EA-04-140 - Worthington Industries, Inc.

August 23, 2004

EA 04-140

Joe W. Harden
President
Worthington Steel
Worthington Industries, Inc.
200 Old Wilson Bridge Road
Columbus, OH 43085

SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION (NRC Inspection Report No. 99990001/2003-006)

Dear Mr. Harden:

This refers to the NRC inspection conducted between October 31, 2003 and March 23, 2004, concerning your former facility located in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and the activities authorized by your NRC general license. During the inspection, the NRC learned that you (1) possessed generally licensed gauges and tritium exit signs at the Malvern facility, but sold and transferred ownership of the gauges to another company, Truelove and MacLean, and (2) disposed of six tritium exit signs by transfer to SRB Technologies, an Agreement State licensee.

Based on this inspection, the NRC also identified three violations related to the transfer of these materials. The violations involved: (1) the sale and transfer of ownership of the two generally licensed gauges (containing approximately 1.0 curie each of americium-241) without providing the new owner with the safety documents identified in the label on the device; (2) the failure to notify the NRC within 30 days regarding the transfer of ownership of the generally licensed gauges to another general licensee; and (3) the failure to notify the NRC within 30 days regarding the transfer of six generally licensed exit signs containing tritium to SRB Technologies. In a telephone conversation between Mr. John Mertler of your company and Ms. Elizabeth Ullrich of NRC, Region I, on July 28, 2004, Mr. Mertler indicated that Worthington Steel declined the opportunity to discuss these issues in a predecisional enforcement conference or to submit a written response.

The 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 most significant violation involved the inappropriate transfer of ownership of the two gauges to another general licensee, Truelove & MacLean, in July 2003, without providing that company the appropriate safety documents at the time of the transfer. Without the safety documents, Truelove & MacLean was not made aware of the appropriate requirements regarding removal and transfer of the gauges. Although the gauges initially remained in place at your former facility in Malvern after the transfer, Truelove & MacLean subsequently removed and transferred the gauges from that Malvern facility to another location in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. Removal and transfer of the gauges without knowledge of appropriate safety requirements created the potential for damage to the gauges and unnecessary exposure to radiation, as well as the potential for loss of the gauges or the radioactive sources contained therein. Therefore, this violation involving your failure to provide Truelove & MacLean with the safety documents at the time of transfer of ownership is categorized at Severity Level III in accordance with the "General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions" (Enforcement Policy), NUREG-1600.

In accordance with the Enforcement Policy, a base civil penalty in the amount of $3,000 is considered for a Severity Level III violation. Because your facility has not been the subject of escalated enforcement action within the last two years or 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 is warranted because your corrective actions were considered prompt and comprehensive. These corrective actions included, but were not limited to: (1) subsequently providing the appropriate safety documents to Truelove & McLean; (2) providing the notification to the NRC regarding the transfer of the two gauges; and (3) providing notification to the NRC regarding the transfer of the six exit signs containing tritium.

Therefore, to encourage prompt and comprehensive correction of violations, I have been authorized after consultation with the Director, Office of Enforcement, not to propose a civil penalty in this case. However, you should be aware that if you are involved in NRC-licensed activities in the future, either via a specific or general license, any significant violations could result in a civil penalty.

The two other aforementioned violations, involving the failures to notify the NRC within 30 days regarding the transfers of the the gauge and the tritium exit signs, are classified at Severity Level IV.

The NRC has concluded that information regarding your corrective actions taken and planned to correct the violations and prevent recurrence have been described as documented in this letter. 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. We appreciate your cooperation with us in this matter.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter, its enclosures, 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. The NRC also includes Issued Significant Enforcement Actions on its Web site.

