NRC NEWS

 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS -- REGION I

 475 Allendale Road

 King of Prussia, PA 19406

No. I-02-064 October 24, 2002 

CONTACT: Diane Screnci, (610) 337-5330 E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov

Neil A. Sheehan, (610) 337-5331

NRC PROPOSES $43,200 FINE AGAINST EASTON, PA., COMPANY

FOR DELIBERATE VIOLATIONS OF NRC REQUIREMENTS

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has cited Advanced Medical Imaging and Nuclear

Services of Easton, Pa., for deliberate violations of agency requirements. The NRC has proposed a

$43,200 fine against the company. It also issued orders to two company officials barring them from

any involvement in NRC-licensed activities until December 14.

An NRC inspection conducted in November and December of last year and a subsequent

investigation by the agency’s Office of Investigations found that the company deliberately used NRClicensed materials and conducted NRC-licensed activities between March and November 2001 without

a required authorized user or radiation safety officer. The NRC found that when a consulting physicist

assisted in preparing the NRC license application in October 2000, the company’s vice president

provided him with the name of a physician to perform the duties of authorized user and radiation

safety officer. The license was issued in February 2001. Between then and November, NRC-licensed

radioactive materials were used in nearly 600 treatments. However, an audit conducted by the

consultant in October 2001 revealed that the authorized user and radiation safety officer had not been

signing documents required by procedures since the license was issued. Despite that, NRC-licensed

activities continued until an NRC inspection on November 30.

On December 14, the NRC issued an order suspending the license of Advanced Medical

Imaging. The NRC has lifted the order suspending the license concurrent with the issuance of this

enforcement action because the company has put into place corrective actions to prevent recurrence of

the violations, including adding qualified individuals to the staff at Advanced Medical Imaging to

perform the functions of authorized user and radiation safety officer. 

The company was cited for three violations of NRC requirements for which a civil penalty is

assessed: using byproduct material for medical use without an authorized user; failing to appoint a

radiation safety officer; and creating incomplete and inaccurate records. Normally, a civil penalty of

$4,800 would be assessed for such violations. However, in this case, a base fine of $4,800 was

assessed for the violations that occurred between March and October. An additional civil penalty of

$4,800 per week has been assessed for the violations that occurred after the consultant raised the issue

in October 2001.
The NRC issued orders to the company’s vice president, Kenneth M. Baab, and the chief

operating officer, Chitranjan Patel, barring them from taking part in NRC-licensed activities for one

year, beginning on December 14, 2001 -- the date of the NRC order suspending the license of

Advanced Medical Imaging. 

The company has 30 days to respond to the notice of violation in writing. The vice president

and chief operating officer have 20 days to request hearing on the orders issued to them.

This enforcement action will be posted on the NRC's web site at

www.nrc.gov/what-we-do/regulatory/enforcement/current.html#materials.

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