International Isotopes has agreed to a pre-decisional enforcement conference with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission over apparent breaches of federal regulations and its license in connection with the May 2019 spill of cesium-137 at a hospital research building in Seattle.
The teleconference is scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon Central time on Tuesday, Aug. 4. The meeting notice lists 10 participants from the NRC, along with International Isotopes President and CEO Steve Laflin and Radiation Safety Officer John Miller.
“The purpose of this predecisional enforcement conference is to discuss two apparent violations identified by the NRC related to the licensee’s failure to properly review and approve operating procedures through their radiation safety committee prior to implementation,” according to the notice. “These procedures were used by International Isotopes when a significant contamination event occurred at the Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington, on May 2, 2019.”
On that date, employees of the Idaho Falls, Idaho-based nuclear medicine company were removing a sealed source from a blood irradiator at the Research and Training Facility for the University of Washington’s Harborview Medical Center, under a program for the Department of Energy’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The workers unintentionally cut into the source while trying to remove it from its holder, releasing cesium-137. Thirteen people and seven floors were contaminated, and the facility remains closed during remediation. International Isotopes has since stopped providing source recovery services.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission cited the two apparent violations in an inspection report submitted to International Isotopes on June 22. They are being considered for escalated enforcement measures.
The agency broadly found that the company had failed to adhere to federal regulations mandating safety assessments for proposed uses of byproduct material, including equipment, training, and experience. Management also seems to have breached language International Isotopes’ license against any changes to license conditions or reductions in radiation safety effectiveness through updates to the safety program.
The conference is intended to provide International Isotopes the opportunity to discuss its perspective on the situation and information the Nuclear Regulatory Commission should consider before taking any enforcement actions, Mary Muessle, director of the Division of Nuclear Materials Safety for NRC Region IV, wrote in a letter to Laflin attached to the inspection report. The conference does not signify any agency conclusions regarding the potential violation or enforcement measures, she said.
Laflin did not respond this week to a query regarding its selection of a pre-decisional enforcement conference or what matters will be discussed at the session.
The NRC’s report last month notes that International Isotopes workers had previously cut into a sealed source during a December 2018 operation within the company’s Idaho Falls facility. In February 2019, management issued a new work instruction detailing the procedure for safe removal of a source from the holder if cutting or other destructive measures are needed.
“The NRC inspectors determined that one root cause of the Seattle contamination event was the licensee’s failure to implement corrective actions identified through the corrective action program for a contamination event that occurred at its facility five months prior to the Seattle contamination event,” the report says. “The NRC inspectors determined the second root cause involved the licensee’s radiation safety committee makeup and implementation.”
Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman David McIntyre said he could not speculate on what, if any, penalty might be assessed against International Isotopes following next week’s meeting. Outcomes in cases of escalated enforcement can include a notice of penalty and potential civil penalty, along with orders to revise, suspend, or revoke a license.
In a press statement Tuesday, the NRC said no decisions would be made at the meeting.
Remediation is continuing at the Seattle facility, which is not expected to reopen before 2021. The National Nuclear Security Administration is paying for the work managed by Perma-Fix Environmental Services, which is projected to cost $40 million to $60 million.
