[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 33 (Friday, February 20, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7932-7934]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-3625]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[IA-08-023; NRC-2009-0068]
In the Matter of Himat Soni; Order Prohibiting Involvement In
NRC-Licensed Activities
I
Himat Soni is the President and part owner of Eastern Testing and
Inspection, Inc. (ETI) (Licensee) in Thorofare, New Jersey. ETI holds
License No. 29-09814-01 issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC or Commission) pursuant to 10 CFR part 30 in 1964. The license
authorizes possession and use of sealed radioactive sources for use in
radiographic exposure devices and in portable gauge devices, and
possession and use of radioactive material for shielding for
radiographic and source changer equipment in accordance with the
conditions specified therein. Himat Soni is listed on the license as
the Radiation Safety Officer.
II
An investigation of licensed activities was conducted by the NRC
Office of Investigations (OI) at ETI's facility at Thorofare, New
Jersey. The OI investigation was completed on October 26, 2007. The
investigation was conducted, in part, to determine whether a deliberate
violation of an NRC Order issued to ETI (ETI Order), required to be met
by May 13, 2006, occurred. Based on information from the investigation,
inspection, and after review of a written response from Himat Soni, the
NRC concluded that Himat Soni deliberately caused ETI to be in
violation of the ETI Order, from May 13, 2006 to November 17, 2006.
As required by the ETI Order, Himat Soni signed an ETI letter that
acknowledged the requirements of the ETI Order and specifically
addressed the status and anticipated compliance date of May 1, 2006 for
those requirements where ETI was only in partial compliance, which
included the requirement at issue. In addition, in sworn testimony by
Himat Soni, he stated that he understood the ETI Order requirements and
date of compliance. He was also informed by a Department of Energy
contractor, in a letter dated April 20, 2006, about necessary actions
to meet compliance by the May 13, 2006 date. Additionally, Himat Soni
was informed by an NRC inspector, in September 2006, of the need to
achieve compliance with the requirement found to be in violation.
However, Himat Soni deliberately caused ETI, on May 13,
[[Page 7933]]
2006, to be in non-compliance, and he deliberately caused ETI to
continue to remain in violation of the ETI Order until November 17,
2006, when licensed radioactive material was removed from the ETI
licensed facility.
III
Based on the above, the NRC concluded that Himat Soni, President
and RSO of the Licensee, engaged in deliberate misconduct that caused
the Licensee to be in violation of an NRC Order issued to ETI, and as
such, Himat Soni was in violation of 10 CFR 30.10, which states, in
part, that any Licensee or employee of a Licensee may not engage in
deliberate misconduct that causes a Licensee to be in violation of any
rule, regulation, or order issued by the Commission.
The NRC must be able to rely on the Licensee and its employees to
comply with NRC requirements, including the requirement to comply with
NRC orders. Himat Soni's action in causing the Licensee to violate an
NRC Order raises serious doubt as to whether he can be relied upon to
comply with NRC requirements.
Consequently, I lack the requisite reasonable assurance that
licensed activities can be conducted in compliance with the
Commission's requirements and that the health, safety, and interest of
the public will be protected if Himat Soni were permitted at this time
to be involved in NRC-licensed activities. Therefore, the public
health, safety and interest require that Himat Soni be prohibited from
any involvement in NRC-licensed activities for a period of one year
from the effective date of this Order.
IV
Accordingly, pursuant to sections 81, 161b, 161i, 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 that:
1. Himat Soni is prohibited for one year from the date of the
effectiveness of this Order from engaging in NRC-licensed activities.
NRC-licensed activities are those activities that 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.
2. If Himat Soni is currently involved with another entity involved
in NRC-licensed activities, he must immediately cease those activities,
and inform the NRC of the name, address and telephone number of that
entity, and provide a copy of this Order to the entity.
The Director, OE, may, in writing, relax or rescind any of the
above conditions upon demonstration by Himat Soni of good cause.
V
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202, Himat Soni must submit an answer
to this Order within 20 days of its issuance. If sensitive, security-
related information is included in the response, please mark the entire
response, ``Security-Related Information--Withhold Under 10 CFR
2.390.'' If the response does not contain any sensitive, security-
related information, the NRC will make the response publicly available.
Further, to the extent possible, any response provided should not
include any personal privacy or proprietary information. In addition,
Himat Soni and any other person adversely affected by this Order may
request a hearing on this Order 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
directed to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, and include a statement of good cause for the
extension.
The answer shall be in writing and under oath and affirmation. The
answer may consent to this Order. Unless the answer consents to this
Order, the answer shall specifically admit or deny each allegation or
charge made in this Order and shall set forth the matters of fact and
law on which Himat Soni or other person adversely affected relies on
the reasons as to why the Order should not have been issued. Any answer
shall be submitted to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Attn: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, Washington, DC
20555-0001. Copies shall also be sent to: Director, Office of
Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001; the Assistant General Counsel for Materials Litigation and
Enforcement at the same address; Region Administrator, NRC Region I,
475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, PA 19406-1415. A copy of the
answer shall be provided to Himat Soni, if the answer is provided by a
person other than Himat Soni.
If a hearing request is submitted, the NRC will make the request
publicly available. Therefore, the request should not include any
security-related, personal, proprietary, or other sensitive information
in the hearing request, or, in the alternative, provide a redacted copy
of the hearing request that does not include such information. A copy
of the hearing request shall be provided to Himat Soni by the
requester, if the request is made by a person other than Himat Soni.
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
[[Page 7934]]
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, 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 Himat Soni 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) and (f).
If a hearing is requested by Himat Soni or a person whose interest
is adversely affected, the Commission will issue an Order designating
the time and place of any hearings. 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), Himat Soni, or any other person
adversely affected by this Order, may, in addition to demanding 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. The motion must state with particularity the
reasons why the order is not based on adequate evidence and must be
accompanied by affidavits or other evidence relied on.
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 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 this 10th day of February 2009.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Cynthia A. Carpenter,
Director, Office of Enforcement.
[FR Doc. E9-3625 Filed 2-19-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P