UNITED STATES

 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

 REGION I

475 ALLENDALE ROAD

KING OF PRUSSIA, PENNSYLVANIA 19406-1415 

May 10, 2005

Marie Stoeckel, Chief

Office of Occupational and Radiological Health

Department of Health 

3 Capitol Hill, Room 206

Providence, RI 02908-5097

Dear Ms. Stoeckel:

A periodic meeting with Rhode Island was held on April 21, 2005. The purpose of this meeting

was to review and discuss the status of Rhode Island’s Agreement State program. Subsequent

to the November 17-18, 2003 follow-up IMPEP, the Management Review Board (MRB)

requested quarterly conference calls be conducted between the appropriate Rhode Island and

NRC staffs to monitor the State’s performance with regard to the Status of Materials Inspection

Program indicator. This meeting considered the State’s performance in this indicator to

determine if additional quarterly conference calls were necessary.

Specific topics and issues of importance discussed at the meeting included staffing and

training, performance of licensing and inspection activities, incidents and allegations and the

updating of regulations for compatibility. 

I have completed and enclosed a general meeting summary. Since the State has maintained

satisfactory performance in the inspection program, I will recommend discontinuance of the

monitoring activities through quarterly conference calls at the next quarterly MRB meeting, and

they will make the final decision.

If you feel that my conclusions do not accurately summarize the meeting discussion, or have 

any additional remarks about the meeting in general, please contact me at 610-337-5358 or

email to sam9@nrc.gov to discuss your concerns. 

Thank you and your staff for the exchange of information and kindness extended during my

visit.

Sincerely,

Original signed by Sheri Minnick

Sheri Minnick

Regional State Agreements Officer

Division of Nuclear Materials Safety
DISTRIBUTION

SPO1

G. Pangburn, RI

F. Costello, RI

R. Bores, RI

J. Zabko, STP

D. Sollenberger, STP

A. McCraw, STP

SISP Review Completed by CXL

DOCUMENT NAME: E:\Filenet\ML051360388.wpd

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OFFICE DNMS/RI N DNMS/RI DNMS/RI

NAME Sminnick sam9

DATE 5/10/05

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
AGREEMENT STATE PERIODIC MEETING SUMMARY FOR RHODE ISLAND 

DATE OF MEETING: April 21, 2005 

ATTENDEES: 

NRC 

Sheri Minnick, RSAO, Region I 

STATE 

Walter S. Combs, Jr., Ph.D., Executive Director/Environmental Health

Marie Stoeckel, MPH, Chief, Office of Occupational and Radiological Health

Jack Ferruolo, Supervisor, Radiation Control Program

William Dundulis, Environmental Health Risk Assessment Toxicologist

DISCUSSION: 

A meeting was held with the Rhode Island representatives on April 21, 2005 in Providence,

Rhode Island. The topics listed in NRC letter dated March 1, 2005 (ML 050620240), to Ms.

Stoeckel were discussed. Details for each area are discussed below. 

BACKGROUND:

During the November 2003 follow-up IMPEP review, the team evaluated actions taken by the

Program in response to the finding of “unsatisfactory” in the Status of Material Inspection

Program Indicator, made during the 2002 IMPEP review. The team reviewed the status of the

inspections performed since the 2002 review, and the current status of due and overdue

inspections. The team noted that significant program improvements had been implemented by

Rhode Island, which include reducing the inspection backlog and recruiting and training of two

new technical staff. The review team recommended closure of four of the five

recommendations from the 2002 IMPEP review and that the Program’s performance be raised

to “satisfactory”. Subsequent to the review, the Management Review Board agreed with the

teams finding and requested quarterly conference calls be conducted between appropriate

Rhode Island an NRC staff to monitor the State’s performance with regard to the Status of

Material Inspection Program. 

STATUS OF THE INSPECTION PROGRAM:

Conference calls were conducted on a quarterly basis between NRC and RI staff. Results of

the most recent call on January 12, 2005, indicated that the Program had no overdue

inspections (per IMPEP criteria). The Program had a number of inspections that would become

overdue in April, 2005: Radiation Oncology Services-Maddock (Priority 2), RI PET (Priority 3,

initial), and Ocean State Technical Services (Priority 1). This periodic meeting included a

review to determine performance in the inspection program in order to determine if quarterly

monitoring activities need to be continued. 

