No. III-09-024 

Contacts: 

Viktoria Mitlyng 630-829-9662 

Prema Chandrathil 630-829-9663 

 July 31, 2009 

 E-Mail: opa3@nrc.gov 

Web site: www.nrc.gov

NRC STAFF ISSUES CONFIRMATORY ORDER TO RADIATION SAFETY OFFICER 

AT KENTUCKY VETERANS AFFAIRS FACILITY 

 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has issued a confirmatory order to Michael T. 

Hackett, a radiation safety officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) Center in 

Lexington, Ky., for failing to implement the radiation safety program in accordance with federal 

regulations. 

 The order requires that Hackett provide the NRC and the National Health Physics 

Program, the oversight body of DVA, with a plan for accomplishing all of his assigned tasks as a 

radiation safety officer; notify the National Health Physics Program (NHPP) and the NRC within 

30 days if he is unable to carry out his duties as radiation safety officer; prepare an article for 

submittal to a NHPP publication discussing specific ways to prevent the same situation from 

occurring at other DVA facilities; and inform the NRC should he leave his current position 

before completing the terms of the order. 

 “The NRC must be able to rely on individuals assigned to performing key safety 

functions at NRC-licensed facilities,” said Mark Satorius, Regional Administrator of the NRC 

Region 3 office in Lisle, Ill. “A radiation safety officer is in the front line of ensuring the safe use 

of nuclear materials. It is a big responsibility and needs to be taken seriously” 

 The problem first came to light during a routine inspection of the Lexington VA Center’s 

Nuclear Medicine Service by the NHPP in September 2007. The inspectors determined that the 

radiation safety officer failed to carry out key activities. 

 The NRC Office of Investigations conducted an investigation confirming the findings of 

the NHPP between April and December 2008. 

 Based on the results of the NHPP inspection and the NRC investigation, apparent 

violations were identified which involved the failure to: conduct periodic meetings of the 

radiation committee; perform annual reviews of the Lexington nuclear medicine program; and 

complete required training. 

 The confirmatory order documents Hackett’s commitments to the NRC reached as part of 

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the NRC’s alternative dispute resolution process, which can be selected by the individual or 

license holder in place of the NRC’s traditional enforcement. This process uses a mediator to 

help the NRC and the license holder/individual find the best way to address the causes of the 

violations. The alternative dispute resolution process strives to make sure that effective long-term 

solutions for correcting violations are identified and agreed upon; that the commitment to 

improvement is made; and that the individual/license holder meets the commitments made to the 

NRC in a way that ensures the agency’s rules and regulations are implemented. 

 

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