EA-98-471 - Dept of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs
January 28, 1999
EA 98-471
Donald Whitener
Assistant Area Director
Department of Interior
Bureau of Indian Affairs
P.O. Box 26567
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87125-6567
| SUBJECT: | NOTICE OF VIOLATION (NRC Inspection Report No. 030-08519/98-01) |
Dear Mr. Whitener:
This refers to your letter dated January 20, 1999, in response to the
subject inspection report dated November 23, 1998. The NRC's routine inspection
identified three apparent violations that were being considering for escalated
enforcement action. These apparent violations were discussed with your
radiation safety officer at the completion of the inspection, on November
2, 1998. The cover letter to the inspection report informed you that prior
to making an enforcement decision, we were providing you the opportunity
to either request a predecisional enforcement conference to discuss the
apparent violations or respond to the apparent violations in writing.
You responded to the apparent violations in writing in your January 20
letter.
Based on the information developed during the inspection and the information
that you provided in your January 20, 1999 letter, the NRC has determined
that violations of NRC requirements occurred. These violations are cited
in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice) and the circumstances surrounding
them are described in detail in the subject inspection report. The violations
involve failures to: (1) adequately secure and restrict access to licensed
materials, specifically three portable gauges; (2) store portable gauges
in locked containers designed to prevent unauthorized or accidental removal
of the sealed sources from their shielded positions; and (3) perform semi-annual
source inventories. These violations were identified during a routine
inspection of five of your nine field sites, and information from employees
indicated that some of these violations might have existed for an extended
period of time, in one case for approximately one year.
These violations did not result in a safety consequence. However, collectively,
the violations indicate significant failures to maintain security over,
and control access to, radioactive material for radiation protection purposes
as specified by NRC requirements. Therefore, these violations are classified
in the aggregate in accordance with the "General Statement of Policy and
Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions" (Enforcement Policy), NUREG-1600
as a Severity Level III problem.
In accordance with the Enforcement Policy, a civil penalty in the base
amount of $2,750 is considered for a Severity Level III problem. 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.B.2 of the Enforcement Policy.
We noted your corrective actions included ensuring all gauges were secured
in locked containers, ensuring that storage facilities are locked when
not in use, completing an inventory of all portable gauges, conducting
training on NRC requirements, and creating a calendar of specific events
to perform tasks such as physical inventories. Therefore, the NRC has
concluded that credit for Corrective Actions was warranted.
Therefore, to encourage prompt and comprehensive correction of violations,
and in recognition of the absence of previous escalated enforcement action,
I have been authorized 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 problem constitutes escalated
enforcement action, that may subject you to increased inspection effort.
The NRC has concluded that information regarding the reason for the violations,
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. 030/08519/98-01,
and your letter dated January 20, 1999. 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 will be placed in the
NRC Public Document Room.
| Sincerely, |
||
| Org signed by |
||
| Ellis W. Merschoff Regional Administrator |
Docket No. 030-08519
License No. 30-15065-01
Enclosure: Notice of Violation
cc (w/encl):
State of New Mexico Radiation Control Program
|
NOTICE OF VIOLATION |
||
| Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs Albuquerque, New Mexico |
Docket No. 030-08519 License No. 30-15065-01 EA 98-471 |
During an NRC inspection conducted on June 22 through November 2, 1998,
violations of NRC requirements were identified. In accordance with the
"General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions,"
NUREG-1600, the violations are listed below:
| A. | 10 CFR 20.1801 requires that the licensee secure from
unauthorized removal or access licensed materials that are stored
in controlled or unrestricted areas. 10 CFR 20.1802 requires that
the licensee control and maintain constant surveillance of licensed
material that is in a controlled or unrestricted area and that is
not in storage. As defined in 10 CFR 20.1003, controlled area
means an area, outside of a restricted area but inside the site boundary,
access to which can be limited by the licensee for any reason; and
unrestricted area means an area, access to which is neither
limited nor controlled by the licensee. Contrary to the above, on June 23, and other days in 1998, the licensee did not secure from unauthorized removal or limit access to 3 portable gauging devices containing about 100 millicuries of americium-241 and 24 millicuries of cesium-137, located in an open storage facility, at the BIA Ramah Navajo Agency Branch of Roads Compound on Highway 124, which is a controlled area, nor did the licensee maintain constant surveillance of this licensed material. (01013) |
| B. | License Condition 14 requires that each portable nuclear gauge
shall have a lock or outer locked container designed to prevent unauthorized
or accidental removal of the sealed source from its shielded position.
The gauge or its container must be locked when in transport, storage,
or when not under the direct surveillance of an authorized user. Contrary to the above, on June 23, 1998, 3 portable gauges did not have a lock or outer locked container designed to prevent unauthorized or accidental removal of the sealed source from its shielded position at the Ramah Navajo Agency storage facility. The gauges were in storage and were not under direct surveillance of an authorized user. (01023) |
| C. | License condition 15 requires that the licensee conduct a physical
inventory every 6 months to account for all sources and/or devices
received and possessed under the license. Contrary to the above, the licensee did not conduct a physical inventory to account for all sources and/or devices received and possessed under the license between the period from October 1995 to June 23, 1998, an interval exceeding 6 months. (01033) These violations represent a Severity Level III problem. (Supplement VI). |
The NRC has concluded that information regarding the reason for the violations,
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 NRC Inspection Report No. 030-08519/98-01
and in a letter from the Licensee dated January 20, 1999. 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 with a copy
to the Regional Administrator, Region IV, 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400,
Arlington, Texas 76011, 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.
Under the authority of Section 182 of the Act, 42 U.S.C. 2232, this response
shall be submitted under oath or affirmation.
If you choose to respond, your response will be placed in the NRC Public
Document Room (PDR). Therefore, to the extent possible, the response should
not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or safeguards information
so that it can be placed in the PDR without redaction. If personal privacy
or proprietary information is necessary to provide an acceptable response,
then please provide a bracketed copy of your response that identifies
the information that should be protected and a redacted copy of your response
that deletes such information. If you request withholding of such material,
you must specifically identify the portions of your response that
you seek to have withheld and provide in detail the bases for your claim
of withholding (e.g., explain why the disclosure of information will create
an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy or provide the information
required by 10 CFR 2.790(b) to support a request for withholding
confidential commercial or financial information).
In accordance with 10 CFR 19.11, you may be required to post this Notice
within two working days.
Dated this 28th day of January 1999
