[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 1 (Friday, January 2, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 121-122]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-32253]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 030-05980, 030-03982 and EA-03-219]


In the Matter of Safety Light Corporation, Bloomsburg, PA; Demand 
for Information

    Safety Light Corporation (the Licensee) is the holder of Byproduct 
Material Licenses issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or 
Commission) pursuant to 10 CFR Part 30 for the facility at 4150-A Old 
Berwick Road in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. License No. 37-00030-08 
authorizes, in part, the licensee to manufacture self-luminous devices, 
foils, targets, and pins containing tritium, and to distribute those 
items to persons specifically licensed by the NRC or an NRC Agreement 
State. License No. 37-00030-02 authorizes the licensee to characterize 
and decommission its contaminated facilities, equipment, and land. The 
Licenses were last renewed on December 28, 1999, and are due to expire 
on December 31, 2004.
    In the December 1999 renewal of License Nos. 37-00030-02 and 37-
00030-08, conditions were included in each License that exempted the 
Licensee from certain of the Commission's financial assurance 
requirements set forth in 10 CFR 30.32 and 10 CFR 30.35. This exemption 
was granted in response to the licensee's request to the Commission 
based on the lack of sufficient funds at the time to assure that 
adequate financial ability existed to decommission the facility. The 
NRC specifically approved the exemptions (originally in Condition 16 of 
Amendment No. 51 for License 37-00030-02 and Condition 20 of Amendment 
No. 13 for License 37-00030-08), provided that the Licensee make 
specified monthly payments into an NRC trust fund to support 
decommissioning activities, including $8,000 for each month in 2001 and 
2002, and $9,000 for each month in 2003. The NRC granted renewal of 
each License based on the Licensee's ability to continue to remediate 
and adequately secure radioactive materials at the facility using the 
money deposited into the NRC trust fund.
    During telephone conversations between Ms. Marie Miller, NRC Region 
I, and Mr. Larry Harmon, Plant Manager for the Licensee, on November 
21, 2003, the NRC learned that the Licensee had neither made some of 
the required payments into its NRC trust fund, nor notified the NRC 
that payments were not being made. This failure to make the required 
payments was confirmed in a subsequent telephone conversation between 
Mr. William Lynch, Vice President for the Licensee, and Dr. Ronald 
Bellamy, NRC Region I, on the same day. The bank records for the NRC 
trust fund period from April 2001 through October 2003, list twenty-
four deposits to the fund, rather than the required thirty-one 
deposits. For the twenty-one month period from April 2001 through 
December 2002, two of the required $8,000 monthly deposits had not been 
made. For the ten month period from January 2003 through October 2003, 
eight of the required $9,000 monthly deposits had not been made (no 
funds were deposited during six of the months, and only $8,000 was 
deposited during January and February 2003). In addition, the NRC has 
since learned that the required $9,000 deposit was not made in November 
2003. The failure to make these deposits resulted in a total deficit of 
$81,000 (plus interest) to the NRC trust fund. However, the NRC was 
subsequently informed, during a telephone conversation between Ms. 
Marie Miller and Mr. Larry Harmon on December 9, 2003, that the 
Licensee had deposited $13,500 to the NRC trust fund on December 9, 
2003. Based on the last deposit, it appears that the NRC trust fund is 
$67,500 in arrears, not including the interest that would have accrued 
had the required monthly payments been made.
    By not making the required monthly deposits to the NRC trust fund, 
the Licensee has violated Condition 16 of License No. 37-00030-02 and 
Condition 20 of License No. 37-00030-08 as well as 10 CFR 30.32 and 10 
CFR 30.35. This violation is significant because these deposits are 
necessary to fund ongoing decommissioning activities, including the 
disposition of radioactive waste presently stored at the facility. The 
NRC is concerned that without payment of these funds into the NRC trust 
fund, no funds will be available for decontamination of the facility 
and proper disposal of radioactive waste stored at the site.
    Therefore, further information is needed, to determine whether the 
Commission can have reasonable assurance that the Licensee will adhere 
to all License requirements and otherwise 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 part 30, in order for the Commission to 
determine whether your licenses should be modified, suspended or 
revoked, or other enforcement action taken to ensure compliance with 
NRC regulatory requirements, the Licensee is required to submit to the 
Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555, within 30 days of the date of this Demand For 
Information, in writing and under oath or affirmation:
    A. The detailed schedule for making all overdue payments, with 
interest, to the trust fund;
    B. The reasons why the Licensee did not make the required payments, 
as scheduled, to the NRC trust fund;
    C. The reasons why the NRC should have confidence that the Licensee 
will, in the future, make the monthly deposits to the NRC trust fund as 
required by License Condition 16 of Amendment No. 53 for License 37-
00030-02 and License Condition 20 of Amendment No. 13 for License 37-
00030-08;
    D. Assurance from the Licensee, should it encounter any difficulty 
making required monthly deposits in the future, that it will promptly 
notify the NRC that there will be a delay in making a specific deposit, 
and provide the reasons for the delay;
    E. The reasons why the NRC should have confidence that in the 
future, the Licensee will adhere to license conditions and applicable 
NRC requirements;
    F. The reasons why, in light of the Licensee's past failure to make 
all required payments to the trust fund, License Nos. 37-00030-02 and 
37-00030-08 should not be modified, suspended, or revoked.
    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.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.


[[Page 122]]


    Dated this 19th day of December 2003.
Frank J. Congel,
Director, Office of Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 03-32253 Filed 12-31-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P