[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 108 (Wednesday, June 4, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31892-31894]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-12465]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 150-00017]


In the Matter of: Global X-Ray & Testing Corporation General 
License Pursuant to Houma, LA; 10 CFR 150.20, EA-08-008; EA-08-009; EA-
08-010; EA-08-011; Confirmatory Order (Effective Immediately)

I

    Global X-Ray & Testing Corporation (Global 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 Global at various times during calendar years 
2001 through 2008.
    This Confirmatory Order is the result of an agreement reached 
during an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mediation session 
conducted on April 29, 2008.

II

    An NRC inspection was conducted in response to an event that 
occurred on April 20, 2006, involving the inability to retract a 
radiation source to its fully shielded position while conducting 
radiographic operations onboard a lay-barge in offshore Federal waters. 
The inspection began on March 13, 2007, and continued with in-office 
review through November 26, 2007. An investigation by the NRC's Office 
of Investigations (OI) was initiated on April 17, 2007. Based on the 
results of the NRC inspection and the OI investigation, the NRC 
identified four apparent violations which were discussed in a letter 
and inspection report dated February 20, 2008. The violations involved: 
(1) The failure to provide the NRC with complete and accurate 
information, as required by 10 CFR 30.9(a); (2) the failure to prevent 
workers from resuming work after their pocket dosimeters were found to 
be off-scale and the possibility of radiation exposure could not be 
ruled out as the cause, as required by 10 CFR 34.47(d); (3) the failure 
to ensure that a radiographer was providing personal supervision of the 
radiographer's assistant through direct observation of the assistant's 
performance of radiographic operations, as required by 10 CFR 34.46(c); 
and (4) permitting an individual who was not wearing a personnel 
dosimeter during radiographic operations to act as a radiographer, in 
contradiction of 10 CFR 34.47(a). In addition, the NRC was concerned 
that the first apparent violation, the failure to provide the NRC with 
complete and accurate information, involved willfulness.
    In response to the apparent violations, Global requested ADR. On 
April 29, 2008, the NRC and Global met in an ADR session mediated by a 
professional mediator, arranged through Cornell University's Institute 
on Conflict Resolution. ADR is a process in which a neutral mediator 
with no decision-making authority assists the parties in reaching an 
agreement on resolving any differences regarding the dispute. During 
the mediation, Global provided additional corrective actions including 
developing an emergency procedure for retrieval of radioactive sources, 
an incident investigation procedure, an incident interview policy, and 
informed the NRC that it plans to conduct announced and unannounced 
inspections of its radiography crews working on lay-barges. This 
confirmatory order is issued pursuant to the agreement reached during 
the ADR process.

III

    During that ADR session, an Agreement in Principle was reached. The 
elements of the agreement consisted of the following:
    1. Global will develop a procedure for additional oversight of 
radiography crews working offshore. They will incorporate into this 
procedure a method for each crew to review the special requirements for 
offshore work with the Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) or a supervisor 
(who is a certified radiographer). The review is to be accomplished 
prior to leaving for an offshore job, then again when the crew arrives 
at their final destination where radiography will be performed to 
ensure that they have all the equipment necessary to conduct 
radiographic operations in a safe manner. Documentation of the second 
review is to be sent by fax or other available method to a supervisor 
or the RSO within 2 hours of completion, but no later than 8 hours in 
the event of documented communication interruptions.
    2. Global will obtain an agreement with lay-barge operators. In 
general, this agreement would include provisions to conduct 
radiographic operations, respond to incidents, and facilitate direct 
Global management/RSO oversight of radiographers on the lay-barge.
    3. Global will agree to specific changes or ``confirmation and 
acknowledgment'' of specific changes in Global's supervision policy 
(including supervision of assistant radiographers) which would include 
field audits of lay-barge radiographic operations by Global management. 
Global will make reasonable attempts to conduct a minimum of four field 
audits per year.
    4. As part of Global's contract negotiations for lay-barge 
operations, Global will make arrangements for NRC inspection of 
Global's lay-barge operations on U.S. owned lay-barges. Global will 
make every effort possible to secure, for the NRC, such access to 
foreign owned lay-barges.
    5. Global will write and deliver a personal letter from licensee 
management to each employee regarding company expectations concerning 
10 CFR 30.9 issues or issue a company policy statement encouraging 
employees to self-report.

