NRC: News Release - Region IV - 2009-027 - NRC Conducting Special Inspection at Gamma Knife Center of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii


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NRC NEWS
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs, Region IV
611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400, Arlington TX 76011
www.nrc.gov

No. IV-09-027		July 27,2009
CONTACT:	Victor Dricks Phone: 817-860-8128	E-mail: OPA4.Resource@nrc.gov
NRC CONDUCTING SPECIAL INSPECTION AT GAMMA KNIFE CENTER OF THE PACIFIC, HONOLULU, HAWAII Printable Version
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is conducting a special inspection at the Gamma Knife Center of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii, in response to a medical event. The incident occurred on July 3, when a patient received a larger than prescribed dose of gamma radiation while being treated for brain cancer. Both the patient and their physician were notified of the larger than intended dose delivered to two of seven discrete sites in the patient’s brain. It was the first such incident at this facility. Doctors at the facility do not believe the event will adversely affect the health of the patient. The licensee has notified the NRC that steps have been taken to prevent recurrence. The NRC will review the circumstances related to the incident, develop a chronology of events, the licensee’s root cause evaluation, assess the licensee’s investigation and evaluate the adequacy of corrective actions. The inspection will begin next week and is expected to take several days. The NRC will issue a report about 30-45 days after completion of the inspection. The report will be made available on the agency’s online document library at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html.
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