Nuclear agency inspecting Maryland lab after contamination

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has begun a special inspection at a facility in suburban Maryland following a worker’s potential exposure to radioactive contamination. (Photo: NRCgov/Twitter)

GAITHERSBURG, Md. — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has begun a special inspection at a facility in suburban Maryland following a worker’s potential exposure to radioactive contamination.

A five-member NRC team began the inspection Tuesday after an incident last month when a glass ampule broke in a National Institute of Standards and Technology laboratory.

Test results indicated the employee potentially received a dose of radiation above NRC annual occupational limits. Additional testing is being done on the worker to determine the actual dose. The results will be included in a report to be issued within 45 days after the review is completed.

The NRC team is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the event as well as NIST’s corrective actions.

Neither organization immediately returned calls seeking comment Wednesday.