposed his left index finger and thumb to 2,000 rems 
of radiation - 40 times the maximum exposure limit for fingers for an entire 
year.

 "It's one of the highest occupational radiation exposures I've heard of," 
said James Cameron, the commission's senior investigator for the region. 
Cameron has been with the NRC for 12 years.

 Further investigation has turned up 33 other instances of overexposure to 
Mallinckrodt employees at the plant since 1995. The reason: improper 
procedures that exposed workers' fingers or thumbs to high radiation.

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Glenn A. Carlson, P.E.
glennacarlson@aol.com
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