97-10-24 NRC Levies Fines on Ohio State

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION LEVIES FINES ON OHIO STATE

     COLUMBUS -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission informed Ohio
State University officials Thursday (10/23) that the institution
is facing a $13,000 fine for 11 violations of NRC policies and
regulations.

     The violations cover a period of more than four years, but
the NRC and Ohio State agree that at no time were students,
staff, faculty or the general public at risk from events relating
to the violations.

     NRC officials said the violations ranged from failing to
conduct inventories and make timely reports to the Commission to
the loss of two small packages of limited-quantity radioactive
material.

     In 1994, the NRC found Ohio State in violation of a number
of regulations regarding the university’s radiation safety
program.  Since that time, the university has spent more than
$2.5 million in additional funding to correct problems and
recently placed radiation safety on campus under new leadership
in the university’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety.

     “In the course of revamping and enhancing Ohio State’s
radiation safety program, we’ve invested substantial resources
over the last three years,” explained Cecil Smith, assistant vice
president of EHS.

     “That has included everything from new facilities design, to
the characterization of sites where low-level radioactive wastes
had been buried, to adding new staff and purchasing new inventory
control equipment for monitoring our use of radioactive
materials.”

     During site visits earlier this year and this week, the
visiting NRC staff reported that “adequate corrective actions
were being taken for most of the problems.”  Inspectors also said
that they  “observed considerable improvement in the
(university’s) storage and disposal of radioactive waste.”

     Additionally, several of the violations cited by the NRC
inspectors were discovered through the university’s own self-
monitoring system.  The university also was credited by the NRC
for identification of some and correction of other problems.

     In addition to the fines, NRC officials outlined a set of
questions to which the university must respond to maintain its
current federal licenses to use radioactive materials.  Among
those are an explanation for why the radiation safety program did
not prevent the violations in question and how the institution
has corrected or will correct those problems.

     The NRC has also asked for assurances that Ohio State will
continue its current pattern of improvements in radiation safety. 
Smith said that his office and the campus Radiation Safety
Committee will begin work immediately on the university’s
responses.  Ohio State has 60 days in which to reply.

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Contact: Robert J. Haverkamp, (614) 292-7970; Haverkamp.1@osu.edu
         Cecil Smith  (614) 292-1284; Smith.143@osu.edu
Written by Earle Holland (614) 292-8384; Holland.8@osu.edu


[Submitted by: Carolyn Glover  (glover.3@osu.edu)
               
Fri, 24 Oct 1997 14:32:31 -0400]
All documents are the responsibility of their originator.