[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 99 (Wednesday, May 22, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36038-36040]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-12835]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 030-35870; License No. 29-28358-02; EA-02-103]


In the Matter of United Evaluations Services, Inc. (Formerly 
Accurate Technologies, Inc.), Beachwood, NJ 08722; Order Suspending 
License (Effective Immediately) and Demand for Information

I

    United Evaluations Services, Inc., formerly Accurate Technologies 
Incorporated (Licensee) is the holder of byproduct nuclear material 
license No. 29-28358-02, issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
(NRC or Commission) pursuant to 10 CFR parts 30 and 34. Accurate 
Technologies Incorporated was the holder of Byproduct Nuclear Material 
License No. 29-28358-01, also issued by the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC or Commission) pursuant to 10 CFR parts 30 and 34.
    License No. 29-28358-01 was originally issued by the NRC on June 
16, 1989, and authorized possession and use of certain byproduct 
material for industrial radiography at temporary job sites of the 
Licensee anywhere in the United States where the NRC maintains 
jurisdiction for regulating the use of licensed material. The license 
was revoked by the NRC on December 12, 2000, for nonpayment of fees, 
although the Licensee has represented that it never received the Order 
revoking the license. The Licensee subsequently paid the required fees 
from the previous year over the period April-August 2001.
    The Licensee submitted a new application, with required fees, on 
November 6, 2001. The new license (No. 29-28358-02) was subsequently 
issued on November 16, 2001, and is due to expire on November 30, 2011. 
License No. 29-28358-02 initially authorized possession and use of 
certain byproduct material for industrial radiography at temporary job 
sites. Amendment No. 1 to License No. 29-28358-02, issued on December 
20, 2001, changed the name of the Licensee from Accurate Technologies 
Incorporated to United Evaluations Services Inc.

II

    On September 25, 2001, an event occurred at the McShane facility in 
Baltimore, Maryland, involving a radiation injury to one of the 
Licensee's radiographers. This event was discussed with the Licensee on 
October 4, 2001. During the discussions, the NRC learned that the 
radiographer received a very significant radiation exposure to his 
hands in excess of regulatory limits (at a minimum, approximately 250-
300 rem) while performing radiography at that facility. Since the 
facility was located in Maryland, an NRC Agreement State, the 
activities related to that exposure were within the jurisdiction of the 
State of Maryland.
    In its discussions with the NRC, the Licensee indicated that the 
injury occurred when the radiographer, who completed one radiographic 
exposure of equipment at the facility and was in the process of 
preparing for another exposure, handled the device's guide tube with 
the radioactive source located therein. The source remained in the 
guide tube after failing to fully retract to the shielded position 
following the first radiographic exposure. The exposure occurred 
because the radiographer approached the device without a survey meter 
and without wearing an alarming ratemeter, either of which would have 
alerted him that the source was not in a shielded position. Although 
this event occurred while the radiographer was performing activities in 
an NRC Agreement State, the same equipment is possessed and used 
pursuant to an NRC license. As a result, the NRC initiated an 
investigation and inspection into this matter.
    Based on the NRC investigation and inspection, which are still 
ongoing, the NRC has determined that:
    1. The radiographer who was exposed in Maryland had not received 
the annual refresher training as required by 10 CFR 34.43(d), and had 
not taken an annual refresher training exam. Instead, an assistant 
radiographer completed the annual refresher exam for that radiographer. 
In addition, the President/Radiation Safety Officer certified the 
training record, which was inaccurate, and provided the certified 
record to the NRC, in violation of 10 CFR 34.79(b) and 30.9. The date 
listed on the certified record was approximately three weeks before the 
occurrence of the significant hand exposure that occurred in Maryland. 
These violations are particularly egregious and may provide, in part, a 
causal link to the significant exposure that occurred in Maryland on 
September 25, 2001;
    2. The former Operations Manager knowingly transported and used a 
radiographic device in New Jersey without the required end cap (which 
ensures proper positioning and shielding of the source in the camera), 
in violation of 10 CFR 34.31. Records indicate that this occurred in 
September 2001.
    3. The President/Radiation Safety Officer, in a written response to 
an NRC

[[Page 36039]]

October 4, 2001 Confirmatory Action Letter (CAL), and during the 
inspection, deliberately provided inaccurate information to the NRC, 
regarding the status and use of equipment at the facility, in violation 
of 10 CFR 30.9. Specifically, Item 3 of the CAL documented the 
Licensee's commitment to inspect all radiographic exposure devices and 
associated equipment to verify they were in good working order. In an 
October 9, 2001 supplemental response to the CAL, sent to the NRC by 
facsimile, the Licensee included a document signed by the President/RSO 
which stated that the locking mechanisms were checked for proper 
operation and all locks were in proper working condition, and all end 
caps were checked and cleaned. This statement was deliberately 
inaccurate in that on October 10, 2001, during an NRC inspection, as 
well as during the subsequent investigation, the NRC learned that one 
of the radiographic devices did not have the end cap in place, and it 
had not been in place since at least September 25, 2001, and 
consequently the locking mechanism was inoperable. The Licensee was 
aware that the device did not have the end cap in place prior to its 
October 9, 2001 supplemental response.
    During the October 10, 2001 inspection, the inspector was informed 
by the President/Radiation Safety Officer, that an end cap for one of 
the radiographic devices had been missing for three weeks, but that the 
device had not been used during that time. This statement was also 
deliberately inaccurate in that radiation reports and testimony show 
that the device with the missing end cap had been used on more than one 
occasion during that three week period, including use by the President/
Radiation Safety Officer on October 2, 2001.
    4. With the acquiescence of Licensee management, an assistant 
radiographer performed the duties of a radiographer, knowing that he 
was not certified to do so, as required by 10 CFR 34.43(a)(1).

