EA-98-527 - Materials Testing & Inspection, Inc.
January 28, 1999
EA 98-527
Mr. David O. Cram, General Manager
Materials Testing & Inspection, Inc.
7446 W. Lemhi Street
Boise, Idaho 83709
| SUBJECT: | NOTICE OF VIOLATION (NRC Inspection Report No. 030-33699/98-01) |
Dear Mr. Cram:
This refers to the inspection conducted on October 26-30, 1998, at your
facility in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The purpose of the inspection was to review
the circumstances surrounding two nuclear gauges owned by Materials Testing
& Inspection, Inc., which were found in a residential area on September
27, 1998. The results of the inspection were discussed with you by telephone
on December 18, 1998, and were described in NRC Inspection Report No.
030-33699/98-01 issued on January 5, 1999. The NRC informed you that it
was considering escalated enforcement action for an apparent violation
identified during the inspection. You elected to respond to the apparent
violation in writing in lieu of requesting a predecisional enforcement
conference.
Based on the information developed during the inspection and the information
that you provided in your response letter dated January 21, 1999, 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. This violation involved two portable gauges left unlocked and
unsecured overnight in the bed of a pickup truck parked in a residential
driveway, and then in a residential garage the following day and night.
The root cause of the violation is considered to be a lack of appreciation
of the importance of maintaining security of licensed material.
This incident represents a significant failure to control licensed material.
Your failure to secure or maintain constant surveillance over the gauges
had the potential to result in the theft of the gauges and in unnecessary
radiation exposure to members of the general 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 $2,750 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.B.2 of the Enforcement Policy.
As described in NRC Inspection Report 030-33699/98-01, your immediate
corrective actions included locking the gauge cases and returning them
to a storage cabinet at your facility. In your response letter, you discussed
three additional immediate corrective actions which included: (a) having
an independent consultant audit your portable nuclear gauge program at
your Boise, Idaho office and sharing the results with your other offices,
(b) disciplining the responsible individual, and (c) briefing your Idaho
Falls personnel on the specifics of the incident and your license and
procedural requirements. Your long-term corrective actions included: (a)
refresher training on radiation safety and Department of Transportation
requirements, and radiation safety officer training, (b) conducting
field audits on all gauge operators, and (c) committing to make changes
to your procedures as recommended by the independent consultant. Due to
the thoroughness of your corrective actions, the NRC 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 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 NRC Inspection Report 030-33699/98-01
and your letter dated January 21, 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, if you so chose, will
be placed in the NRC Public Document Room.
| Sincerely, |
||
| Org signed by |
||
| Ellis W. Merschoff Regional Administrator |
Docket No. 030-33699
License No. 11-27504-01
Enclosure: Notice of Violation
cc (w/encl):
Idaho Radiation Control Program Director
|
NOTICE OF VIOLATION |
||
| Materials Testing & Inspection, Inc. Boise, Idaho 83709 |
Docket No. 030-33699 License No. 11-27504-01 EA 98-527 |
|
During an NRC inspection completed on December 18, 1998, 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 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 September 25-27, 1998, the licensee did not secure from unauthorized removal or limit access to two portable moisture/density gauges containing licensed material located in unrestricted areas in Idaho Falls, Idaho, nor did the licensee control and maintain constant surveillance of this licensed material. This material consisted of 0.3 gigabecquerels (8 millicuries) of cesium-137 and 1.48 gigabecquerels (40 millicuries) of americium-241 in one gauge, and 0.37 gigabecquerels (10 millicuries) of cesium-137 and 1.85 gigabecquerels (50 millicuries) of americium-241 in the other gauge. Specifically, the gauges were stored in unlocked cases in the back of a pickup truck in the driveway of a private residence on September 25 and in an unattached garage of a private residence on September 26-27, 1998. (01013) This is a Severity Level III violation (Supplement IV). |
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 NRC Inspection Report No. 030-33699/98-01,
and in your letter dated January 21, 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). If safeguards information
is necessary to provide an acceptable response, please provide the level
of protection described in 10 CFR 73.21.
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
