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I-98-64
June 4, 1998
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has proposed a $5,500 fine against Alaron Corporation, Wampum, Pennsylvania, for a violation of NRC requirements concerning the storage of radioactive waste.
In addition to the fine, the NRC also has issued a demand for information, requiring Alaron to provide, under oath or affirmation, a statement concerning its ability to comply with NRC regulatory requirements in order for the Commission to determine whether the company's license should be modified, suspended or revoked. Alaron holds an NRC license that allows the company to process radioactive waste for disposal. .
NRC cited the company in April 1997 for having at least 15 waste packages stored on site for more than two years. This past February , less than a year later, an NRC inspection found that the number of waste packages in storage for more than two years had grown to 83, including two packages that had been there the year before.
In a letter transmitting the citation to the company, NRC Region I Administrator Hubert J. Miller said, the NRC is concerned that although the company knew it was not permitted to store waste for more than two years, "you failed to dispose of all of the waste that was the subject of the previous notice of violation and failed to prevent recurrence of the violation."
The violation is categorized as "Severity Level 3" because of the significance the NRC places on willful violations of requirements. (NRC's enforcement policy has four severity levels, with Level 1 being the most severe.) "Willful violations are of concern," Mr. Miller said, "because the NRC's regulatory programs are based on licensees and their employees acting with integrity."
At a predecisional enforcement conference to discuss the apparent violation, the company described its corrective actions, which the NRC staff considered prompt and comprehensive. Those actions include disposing of all waste that would have been in storage for two years by December 31 by the end of this month, developing a tracking system to ensure that all waste is disposed of within 18 months after it is received or generated, and a commitment from its parent company to provide funding for disposal if operating funds are not available.
Alaron has 30 days to respond to the notice of violation and demand for information.
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