Mo. Workers Exposed To Radiation

June 8, 2000
At least 15 workers at a factory where X-ray machines and other\r\nmedical devices are made were exposed to unacceptably high levels of\r\nradiation during the past five years, investigators said.

At least 15 workers at a factory where X-ray machines and other medical devices are made were exposed to unacceptably high levels of radiation during the past five years, investigators said.

The discovery raised questions about how workers at the Mallinckrodt Inc. plant in Maryland Heights, Mo., have been handling radioactive materials and how they have been monitored for exposure.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced last month that it was investigating plant procedures after Mallinckrodt executives notified the agency of a worker''s high radiation exposure in March.

The worker''s error had exposed his left index finger and thumb to 2,000 rems of radiation -- 40 times the maximum exposure limit for fingers for an entire year.

"It''s one of the highest occupational radiation exposures I''ve heard of," said James Cameron, The NRC''s senior investigator for the region.

Further investigation has turned up 33 other instances of overexposure to plant employees since 1995, due to improper procedures that exposed workers'' fingers or thumbs to high radiation, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported yesterday.

According to preliminary documents from the NRC and Mallinckrodt, the cases discovered so far involve employees handling radioactive material without proper shielding.

Further, some of the exposures were overlooked for years because they were not detected by monitoring devices.

The NRC and state public health investigators will hold a public meeting June 23 to release their report.

This will mark the second time in three years that the commission has found serious enough safety problems at the company to warrant a public meeting.

The NRC will determine fines in a second phase that begins after the public meeting.

The plant, which manufactures medical imaging devices such as ultrasound and X-ray machines, is the largest materials licensee regulated by the NRC.

Nearly 300 people work in the facility; approximately 100 of them are radiation workers. Those workers exposed to higher than maximum allowable levels last year have been transferred to areas away from even small amounts of radiation, NRC officials said.

by Virginia Sutcliffe

About the Author

EHS Today Staff

EHS Today's editorial staff includes:

Dave Blanchard, Editor-in-Chief: During his career Dave has led the editorial management of many of Endeavor Business Media's best-known brands, including IndustryWeekEHS Today, Material Handling & LogisticsLogistics Today, Supply Chain Technology News, and Business Finance. In addition, he serves as senior content director of the annual Safety Leadership Conference. With over 30 years of B2B media experience, Dave literally wrote the book on supply chain management, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, 2021), which has been translated into several languages and is currently in its third edition. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at major trade shows and conferences, and has won numerous awards for writing and editing. He is a voting member of the jury of the Logistics Hall of Fame, and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University.

Adrienne Selko, Senior Editor: In addition to her roles with EHS Today and the Safety Leadership Conference, Adrienne is also a senior editor at IndustryWeek and has written about many topics, with her current focus on workforce development strategies. She is also a senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics. Previously she was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank. She is the author of Do I Have to Wear Garlic Around My Neck?, which made the Cleveland Plain Dealer's best sellers list.

Nicole Stempak, Managing Editor:  Nicole Stempak is managing editor of EHS Today and conference content manager of the Safety Leadership Conference.

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