III

    The NRC must be able to rely on the Licensee and its employees to 
comply with NRC requirements and to ensure that radiographers do not 
perform licensed activities unless they have completed all required 
training and that radiographic equipment not be used if it is found to 
be defective. The NRC must also be able to rely upon information 
provided by the Licensee to be complete and accurate in all material 
respects. In this regard, it appears that the Licensee has deliberately 
failed to comply with NRC requirements, as indicated herein, and has 
deliberately provided inaccurate information to the NRC. These actions 
by the Licensee have raised serious doubt as to whether the Licensee 
can be relied upon in the future to comply with NRC requirements.
    Consequently, given these findings, and the significant impacts 
that can result from violations of radiography requirements, as 
evidence by the significant exposure that occurred in Maryland on 
September 25, 2001, I lack the requisite reasonable assurance that the 
Licensee's current operations can be conducted under License No. 29-
28358-02 in compliance with the Commission's requirements, and that the 
health and safety of the public, including the Licensee's employees, 
will be protected. Therefore, the health, safety and interest of the 
public require that License No. 29-28358-02 be suspended. Furthermore, 
pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202, I find that, given the safety significance of 
conducting radiography by personnel who have not completed all required 
training and certification, the public health, safety, and interest 
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 and 10 CFR parts 30 and 34, it is hereby 
ordered, effective immediately, that license No. 29-28358-02 is 
suspended as follows, pending further Order.
    A. All NRC-licensed material in the Licensee's possession shall be 
placed in secured storage.
    B. All activities under License No. 29-28358-02 to use licensed 
material shall be suspended. All other requirements of the license 
remain in effect.
    C. No material authorized by the license shall be ordered, 
purchased, received, or transferred by the Licensee while this Order is 
in effect.
    D. All records related to licensed activities and materials shall 
be maintained in their original form and must not be removed or altered 
in any way.
    The Director of the Office of Enforcement, the Director of the 
Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards, or the Regional 
Administrator, Region I, may, in writing, relax or rescind this order 
upon demonstration by the Licensee of good cause.

V

    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202, the Licensee must, and any other 
person adversely affected by this Order may, submit an answer to this 
Order, and may request a hearing on this Order, within 20 days of the 
date of this Order. Where good cause is shown, consideration will be 
given to extending the time to request a hearing. A request for an 
extension of time must be made in writing to the Director, Office of 
Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, 20555, 
and include a statement of good cause for the extension. The answer may 
consent to this Order. Unless the answer consents to this Order, the 
answer shall, in writing and under oath or affirmation, specifically 
admit or deny each allegation or charge made in this order and set 
forth the matters of fact and law on which the Licensee or other person 
adversely affected relies and the reasons as to why the 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 Services Section, Washington, DC 20555. Copies of the hearing 
request also should be sent to the Director, Office of Enforcement, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, to the 
Assistant General Counsel for Materials Litigation and Enforcement at 
the same address, to the Regional Administrator, NRC Region I, 475 
Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, 19406, and to the 
Licensee if the hearing request is by a person other than the Licensee. 
If a person other than the Licensee requests a hearing, that person 
shall set forth with particularity the manner in which the individual's 
interest is adversely affected by this Order and shall address the 
criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.714(d).
    If a hearing is requested by the Licensee or a person whose 
interest isadversely affected, the Commission will issue an Order 
designating the time and place of any hearing. If a hearing is held, 
the issue to be considered at such hearing shall be whether this Order 
should be sustained.
    Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202(c)(2)(i), the Licensee, may, in addition 
to requesting a hearing, at the time the answer is filed or sooner, 
move the presiding officer to set aside the immediate effectiveness of 
the Order on the ground that the Order, including the need for 
immediate effectiveness, is not based on adequate evidence but on mere 
suspicion, unfounded allegations, or error.
    In the absence of any request for hearing, or a written approval of 
an

[[Page 36040]]

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 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.

VI

    In addition to issuance of this Order suspending License No. 29-
28358-02, the Commission requires further information from the Licensee 
in order to determine whether the Commission can have reasonable 
assurance that in the future the Licensee will conduct its activities 
in accordance with the Commission's requirements.
    Accordingly, pursuant to sections 161c, 161o, 182 and 186 of the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commission's regulations 
in 10 CFR 2.204 and 10 CFR parts 30 and 34, in order for the Commission 
to determine whether your license should be further modified or 
revoked, or other enforcement action taken, the Licensee is required to 
submit to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555, within 20 days of the date of this 
Order and Demand for Information, in writing and under oath or 
affirmation:
    1. An explanation as to why, in light of the findings set forth in 
Section II of this Order and Demand for Information, that License No. 
29-28358-02 should not be revoked.
    2. If the Licensee believes that the license should not be revoked, 
the Licensee, in its response, should address at a minimum, why the NRC 
should have reasonable assurance that the Licensee, in the future, will 
ensure appropriate management and oversight of licensed activities 
(this shall include a description of who will be responsible for 
assuring such activities are conducted in accordance with 10 CFR parts 
30 and 34 requirements).
    Copies also shall be sent to the Assistant General Counsel for 
Materials Litigation and Enforcement at the same address, and to the 
Regional Administrator, NRC Region I, 475 Allendale Road, King of 
Prussia, Pennsylvania, 19406.
    After reviewing your response, the NRC will determine whether 
further action is necessary to ensure compliance with regulatory 
requirements.

    Dated this 14th day of May 2002.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Martin Virgilio,
Acting Deputy Executive Director for Materials, Research and State 
Programs.
[FR Doc. 02-12835 Filed 5-21-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P