[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 42 (Monday, March 3, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11448-11450]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-4025]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 150-00017]
In the Matter of: Accurate NDE and Inspection, LLC, Broussard,
LA; General License Pursuant to: 10 CFR 150.20, EA-06-281; EA-07-289;
Confirmatory Order (Effective Immediately)
I
Accurate NDE and Inspection, LLC (Accurate NDE or Licensee) is the
holder of a general license pursuant to 10 CFR 150.20 issued by the
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission). This general
license was granted to Accurate NDE at various times during calendar
years 2005, 2006, and 2007.
II
An NRC inspection was conducted at an Accurate NDE temporary job
site located on an oil and gas platform in offshore Federal waters
within the Gulf of Mexico on December 20, 2005. Following that
inspection, an investigation was initiated on January 17, 2006, by the
NRC's Office of Investigations (OI) to determine whether a radiographer
and a radiographer's assistant, employed by Accurate NDE, willfully
violated NRC regulations.
Based on the results of the NRC inspection and OI investigation,
the NRC determined that three violations of NRC requirements occurred.
The violations involved: A failure to secure an industrial radiography
exposure device containing licensed material, as required by 10 CFR
20.1801 and 10 CFR 20.1802; permitting an individual who did not wear a
direct reading dosimeter, an operating alarm ratemeter, and a personnel
dosimeter, during radiographic operations, to act as a radiographer's
assistant, in contradiction of 10 CFR 34.47(a); and the failure to
provide complete and accurate information to an NRC inspector, as
required by 10 CFR 30.9(a), by providing a falsified daily radiation
report. The NRC also determined that each of the violations resulted
from willful actions on the part of the radiographer and the
radiographer's assistant involved. Therefore, the three violations were
categorized in accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy as a Severity
Level III problem.
III
In a letter dated March 20, 2007, the NRC issued a Notice of
Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty in the amount of
$13,000 for the Severity Level III problem. In the March 20, 2007,
letter, the NRC offered Accurate NDE the opportunity to request
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) with the NRC in an attempt to
resolve issues associated with this problem. In response, Accurate NDE
requested ADR to resolve the matter with the NRC. ADR is a process in
which a neutral mediator, with no decision-making authority, assists
the NRC and Accurate NDE to resolve any differences regarding the
matter.
An ADR session was conducted between Accurate NDE and the NRC in
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on November 7, 2007. During that ADR session,
an Agreement in Principle was reached. The elements of the agreement
consisted of the following:
1. Accurate NDE will confirm that amended procedures for offshore
radiographic activities have been submitted to the State of Louisiana
for review and approval as appropriate; and submit those procedures to
the NRC for information.
2. Accurate NDE will develop and implement a detailed radiation
safety and security checklist for radiography crews to complete; the
checklist is to include communication with the company Radiation Safety
Officer or management after completion of the checklist: (1) Before
leaving for an offshore job and (2) once arriving at the job site, if
the ability to communicate is available. The Checklist should include a
sign-off by the radiographer that they have briefed the Safety
Representative/Responsible Manager on the offshore job site regarding
licensed activities. Accurate NDE will include these requirements in
licensee procedures.
3. Accurate NDE will develop and provide training to all employees
regarding potential consequences for wrongdoing; for new employees,
before working with radioactive material; and annually thereafter for
all employees involved in radiographic activities.
4. Accurate NDE will ensure that requirements for security of
radiographic devices including requirements associated with the
increased controls order and contingency actions, if unable to lock and
monitor radiographic devices, are included in licensee procedures.
5. Accurate NDE will develop and implement a program for offshore
audits of radiographic operations. Audit requirements and audit
frequency will be included in procedures. Audit frequency will include
at least one offshore audit each calendar year.
6. Accurate NDE will develop and issue a company policy encouraging
employees to report problems on the job site.
7. Accurate NDE will develop and issue a personal letter from the
Company President or Radiation Safety Officer to current employees
regarding expectations for compliance with NRC regulations.