The Program Supervisor summarized the status of the inspection program by using a tracking

spreadsheet that he has put in place. The Program is using the new NRC inspection

frequencies and the inspection status spreadsheet reflects the new priorities. Subsequent to
the January 12, 2005 telephone conference, the Program has completed the following

inspections: Radiation Oncology Services-Maddock, RI Cardiology Center, RI PET, Anvil

Supply Sales, and Ocean State Technical Services. The inspections were performed before

they became overdue (per the IMPEP criteria). The next two core inspections, namely PK

Associates and RI Hospital, are planned for April and May, 2005. The inspection of RI Hospital,

the State’s largest licensee, will be a three-person team inspection.

The Program has nine reciprocity licensees, three of which are core licensees. This year, the

Program has completed two of the three core reciprocity inspections.

The Program reported one new licensee in the application process that will need to be

inspected within six months of the license issue date.

Since the State has maintained a satisfactory performance in the inspection program,

discontinuance of the monitoring activities through quarterly conference calls will be 

recommended to the MRB.

STATUS OF OTHER PROGRAM AREAS:

Rhode Island has a radiation control program that includes mammography, X-ray, nuclear

materials, and emergency preparedness. Their program includes about 58 specific licenses.

The State’s sole manufacturer and distributor (Niton) operates in Rhode Island as well as in

Massachusetts, but the State of Massachusetts performs SS&D reviews. All materials licensing

and inspections are performed out of Providence. Inspections are completed by the Program

Supervisor, a Radiological Health Specialist who is interim qualified, and the Environmental

Health Risk Assessment Toxicologist, who is fully qualified to perform inspections. It is

expected that one staff member, who is currently on extended leave, will perform some lower

priority inspections, upon returning to work. The Program Supervisor and Toxicologist remain

cognizant of radiation issues through attendance at OAS and CRCPD meetings.

The Executive Director/ Environmental Health explained that their program has a stable source

of funding. The fiscal year 2006 budget proposal does not have any program cuts. The Office

of Occupational and Radiological Health has four programs, namely Indoor Air Quality, OSHA

Consultation, Radiation Control and Environmental Lead. The Office is organized under the

Department of Health. 

The status of the State’s licensing backlog was discussed. Since January 2004, the Program

has completed 39 amendment requests. There are no pending amendment requests. There is

one new license application request that was received March 29, 2005. There are 23 open

renewals. These renewals will not likely be substantially reduced until October, 2005 when a

staff member, who is currently on extended leave, is expected to return to work. This staff

member, in addition to fulfilling her other responsibilities in the x-ray and tanning programs, will

be working on selective materials licensing and inspection activities. It is expected that she will

have an impact on the backlog for certain types of licenses.

The Program Supervisor explained that Rhode Island historically had experienced very few

allegations, with no new allegations since the last IMPEP. A review of the allegations referred

to the State by the NRC Region I office indicated that there had been no allegations referred to

the State since the last IMPEP. 
The mechanism for reporting events, what events to report, the timeliness of reporting,

completeness of the reports, and closing out reports was discussed. Upon review of the NMED

system, and the NRC Operating Events, the reports show that events are being appropriately

reported and documented to NRC and the NMED system. Two recent incidents at Cardinal

Health and RI Hospital were discussed.

The STP’s procedures for reviewing proposed State regulations and the regulation 

amendments needed for adequacy and compatibility and the availability of the regulations on 

the NRC bulletin board were briefly discussed. The Regulation Assessment 

Tracking System (RATS) data sheet for Rhode Island was reviewed, which shows 

that they are up to date with providing NRC with regulations. 

The next IMPEP review is scheduled for November 2006.

CONCLUSION: 

All of the IMPEP Indicators were discussed and there were no performance issues identified

during the meeting.

The State does not currently have any inspection backlog. Since the State has maintained a

satisfactory performance in the inspection program, it is recommended discontinuance of the

monitoring activities through quarterly conference calls.

ACTION ITEMS: 

Discuss the recommendation to remove Rhode Island from quarterly monitoring conference

calls at the next MRB meeting.