EA-02-171 - Great Lakes Testing, Inc.

October 4, 2002

EA-02-171

Scott Shaw, President
Great Lakes Testing, Inc.
3101A Holmgren Way
Green Bay, WI 54304

SUBJECT:

NOTICE OF VIOLATION (NRC ROUTINE INSPECTION REPORT NO. 03033120/2002-001(DNMS))

Dear Mr. Shaw:

This refers to the inspection conducted on August 5, 2002, at your permanent radiographic installation in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and two temporary job sites in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. This was a routine inspection to review Great Lakes Testing's radiographic operations. The inspection report was transmitted to Great Lakes Testing on August 26, 2002, and identified one apparent violation of NRC requirements involving the failure to have two qualified individuals present when conducting radiographic operations at temporary job sites.

In the letter transmitting the inspection report, we provided you the opportunity to address the apparent violations identified in the report by either attending a predecisional enforcement conference or by providing a written response before we made our final enforcement decision. In a letter dated September 24, 2002, you provided a response to the apparent violation.

Based on the information developed during the inspection and the information that you provided in your response to the inspection report, the NRC has determined that a violation of NRC requirements occurred. The violation is cited in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice) and the circumstances surrounding it are described in detail in the subject inspection report. The violation involves the failure to have two qualified individuals present during radiographic operations at a temporary job site. During the inspection, the NRC observed radiography being performed on a pipe at an open field location (a temporary job site) and one radiographer was in the mobile darkroom and was unavailable to observe the radiographic operation. In addition, based on discussions with you, the practice of having one radiographer develop film in the mobile darkroom while the other radiographer performed radiography at temporary job sites occurred on several other occasions as of August 5, 2002.

The failure to have two qualified individuals present during radiographic operations at a temporary job site is a potentially significant safety issue. The purpose of the second individual is to observe radiographic operations and provide immediate assistance to prevent unauthorized entry into areas where radiography is being conducted and thus prevent unnecessary exposures to members of the public. Therefore, this violation has been categorized in accordance with the "General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions" (Enforcement Policy), NUREG-1600 at Severity Level III.

In accordance with the Enforcement Policy, a base civil penalty in the amount of $6000 is considered for a Severity Level III violation. Because your facility has not been the subject of escalated enforcement actions within the last two inspections, the NRC considered whether credit was warranted for Corrective Action in accordance with the civil penalty assessment process in Section VI.C.2 of the Enforcement Policy. Credit was warranted for prompt and comprehensive corrective actions that included: (1) immediately notifying all personnel on August 5, 2002, that a second radiographer must be present during each exposure at a temporary job site; (2) re-emphasizing the requirement during a safety meeting on August 6, 2002; (3) performing audits of radiographic operations between August 6 and 12, 2002, to verify compliance with the requirement; and (4) adding a discussion of the requirement to have a second radiographer present during all radiographic exposures at temporary job sites to the agenda of all future safety meetings.

Therefore, to encourage prompt and comprehensive correction of violations, and in recognition of the absence of previous escalated enforcement action, I have been authorized, after consultation with the Director, Office of Enforcement, not to propose a civil penalty in this case. However, significant violations in the future could result in a civil penalty. In addition, issuance of this Severity Level III violation constitutes escalated enforcement action, that may subject you to increased inspection effort.

The NRC has concluded that information regarding the reason for the violation, the corrective actions taken and planned to correct the violation and prevent recurrence, and the date when full compliance was achieved, is already adequately addressed on the docket in Inspection Report No. 03033120/2002-001(DNMS) and your letter, dated September 24, 2002. Therefore, you are not required to respond to this letter unless the description therein does not accurately reflect your corrective actions or your position. In that case, or if you choose to provide additional information, you should follow the instructions specified in the enclosed Notice.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter, its enclosure, and your response, if you choose to provide one, will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at the Public NRC Library.

		Sincerely,
		/RA/
		J. E. Dyer Regional Administrator

Docket No. 030-33120
License No. 48-26484-01

Enclosure: Notice of Violation

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NOTICE OF VIOLATION

Great Lakes Testing, Inc. Green Bay, Wisconsin

Docket No. 030-33120 License No. 48-26484-01 EA-02-171

During an NRC inspection conducted on August 5, 2002, a violation of NRC requirements was identified. In accordance with the "General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions," NUREG-1600, the violation is listed below:

10 CFR 34.41(a) requires that whenever radiography is performed at a location other than a permanent radiographic installation (i.e., a temporary job site), the radiographer must be accompanied by at least one other qualified radiographer or an individual who has at a minimum met the requirements of 10 CFR 34.43(c). The additional qualified individual must observe the operations and be capable of providing immediate assistance to prevent unauthorized entry. Radiography may not be performed if only one qualified individual is present.

Contrary to the above, on August 5, 2002, radiography was performed at a temporary job site, a location other than a permanent radiographic installation, with only one qualified individual present. Specifically, the second radiographer was in the mobile darkroom developing film rendering him unable to observe the radiography operations and incapable of providing immediate assistance to prevent unauthorized entry.

This is a Severity Level III violation (Supplement VI).

The NRC has concluded that information regarding the reason for the violation, the corrective actions taken and planned to correct the violation and prevent recurrence, and the date when full compliance was achieved, is already adequately addressed on the docket in Inspection Report No. 03033120/2002-001(DNMS) and your letter, dated September 24, 2002. However, you are required to submit a written statement or explanation pursuant to 10 CFR 2.201 if the description therein does not accurately reflect your corrective actions or your position. In that case, or if you choose to respond, clearly mark your response as a "Reply to a Notice of Violation," and send it to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Document Control Desk, Washington, DC 20555-0001 with a copy to the Regional Administrator, Region III, 801 Warrenville Road, Suite 255, Lisle, IL 60532-4351, within 30 days of the date of the letter transmitting this Notice of Violation (Notice).

If you contest this enforcement action, you should also provide a copy of your response, with the basis for your denial, to the Director, Office of Enforcement, United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

If you choose to respond, your response will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at the Public NRC Library. Therefore, to the extent possible, the response should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or safeguards information so that it can be made available to the Public without redaction.

In accordance with 10 CFR 19.11, you may be required to post this Notice within two working days.

Dated this 4^th day of October 2002.