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	NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION III 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle IL 60532
	CONTACT:	Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663/e-mail: rjs2@nrc.gov
		Angela Greenman (630) 829-9662/e-mail: opa3@nrc.gov

NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT: RIII-98-27

April 17, 1998

Small amounts of the radioactive gases of tritium and krypton-85, are used in calibration devices. These devices are used to check the accuracy of radiation survey instrumentation.

The company holds an NRC license which allows the distribution of limited amounts of tritium. The license also specifies that only a certain number of devices containing krypton-85 can be distributed at one time.

The violations were identified in a May 1996 NRC inspection and an investigation by the NRC Office of Investigations in May of last year.

In March 1996, the company sold two gas calibrators containing tritium to Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois. NRC inspectors noted that the shipping records disclosed that the devices each contained 9 millicuries of tritium, 8 millicuries more than the license allows.

Also within the same month, the company distributed to the U.S. Navy six lots of 100 krypton-85 devices and one lot of 87. The company is only allowed by the NRC license to sell or transfer 10 krypton-85 devices in any single transaction.

A predecisional enforcement conference was held on July 30, 1996, to discuss the apparent violations, their causes, and proposed corrective actions. Additionally, the NRC issued a Confirmatory Action Letter to the company the following August documenting the company's plans to correct the violations.

Subsequent NRC inspections in February and November of last year verified that adequate actions were being taken by the company to correct the problems. Some of the actions included developing written procedures and staff training.

The company has until May 15 to pay the fine or to protest it. If the fine is protested and subsequently imposed by the NRC staff, the company may request a hearing.