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EA-05-092 - David Blackmore & Associates, Inc.June 27, 2005 EA 05-092 Joseph Hughes
Dear Mr. Hughes: This letter refers to the NRC safety inspection conducted at your temporary job site located on Egypt Road in Upper Providence Township, Pennsylvania, on April 5 and 11, 2005. The inspection was limited to a review of the circumstances associated with the damage to an unattended portable nuclear gauge on April 5, 2005. The gauge, which contained approximately 10 millicuries of cesium-137 and 50 millicuries of americium-241, was damaged when it was run over by a bulldozer after an authorized gauge operator had left it unattended for approximately 10 minutes at the job site. The results of the inspection were discussed with you and members of your staff during an exit meeting on April 11, 2005, at the conclusion of the inspection. Based on the inspection, one apparent violation of NRC requirements was identified involving the failure by the authorized gauge operator to control and maintain constant surveillance of the gauge. The apparent violation was described in the NRC inspection report sent to you with our letter dated June 1, 2005. Our letter also informed you that the NRC was considering escalated enforcement action in accordance with its enforcement policy and you were provided an opportunity to address our concerns at a predecisional enforcement conference. On June 16, 2005, a predecisional enforcement conference (PEC), open for public observation, was conducted with you to discuss the apparent violation, its causes, and your corrective actions. At this conference, you admitted that the violation occurred and provided the corrective actions you have taken or plan to take in response to this violation. A summary of the enforcement conference is enclosed. In this case, the damage to the gauge did not result in removal of the source from its shielded position, nor did it cause any leakage from the source. Furthermore, it was unlikely that unauthorized persons came into direct contact with the material during the time that it was unattended. Nonetheless, this violation is of concern to the NRC because (1) the failure to control radioactive material could result in the loss or theft of the material; and (2) unintended radiation doses to members of the public could occur if the source was removed from its shielded position. Therefore, this violation is categorized at Severity Level III in accordance with the "General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions," (Enforcement Policy). In accordance with the Enforcement Policy, a base civil penalty in the amount of $3,000 is considered for a Severity Level III violation involving the loss of control of radioactive material with this level of radioactivity. 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 for corrective actions is warranted because your corrective actions were considered prompt and comprehensive. These corrective actions were provided to the NRC at the June 16, 2005, PEC, and included, but were not limited to: (1) immediately restricting access to the immediate area around the damaged gauge in the event there was any contamination, as well as to prevent any exposure to members of the public; (2) returning the damaged gauge to the manufacturer for repairs; (3) re-instructing all company gauge operators in the licensee’s security requirements for the use of gauges; (4) discussing the event with employees and conducting additional training regarding safety of licensed material; and, (5) performing unannounced site visits to inspect performance of gauge operators. Therefore, to encourage prompt and comprehensive correction of violations, I have been authorized, after consultation with the Director, Office of Enforcement, to issue the enclosed Notice of Violation for the Severity Level III violation with no civil penalty. However, you should be aware that significant violations in the future could result in a civil penalty. In addition, issuance of this Notice constitutes escalated enforcement action that may subject you to increased inspection effort. The NRC has concluded that information regarding the reasons 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 this letter, and in the inspection report issued on June 1, 2005. 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 http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).
Docket No. 030-36556 Enclosures cc w/encl: ENCLOSURE
During an NRC inspection conducted on April 5 and 11, 2005, for which an exit meeting was held on April 11, 2005, one violation of NRC requirements was identified. In accordance with the “General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions,” (Enforcement Policy), the violation is listed below:
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. In accordance with 10 CFR 19.11, you may be required to post this Notice within two working days.
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