[[Page 31893]]

    6. Global will develop and provide training regarding the potential 
consequences for violations of NRC regulations.
    7. Global will obtain an NRC license with special license 
conditions for radiographic operations in offshore waters. The 
application process is to be started no later than September 1, 2008.
    8. The NRC agrees not to pursue any further enforcement action in 
connection with NRC's Inspection Report 150-00017/07-007 to Global as a 
company, and will not count this matter as previous enforcement for the 
purposes of assessing potential future enforcement action civil penalty 
assessments in accordance with section VI.C of the Enforcement Policy. 
The resulting confirmatory order will, however, be considered by the 
NRC for any assessment of Global's performance, as appropriate.
    9. In consideration of the comprehensiveness of the corrective 
actions in Items 1 through 7 above, and most notably in consideration 
of the costs associated with Item 7, the NRC will eliminate the civil 
monetary penalty.
    10. All of the above conditions without a time limit will be 
accomplished within 120 days of the order.
    On May 19, 2008, the Licensee consented to issuing this Order with 
the commitments, as described in section V below. The Licensee 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 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, and the Commission's 
regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR Parts 20, 30, 34, and 150, it is 
hereby ordered, effective immediately, that:
    A. Global will develop a procedure for additional oversight of 
radiography crews working offshore. Global will incorporate into this 
procedure a method for each crew to review the special requirements for 
offshore work with the RSO or a supervisor (who is a certified 
radiographer). The review is to be accomplished prior to leaving for an 
offshore job, then again when the crew arrives at their final 
destination where radiography will be performed to ensure that they 
have all the equipment necessary to conduct radiographic operations in 
a safe manner. Documentation of the second review is to be sent by fax 
or other available method to a supervisor or the RSO within 2 hours of 
completion, but no later than 8 hours in the event of documented 
communication interruptions.
    B. Prior to each operation, Global will obtain an agreement with 
lay-barge operators. In general, this agreement will include provisions 
to conduct radiographic operations, respond to incidents, and 
facilitate direct Global management/RSO oversight of radiographers on 
the lay-barge.
    C. Global will agree to specific changes or the ``confirmation and 
acknowledgment'' of specific changes that Global has already made in 
its supervision policy (including supervision of assistant 
radiographers) which will include field audits of lay-barge 
radiographic operations by Global management. Global will make 
reasonable attempts to conduct a minimum of four field audits per year.
    D. As part of Global's contract negotiations for lay-barge 
operations, Global will make arrangements for NRC inspection of 
Global's radiographic activities on U.S. owned lay-barges. Global will 
make every effort possible to secure, for the NRC, such access to 
foreign owned lay-barges.
    E. Global will write and deliver a personal letter from licensee 
management to each employee regarding company expectations concerning 
10 CFR 30.9 issues or issue a company policy statement encouraging 
employees to self-report.
    F. Global will develop and provide training regarding the potential 
consequences for violations of NRC regulations.
    G. Global will obtain an NRC license with special license 
conditions for radiographic operations in offshore waters (as defined 
in 10 CFR 150.3). The application process is to be started no later 
than September 1, 2008.
    H. All of the above conditions without a specified time limit will 
be accomplished within 120 days of the order.
    The Regional Administrator, U.S. NRC Region IV, may, in writing, 
relax or rescind any of the above conditions upon demonstration by the 
Licensee of good cause.

VI

    Any person adversely affected by this Confirmatory Order, other 
than the Licensee, 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 directed to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, 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 49139 
(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

[[Page 31894]]

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 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, 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 Global 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 the 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. 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 V 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 V shall be final when the extension 
expires if a hearing request has not been received. A REQUEST FOR 
HEARING SHALL NOT STAY THE IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS ORDER.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

    Dated this 23rd day of May 2008.
Arthur T. Howell,
Acting Regional Administrator, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Region IV.
[FR Doc. E8-12465 Filed 6-3-08; 8:45 am]
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