[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 250 (Friday, December 27, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68310-68312]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-32950]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[IA 96-100]
In the Matter of John Maas; Confirmatory Order Prohibiting
Involvement in NRC-Licensed Activities (Effective Immediately)
I
Mr. John Maas was employed as President of National Circuits
Caribe, Inc. (NCCI) in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, in 1991. NCCI possessed
and used radioactive materials at its Fajardo, Puerto Rico facility
under the authority of a general license issued by the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) pursuant to 10 CFR 31.5. The general
license authorized the licensee to use byproduct material contained in
devices designed and manufactured for the purpose of gauging or
controlling thickness of materials during industrial processes. NCCI
filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 in Puerto Rico in March 1991 but
the case was dismissed in October 1991 due to lack of response from the
company. The Fajardo facility was abandoned sometime around October
1991.
II
On June 23, 1993, the NRC was notified by the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico's Bureau of Radiological Health (Bureau) of the discovery
of radioactive sources and a quantity of hazardous chemicals on
property leased from the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Corporation
(PRIDCO) by NCCI. Bureau personnel indicated that the abandoned sources
had been found in an abandoned building by PRIDCO personnel.
The NRC, Region II, staff performed an inspection of the site on
June 30, 1993, and determined there were five sources containing
microcurie amounts of Thallium-204 or Promethium-147. The sources were
in backscatter gauges that were authorized for use by NCCI under an NRC
general license, specified in 10 CFR 31.5. The staff determined that
the source/gauges had been abandoned at the site since October 1991.
NRC and PRIDCO oversaw the disposal of the gauges, which was completed
in September 1994.
[[Page 68311]]
The NRC Office of Investigations (OI) conducted an investigation,
documented in OI Report No. 2-93-044 dated January 31, 1996, to
determine whether NCCI had deliberately abandoned licensed material at
the plant site. Based on the evidence developed and reviewed, OI
determined that during approximately October 1991, the five generally
licensed backscatter gauges were deliberately abandoned by the
licensee, with the knowledge of the President of the company, Mr. Maas.
Mr. Maas, the former President of NCCI, was prosecuted by the
Department of Justice and on December 5, 1995, pled guilty to the
charges of (1) willfully and knowingly storing or causing to be stored
hazardous wastes for longer than ninety days without having first
obtained a permit or interim status for said storage, in violation of
Title 42, United States Code, Section 6928(d)(2) (a) and (2) willfully
and knowingly abandoning devices containing byproduct radioactive
materials, in violation of Section 223 of the Atomic Energy Act of
1954, as amended, Title 42, United States Code, Section 2273 and 10 CFR
31.5(c)(6). On August 8, 1996, Mr. Maas was sentenced to probation and
required to perform community service.
III
The Commission's regulation in 10 CFR 30.10 requires, in part, that
any employee of a licensee may not engage in deliberate misconduct that
causes a licensee to be in violation of any regulation issued by the
Commission. Based on the facts set forth above, the staff concluded
that Mr. Maas engaged in deliberate misconduct that caused the licensee
to abandon devices containing byproduct material in violation of 10 CFR
31.5(c)(6). As President of NCCI, Mr. Maas was responsible for ensuring
that NCCI conducted activities in accordance with NRC requirements. The
NRC must be able to rely on licensees and their officials and employees
to comply with NRC requirements. Mr. Maas' actions in causing NCCI to
violate 10 CFR 31.5 have raised serious doubts as to whether he can be
relied on to comply with NRC requirements.
The NRC staff sent a letter dated October 10, 1996, to Mr. P. M.
Sandler, Mr. Maas' attorney, containing the proposed terms of this
Order which are set out in Section IV of this Order. The proposed terms
are that Mr. Maas be prohibited from any involvement in NRC-licensed
activities for a period of five years from the date of this Order, and
is required to notify the NRC of his first involvement in NRC-licensed
activities during the five years following the prohibition period. The
NRC staff requested Mr. Sandler to review the proposed items with Mr.
