Notices of violation issued to Texas radioactive material licensees inspected in 1995

Notices of violation stemming from the inspection activities of the Texas Department of Health's Bureau of Radiation Control during calendar year 1995 are summarized and characterized. Although eight distinct general categories of radioactive material licenses were included in the analysis, certain general trends were noted, permitting the formulation of an objective list of the ten most frequent violations cited. In order ranked from the most frequent, these include not following operating or safety procedures, radiation surveys not being performed, inadequate personnel monitoring records, instrumentation not used or out of calibration, radioactive material inventories not performed, leak tests not performed, deficiencies in training for industrial uses, inadequate inspection and maintenance of devices, unauthorized users of radioactive material, and incomplete or absent records for receipt or transfer of radioactive material. Although the analysis was limited to a single state, the results can benefit radiation protection quality assurance programs and health physics continuing education efforts by objectively identifying areas commonly cited for being deficient. The results also reiterate the necessity for proper documentation, as at least seven of the ten most frequent violations issued appear to stem predominantly from the records of radiation protection programs.