VA Apologizes For Faulty Prostate-Cancer Program In Pa. But Denies Radiation Violations

"The Department of Veterans Affairs yesterday apologized repeatedly for a prostate-cancer program that gave incorrect radiation doses to veterans for six years at its main Philadelphia hospital," The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. "At the same time, officials from the Philadelphia VA Medical Center and the Veterans Health Administration mounted a vigorous defense against charges by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission that they had apparently violated eight regulations in the medical use of radioactive materials. In a hearing that was often pointed, VA officials also withdrew their own previous estimates of the number of patients who were affected, asserting that the mistakes were far less common than previously believed. NRC officials said they were surprised by the VA's about-face" (Goldstein, 12/18).