8. Accurate NDE will develop and publish an article in the company
newsletter, or equivalent, regarding this case. Specifically, include
that employee actions did cause adverse consequences for the company
and for the individual.
9. All of the above requirements shall be completed by Accurate NDE
within 120 days of the effective date of this Order.
10. In recognition of Accurate NDE's cooperative efforts, extensive
corrective actions and good faith effort, the NRC agrees to reduce the
civil penalty originally proposed to $500.
On January 21, 2008, Accurate NDE consented to issuing this Order
with the commitments, as described in section V below. Accurate NDE
further agreed that this Order is to be effective upon issuance and
that it has waived its right to a hearing.
IV
Since the Licensee has agreed to take additional actions to address
NRC concerns, as set forth in Item III above, the NRC has concluded
that its concerns can be resolved through issuance of this Order.
I find that the Licensee's commitments as set forth in section V
are acceptable and necessary and conclude that with these commitments
the public health and safety are reasonably assured. In view of the
foregoing, I have determined that public health and safety require that
the Licensee's commitments be confirmed by this Order. Based on the
above and
[[Page 11449]]
the Licensee's consent, this Order is immediately effective upon
issuance.
V
Accordingly, pursuant to sections 81, 161b, 161i, 161o, 182, and
186 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, the Commission's
regulations in 10 CFR 2.202, 2.205, 10 CFR Parts 20, 34, and 150, it is
hereby ordered, effective immediately, that:
1. Accurate NDE will confirm that amended procedures for offshore
radiographic activities have been submitted to the State of Louisiana
for review and approval as appropriate; and submit those procedures to
the NRC for information.
2. Accurate NDE will develop and implement a detailed radiation
safety and security checklist for radiography crews to complete; the
checklist is to include communication with the company Radiation Safety
Officer or management after completion of the checklist: (1) Before
leaving for an offshore job and (2) once arriving at the job site, if
ability to communicate is available. The checklist shall include a
sign-off by the radiographer that they have briefed the Safety
Representative/Responsible Manager on the offshore job site regarding
licensed activities. Accurate NDE will include these requirements in
licensee procedures.
3. Accurate NDE will develop and provide training to all employees
regarding potential consequences for wrongdoing; for new employees,
before working with radioactive material; and annually (at intervals
not to exceed 12 months) thereafter for all employees involved in
radiographic activities.
4. Accurate NDE will ensure that requirements for security of
radiographic devices including requirements associated with the
increased controls order and contingency actions, if unable to lock and
monitor radiographic devices, are included in licensee procedures.
5. Accurate NDE will develop and implement a program for offshore
audits of radiographic operations. Audit requirements and audit
frequency will be included in procedures. Audit frequency will include
at least one offshore audit each calendar year.
6. Accurate NDE will develop and issue a company policy encouraging
employees to report problems on the job site.
7. Accurate NDE will develop and issue a personal letter from the
Company President or Radiation Safety Officer to current employees
regarding expectations for compliance with NRC regulations.
8. Accurate NDE will develop and publish an article in the company
newsletter, or equivalent, regarding this case. Specifically, Accurate
NDE will include that employee actions did cause adverse consequences
for the company and for the individual.
9. All of the above requirements shall be completed by Accurate NDE
within 120 days of the effective date of this Order.
10. Within 30 days from the date of this Confirmatory Order,
Accurate NDE and Inspection, LLC must pay the reduced civil penalty of
$500 in accordance with NUREG/BR-0254 and submit to the Director,
Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555, a statement indicating when and by what method payment was
made.
The Regional Administrator, NRC Region IV, may relax or rescind, in
writing, any of the above conditions upon a showing by Accurate NDE of
good cause.
VI
Any person adversely affected by this Confirmatory Order, other
than Accurate NDE, may request a hearing within 20 days of its
issuance. Where good cause is shown, consideration will be given to
extending the time to answer or 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, and include a
statement of good cause for the extension.
