March 17, 2014

GAO: RAD MATERIALS NOT SECURE AT MOST HOSPITALS

By ExchangeMonitor

Sealed sources and other radiological materials that could be used to create a dirty bomb remain unsecure at nearly 80 percent of high-risk hospitals and medical facilities across the U.S., a new Government Accountability Office report concludes. The GAO review was triggered to follow up on post-9/11 safety measures. However, more than a decade after the terrorist attacks, the GAO found numerous instances of failure to secure highly radioactive material at hospitals. “Medical facilities currently are not required to take any specific actions to make sure these materials are safe, and many have very sloppy practices, which is remarkable,” GAO wrote.

A major reason for the safety failure is Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations that “are broadly written and do not prescribe specific measures that hospitals and medical facilities must take to secure medical equipment containing sealed sources,” GAO wrote, which leads to hospitals applying inconsistent measures to secure the materials. The report states that National Nuclear Security Administration efforts to regulate and secure the materials have resulted in completed security upgrades at only 321 of 1,503 medical facilities and hospitals it identified as high-risk because they store extensive amounts of radiological material. The NNSA said it would not be able to complete upgrades until 2025.

The report is the final version of testimony that GAO Director of Natural Resources Gene Aloise presented at a Senate Homeland Security subcommittee hearing March 14. Aloise stressed then, and the GAO report echoes this week, that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s controls over the materials were “too broadly written and need to be tightened up” to give greater guidance and training to hospital staff on securing the material. “We need a culture change that, although we realize how important these facilities and this equipment is, it has to be secured, because ultimately, the licensee who holds these radiological sources is responsible for them,” Aloise said. He added that NNSA should also expand its efforts to secure material at medical facilities.

Comments are closed.