FW: PR 99-3.I VIOLATION AT D.C. HOSPITAL

["Lavera, Ron" <Ron.Lavera@nypa.gov>]

I believe that radioactive material in pacemakers was a recent thread,
so I decided to forward this article in for the attention of the
interested parties.

Ron LaVera
lavera.r@nypa.gov


-----Original Message-----
From: OPALIST [mailto:OPALIST@nrc.gov] 
Sent: Tuesday, January 12, 1999 3:57 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: PR 99-3.I VIOLATION AT D.C. HOSPITAL


------------------- PR199-3.TXT follows -------------------

           United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission
                Office of Public Affairs, Region I
 475 Allendale Road  King of Prussia, PA 19406Fax:  610/337-5241
              Internet:  dps@nrc.gov or nas@nrc.gov


I-99-3                                           January 12, 1999
Contact:  Diane Screnci (610/337-5330)      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
          Neil A. Sheehan (610/337-5331)     


 NRC, WASHINGTON (D.C.) HOSPITAL TO DISCUSS APPARENT VIOLATIONS

        Ten apparent violations of Nuclear Regulatory Commission
requirements by a Washington, D.C., medical facility will be
discussed during a meeting between agency staff and
representatives of the hospital on Thursday, January 14.  The
apparent violations  involve the handling of radioactive
material, specifically the apparent loss of a nuclear pacemaker.

        The predecisional enforcement conference regarding
Washington Hospital Center is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. in the
Public Meeting Room at the NRC Region I office in King of
Prussia, Pa.  It will be open to the public for observation.

        On Nov. 30, Washington Hospital Center, 110 Irving
Street, N.W., reported to the NRC that a nuclear pacemaker was
missing.  During a follow-up review on December 2 and 3, NRC
inspectors learned that the device, powered by 175 milligrams of
plutonium-238, had been removed from a deceased patient at a
funeral home last August and returned to the medical facility for
disposal.  Washington Hospital Center, in turn, shipped the
pacemaker on September 15 to St. Jude Medical in Sylmar, Calif.,
via the U.S. Postal Service, believing St. Jude was the proper
recipient of the device.  (Once removed, nuclear pacemakers are
supposed to be returned to the company that sold them for proper
disposal.)

        However, when Washington Hospital Center contacted St.
Jude Medical on or about October 22 to confirm receipt of the
pacemaker, it was informed the device had not arrived.  Further,
the hospital learned St. Jude was only supposed to receive non-
nuclear pacemakers; nuclear pacemakers were to be shipped to a
sister company in Colorado that has a storage facility for the
devices in Florida.

        Despite searches for the pacemaker at Washington Hospital
Center, St. Jude Medical and postal facilities, the device has
still not been located.  While the nuclear  material is housed in
an extremely sturdy metal container, if someone were to rupture
the device they could be exposed to radioactivity that could
exceed NRC allowable limits.

        The apparent violations are associated with the
packaging, shipping and transfer of radioactive materials.

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

        No decision on the apparent violations will be made at
this conference.  That decision will be made by NRC officials at
a later time.

                                                                    #
************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html