A request for a hearing must be filed in accordance with the NRC E-
Filing rule, which the NRC promulgated in August, 2007, 72 FR 49,139
(Aug. 28, 2007). The E-Filing process requires participants to submit
and serve documents over the internet or, in some cases, to mail copies
on electronic optical storage media. Participants may not submit paper
copies of their filings unless they seek a waiver in accordance with
the procedures described below.
To comply with the procedural requirements associated with E-
Filing, at least five (5) days prior to the filing deadline the
requestor must contact the Office of the Secretary by e-mail at
[email protected], or by calling (301) 415-1677, to request (1) a
digital ID certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or
representative) to digitally sign documents and access the E-Submittal
server for any NRC proceeding in which it is participating; and/or (2)
creation of an electronic docket for the proceeding (even in instances
when the requestor (or its counsel or representative) already holds an
NRC-issued digital ID certificate). Each requestor will need to
download the Workplace Forms Viewer\TM\ to access the Electronic
Information Exchange (EIE), a component of the E-Filing system. The
Workplace Forms Viewer\TM\ is free and is available at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/install-viewer.html. Information
about applying for a digital ID certificate also is available on NRC's
public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/apply-certificates.html.
Once a requestor has obtained a digital ID certificate, had a
docket created, and downloaded the EIE viewer, it can then submit a
request for a hearing through EIE. Submissions should be in Portable
Document Format (PDF) in accordance with NRC guidance available on the
NRC public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html.
A filing is considered complete at the time the filer submits its
document through EIE. To be timely, electronic filings must be
submitted to the EIE system no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on
the due date. Upon receipt of a transmission, the E-Filing system time-
stamps the document and sends the submitter an e-mail notice confirming
receipt of the document. The EIE system also distributes an e-mail
notice that provides access to the document to the NRC Office of the
General Counsel and any others who have advised the Office of the
Secretary that they wish to participate in the proceeding, so that the
filer need not serve the document on those participants separately.
Therefore, any others who wish to participate in the proceeding (or
their counsel or representative) must apply for and receive a digital
ID certificate before a hearing request is filed so that they may
obtain access to the document via the E-Filing system.
A person filing electronically may seek assistance through the
``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html or by calling the NRC technical help line,
which is available between 8:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., Eastern Time,
Monday through Friday. The help line number is (800) 397-4209 or
locally, (301) 415-4737.
Participants who believe that they have good cause for not
submitting documents electronically must file a motion, in accordance
with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing requesting
authorization to continue to submit documents in paper format. Such
filings must be submitted by (1) first class mail addressed to the
Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission,
[[Page 11450]]
Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications
Staff; or (2) courier, express mail, or expedited delivery service to
the Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One White Flint North,
11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, Attention: Rulemaking
and Adjudications Staff. Participants filing a document in this manner
are responsible for serving the document on all other participants.
Filing is considered complete by first-class mail as of the time of
deposit in the mail, or by courier, express mail, or expedited delivery
service upon depositing the document with the provider of the service.
Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in
NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at
http://ehd.nrc.gov/EHD_Proceeding/home.asp, unless excluded pursuant
to an order of the Commission, an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, or
a Presiding Officer. Participants are requested not to include personal
privacy information, such as social security numbers, home addresses,
or home phone numbers in their filings. With respect to copyrighted
works, except for limited excerpts that serve the purpose of the
adjudicatory filings and would constitute a Fair Use application,
Participants are requested not to include copyrighted materials in
their works.
If a person other than Accurate NDE requests a hearing, that person
shall set forth with particularity the manner in which his interest is
adversely affected by this Order and shall address the criteria set
forth in 10 CFR 2.309(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 hearing. If a hearing is held, the issue to be considered
at such hearing shall be whether this Confirmatory Order should be
sustained. An answer or a request for hearing shall not stay the
immediate effectiveness of this order.
Dated this 20th day of February, 2008.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Elmo E. Collins,
Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. E8-4025 Filed 2-29-08; 8:45 am]
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