Maas and, if Mr. Maas agreed to the proposed terms of this Order, have
him indicate his agreement with those terms by signing an enclosed
acknowledgement. By letter dated October 22, 1996, Mr. Sandler
transmitted the acknowledgement of the proposed provisions of the Order
which had been signed by Mr. Maas. In the acknowledgement, Mr. Maas
indicated that he understood the proposed provisions, committed to
complying with them, and consented to the issuance of an Order
confirming these provisions. In the acknowledgment, Mr. Maas also
waived his right to have a hearing on such an Order.
I find that Mr. Maas' commitments as set forth in the letter of
October 22, 1996, are acceptable and necessary and conclude that with
these commitments public health and safety are reasonably assured. In
view of the foregoing, I have determined that public health and safety
require that Mr. Maas' commitments in the October 22, 1996 letter be
confirmed by this Order. As stated above, Mr. Maas has agreed to this
action. Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202, I have also determined, based on Mr.
Maas' consent and on the significance of the conduct described above,
that public health and safety require that this Order be immediately
effective.
IV
Accordingly, pursuant to sections 81, 161b, 161i, 161o, 182 and 186
of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commission's
regulations in 10 CFR 2.202, 10 CFR 30.10, and 10 CFR 150.20, it is
hereby ordered, effective immediately, that:
1. For a period of five years from the date of this Confirmatory
Order, Mr. Maas is prohibited from engaging in or exercising control
over individuals engaged in NRC-licensed activities. NRC-licensed
activities are those activities which are conducted pursuant to a
specific or general license issued by the NRC, including, but not
limited to, those activities of Agreement State licensees conducted
pursuant to the authority granted by 10 CFR 150.20. This prohibition
includes, but is not limited to: (1) Using licensed materials or
conducting licensed activities in any capacity within the jurisdiction
of the NRC; and (2) supervising or directing any licensed activities
conducted within the jurisdiction of the NRC.
2. At least five days prior to the first time that Mr. Maas engages
in, or exercises control over, NRC-licensed activities within a period
of five years following the five-year prohibition in Section IV.1
above, he shall notify the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555, of the name,
address, and telephone number of the NRC or Agreement State licensee
and the location where the licensed activities will be performed. The
notice shall be accompanied by a statement, under oath or affirmation,
that Mr. Maas understands NRC requirements, that he is committed to
compliance with NRC requirements, and that provides a basis as to why
the Commission should have confidence that he will now comply with
applicable NRC requirements.
The Regional Administrator, Region II, may relax or rescind, in
writing, any of the above conditions upon a showing by Mr. Maas of good
cause.
V
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202, any person adversely affected by
this Confirmatory Order, other than Mr. Maas, may submit an answer to
this Order, and may request a hearing within 20 days of its issuance.
Where good cause is shown, consideration will be given to extending the
time to request a hearing. A request for extension of time must be made
in writing to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555, and include a statement
of good cause for the extension. The request for a hearing shall, in
writing and under oath or affirmation, specifically set forth the
matters of fact and law on which any other person adversely affected
relies and the reasons as to why the Confirmatory Order should not have
been issued. Any answer or request for a hearing shall be submitted to
the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Attn: Chief,
Docketing and Service Section, Washington, D.C. 20555. Copies also
shall be sent to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555, to the Assistant General
Counsel for Hearings and Enforcement at the same address, and to the
Regional Administrator, NRC Region II, 101 Marietta Street, NW, Suite
2900, Atlanta, Georgia 30323 and to Mr. Maas. If a person other than
Mr. Maas requests a hearing, that person shall set forth with
particularity the manner in which his or her interest is adversely
affected by this Confirmatory Order and shall address the criteria set
forth in 10 CFR 2.714(d).
If a hearing is requested by a person whose interest is adversely
affected, the Commission will issue an Order designating the time and
place of any
[[Page 68312]]
hearing. If a hearing is held, the issue to be considered at such
hearing shall be whether this Confirmatory Order should be sustained.
In the absence of any request for hearing, or written approval of
an extension of time in which to request a hearing, the provisions
specified in Section IV above shall be final 20 days from the date of
this Confirmatory Order without further order or proceedings. If an
extension of time for requesting a hearing has been approved, the
provisions specified in Section IV shall be final when the extension
expires if a hearing request has not been received. AN ANSWER OR A
REQUEST FOR HEARING SHALL NOT STAY THE IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS
ORDER.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 12th day of December 1996.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
James Lieberman,
Director, Office of Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 96-32950 Filed 12-26-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P