NRC Staff to Discuss Apparent Violation with Kentucky Engineering and Testing Company on February 18

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	NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION II 61 Forsyth Street, Suite 23T85, Atlanta, GA 30303
	CONTACT:	Ken Clark (Phone: 404/562-4416, E-mail: kmc2@nrc.gov)
		Roger Hannah (Phone 404/562-4417, E-mail: rdh1@nrc.gov)

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No: II-98-10

February 13, 1998

NRC STAFF TO DISCUSS APPARENT VIOLATION WITH KENTUCKY ENGINEERING AND TESTING COMPANY ON FEBRUARY 18

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has scheduled a predecisional enforcement conference with Ground Engineering and Testing Service, Inc. of Louisville, Kentucky, at 10:00 a.m. in Atlanta on February 18, 1998 to discuss an apparent violation related to the use of radioactive material in areas under NRC jurisdiction without meeting NRC regulations.

Ground Engineering and Testing Service is authorized under a license issued by Kentucky to use portable moisture/density gauges at temporary job sites. Kentucky is an NRC agreement state, meaning it regulates radioactive material use within its borders through an agreement with the NRC. However, an NRC inspection found that in 1997 the company had conducted activities at Fort Knox in Kentucky, a federal facility under NRC jurisdiction, and in West Virginia and Indiana, two states where radioactive material users are regulated by the NRC. The company was required to obtain an NRC license for the work at Fort Knox and in the other two states and apparently did not do so.

The meeting will be held in the NRC's regional office, located on the 24th floor of the Atlanta Federal Center at 61 Forsyth Street. The meeting is open to observation by the public and the media, and NRC officials will be available at its conclusion to answer questions from interested observers.

NRC officials said the decision to hold a predecisional enforcement conference does not mean that a determination has been made that a violation has occurred or that enforcement action will be taken. The purpose of the conference is to discuss apparent violations, their causes and safety significance; to provide the licensee an opportunity to point out any errors that may have been made in the NRC inspection report; and to enable the company to outline its proposed corrective actions.

No decision on the apparent violations or any contemplated enforcement action, such as a civil penalty, will be made at this conference. Those decisions will be made later by senior NRC officials.