GAO finds serious faults with radiological security
GAO finds serious faults with radiological security
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) visited 26 hospitals and other medical facilities to assess compliance with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) requirements for the protection of radiological material, and the report details many problems.
The NRC guidelines "do not consistently ensure the security of high-risk radiological sources" at the facilities visited, the report says. (For information on accessing the report, see resource at end of this article.) One reason for this problem is that the requirements are broadly written and don't prescribe specific measures that hospitals and medical facilities must take to secure medical equipment containing sealed sources, such as the use of cameras or alarms, according to the investigators. Rather, the requirements provide a general framework for what constitutes adequate security practices, which is implemented in various ways at different hospitals. Some of the medical equipment in the facilities visited was more vulnerable to potential tampering or theft than that of other facilities because some hospitals developed better security controls than others.
Some examples of poor security observed by the GAO investigators included:
An irradiator, used for medical research and containing almost 2,000 curies of cesium-137, was stored on a wheeled pallet down the hall from, and accessible to, a loading dock at one facility.
At a second facility, the combination to a locked door, which housed an irradiator containing 1,500 curies of cesium-137, was clearly written on the doorframe.
At a third facility, an official told GAO that the number of people with unescorted access to the facility's radiological sources was estimated to be at least 500. In addition, some NRC and state inspectors said the training NRC requires is not sufficient.
As of March 2012, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) had spent $105 million to complete security upgrades at 321 of the 1,503 U.S. hospitals and medical facilities it identified as having high-risk radiological sources, according to the report. Of the 26 hospitals and medical facilities that GAO visited, 13 had volunteered for the NNSA security upgrades and had received security upgrades such as remote monitoring systems, surveillance cameras, enhanced security doors, iris scanners, motion detectors, and tamper alarms. Three others were in the process of receiving upgrades.
However, NNSA does not anticipate completing all such security upgrades until 2025, which leaves several facilities potentially vulnerable. In addition, the program's impact is limited because, among other things, it is voluntary. To date, 14 facilities, including four in large urban areas, have declined to participate in the program.
Combined, those 14 facilities have medical equipment containing more than 41,000 curies of high-risk radiological material, the report says. Police department officials in a major city told the GAO that one hospital with a blood irradiator of about 1,700 curies has declined the NNSA upgrades due in part to cost concerns, even though the police department considers it to be a high-risk facility.
Resource
The full Government Accountability Office (GAO) report is available online at http://tinyurl.com/GAOhospitalreport.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) visited 26 hospitals and other medical facilities to assess compliance with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) requirements for the protection of radiological material, and the report details many problems.Subscribe Now for Access
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