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Event Notification Report for March 20, 2009

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Operations Center

EVENT REPORTS FOR
03/19/2009 - 03/20/2009

EVENT NUMBERS
4492245160

Power Reactor
Event Number: 44922
Facility: PALISADES
Region: 3     State: MI
Unit: [1] [] []
RX Type: [1] CE
NRC Notified By: DARRELL CORBIN
HQ OPS Officer: STEVE SANDIN
Notification Date: 03/20/2009
Notification Time: 22:56 [ET]
Event Date: 03/20/2009
Event Time: 20:30 [EDT]
Last Update Date: 03/20/2009
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY
10 CFR Section:
50.72(b)(2)(xi) - OFFSITE NOTIFICATION
Person (Organization):
MARK RING (R3)
Power Reactor Unit Info
Unit SCRAM Code RX Crit Initial PWR Initial RX Mode Current PWR Current RX Mode
1 N Y 98 Power Operation 98 Power Operation
Event Text
STATE OF MICHIGAN NOTIFIED OF ONSITE SEWAGE SPILL

"At 2030 hours on March 20, 2009 it was determined that sewage from the onsite sewage system had exited the system through a manhole on the 590 foot elevation of the site. This discharge, a clear odorless water, then flowed along the asphalt roadway to a storm drain which ultimately discharges to the beach of Lake Michigan (no fluid reached Lake Michigan waters). The State of Michigan, via the Pollution Emergency Alert System (PEAS), was notified as required by the Site Spill Plan by the Site Environmental Coordinator at 2207 hours. The local government (Van Buren County) was notified at 2220 hours via 911."

The licensee informed both state/local agencies and the NRC Resident Inspector.


General Information or Other
Event Number: 45160
Rep Org: CALIFORNIA RADIATION CONTROL PRGM
Licensee: HOAG MEMORIAL HOSPITAL PREBYTERIAN
Region: 4
City: NEWPORT BEACH   State: CA
County:
License #: 0272-30
Agreement: Y
Docket:
NRC Notified By: DONALD OESTERLE
HQ OPS Officer: STEVE SANDIN
Notification Date: 06/24/2009
Notification Time: 14:57 [ET]
Event Date: 03/20/2009
Event Time: 00:00 [PDT]
Last Update Date: 06/24/2009
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY
10 CFR Section:
Person (Organization):
GREG PICK (R4DO)
JACK FOSTER (FSME)
Event Text
AGREEMENT STATE REPORT INVOLVING A POTENTIAL OVEREXPOSURE DURING GAMMA KNIFE TREATMENT

The following information was received from the State of California via email:

"The licensee reported a patient undergoing a gamma knife stereotactic radiosurgery (Elekta Instruments AB, Gamma Knife Perfexion, serial number 6021) on March 20, 2009 received a significant dose to an untargeted area due to an error in the imaging process used for treatment planning. The fiducial marker box (coordinate markers) used to register the CT images was misaligned (the CT locator box had not been firmly seated on the targeting frame as it should have been) which resulted in a target shift of approximately 2.0 mm. Due to the small size of the target (7mm x 4mm x 3mm) and the small size of the radiation shots (4 mm collimators), this shift of the 2.0 mm resulted in only about 52% of the target receiving the prescribed dose of 11 Gy. Therefore, a significant portion of this dose (48%) was shifted to normal tissue (temporal bone) outside of the intended treatment volume. This was a single fraction treatment. The patient is not expected to have any adverse consequences from this event. The physician did not feel additional treatment was advisable. The physician counseled the patient regarding this misadministration. Corrective actions taken by the licensee include: 1) additional training for the CT technologists on the correct placement of the fiducial box; 2) for all ongoing similar treatments, the medical physicist will double check the box placement; and 3) the policies and procedures were updated.

"On June 22, 2009, RHB-Brea RAM received a written report from Hoag Hospital that was dated April 1, 2009, and was faxed to RHB-Sacto on April 3, 2009 at 4 PM. The report was mailed from RHB-Sacto on June 12, 2009 to the RHB-Brea X-ray office and date stamped by that office on June 15, 2009 at 12:45 PM. The report stated they were reporting a misadministration which occurred on March 20, 2009 and that this event was previously reported on the evening of March 20, 2009 by telephone. Per the licensee, they had left a voice message on the answer phone at RHB-Sacto on the night of the incident instead of reporting the incident to the 24/7 radiological emergency assistance center."

CA 5010 Number: 032009

A Medical Event may indicate potential problems in a medical facility's use of radioactive materials. It does not necessarily result in harm to the patient.