    Sincerely,
    /RA/ James T. Wiggins Acting For
    Samuel J. Collins
Regional Administrator

Docket No. 99990001
License No. General License

Enclosure:1. Notice of Violation
2. (NRC Inspection Report No. 99990001/2003-006)

cc w/encl:
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
State of Maryland
State of Ohio
State of North Carolina


ENCLOSURE

NOTICE OF VIOLATION

Worthington Steel
Malvern, Pennsylvania
  Docket No. 99990001
License No. General License
EA 04-140

During an NRC inspection conducted on October 31, 2003 through March 22, 2004, three violations of NRC requirements were identified. In accordance with the "General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions," (Enforcement Policy), NUREG-1600, the violations are set forth below:

A.

10 CFR 31.5 (c)(9) requires, in part, that a general licensee transfer a device to another general licensee only if the device remains in use at a particular location, and that the transferor gives the transferee a copy of this section as well as a copy of §§31.2, 30.51. 20.2201, and 20.2202 of this chapter.

Contrary to the above, on July 1, 2003, Worthington Steel, an NRC general licensee located in Malvern, Pennsylvania, sold two generally licensed Model 5310 gauges to Truelove and MacLean (T&M), another general licensee, and the gauges remained in place at the Malvern, Pennsylvania facility. Worthington Steel did not give the transferee (T&M) the required safety documents identified in the label of the device. Specifically, a copy of 10 CFR 31.5, as well as a copy of §§31.2, 30.51, 20.2201, and 20.2202 of this chapter, were not sent to the transferee (T&M) until October 28, 2003. Also, the information sent on October 28, 2003 was in error in that the activity of each gauge was stated to be 1 millicurie rather than 1 curie, and was not corrected until another letter was sent to T&M on February 13, 2004.

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

B. 10 CFR 31.5 (c)(9) requires, in part, that a general licensee transfer a device to another general licensee only if the device remains in use at a particular location, and within 30 days of the transfer, the transferor shall report to the Director of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards, ATTN: GLTS, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C.20555-0001
  A. the manufacturer's (or initial transferor's) name;
  B. the model number and serial number of the device transferred;
  C. the transferee's name and mailing address for its place of use; and
  D. the name, title and phone number of the responsible individual identified by the transferee in accordance with paragraph (c)(12) of this section to have knowledge of and authority to take actions to ensure compliance with the appropriate regulations and requirements
 

Contrary to the above, on July 1, 2003, Worthington Steel, a general licensee located in Malvern, Pennsylvania, sold and transferred two generally licensed devices to Truelove and MacLean (T&M), another general licensee, and although the gauges remained in place at the Malvern, Pennsylvania location, Worthington Steel did not report the transfer to the Director of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards, ATTN: GLTS, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Washington, D.C.20555-0001, with the required information within 30 days of the transfer. Specifically, a report was not sent until October 28, 2003, a period greater than 30 days after the transfer. In addition, this report was in error in that the activity of each gauge was stated to be 1 millicurie rather then 1 curie, and was not corrected until another letter was sent to the NRC on February 13, 2004.

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

C.

10 CFR 31.5(c)(8)(i) and (ii) requires, in part that, a general licensee transfer or dispose of a device containing byproduct material only to a person authorized to receive that device by a specific license issued under parts 30 and 32 of this chapter, or equivalent regulations of an Agreement State, and furnish a report to the Director of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards, ATTN: GLTS, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C.20555-0001 within 30 days after the transfer of a device to a specific licensee.

Contrary to the above, on December 19, 2003, Worthington Steel disposed of six generally licensed tritium exit signs by transfer to SRB Technologies, an Agreement State licensee located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Worthington Steel did not make a report to the NRC within 30 days of the transfer. Specifically, the report was not sent to the NRC until March 16, 2004.

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

The NRC has concluded that information regarding the reason for the violations, and the corrective actions taken and planned to correct the violations and prevent recurrence are already adequately addressed on the docket in the NRC letter transmitting this Notice. Therefore, no response to this Notice is required. 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, EA 04-140" 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 I, 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.

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 or proprietary information so that it can be placed in the PDR without redaction. ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at the Public NRC Library.

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

Dated this 23rd day of August 2004

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