NRC Meeting Set on Inspection Findings at Alaska Medical Center
The inspection report indicates the special inspection was conducted in response to concerns about "apparent failures," including that occupational workers failed to wear dosimetry, management failed to investigate abnormal dosimetry results, and that management failed to assess outside employment in determining the total occupational exposure of applicable staff.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a Dec. 17 meeting with officials from Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska, to discuss four apparent violations identified by the NRC during a special inspection conducted Aug. 13-16, 2018.
The purpose of the pre-decisional enforcement conference is to discuss the violations identified in a Nov. 2, NRC inspection report. No decision on the final safety significance of the violations or any NRC actions will be made at the meeting.
The meeting will begin at noon Central Time at the NRC's Region IV office at 1600 East Lamar Blvd. in Arlington, Texas, and is open to public observation, according to the NRC release, which said NRC officials will be available to answer questions from the public following the business portion of the meeting. The public will also be able to observe the meeting and ask questions via a special webinar.
The inspection report indicates the special inspection was conducted in response to concerns about "apparent failures," including that occupational workers failed to wear dosimetry, management failed to investigate abnormal dosimetry results, and that management failed to assess outside employment in determining the total occupational exposure of applicable staff.
The report says NRC determined that none of the reviewed individuals received occupational exposures in excess of regulatory limits during calendar years 2016, 2017, or year-to-date in 2018, but NRC also determined that "because of the programmatic failures associated with the dosimetry program, individuals had a substantial potential to exceed NRC occupational exposure limits."
Because NRC had not made a final determination in the matter at the time of the report, no Notice of Violation was issued for the inspection findings at the time, the report states.
According to information on its website, Providence Alaska Medical Center serves Alaskans in six communities - Anchorage, Eagle River, Kodiak Island, Mat-Su, Seward, and Valdez, and Providence Health & Services Alaska is the state's largest private employer with more than 4,000 full and part-time employees statewide.