[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 99 (Tuesday, May 22, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30332-30335]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-12358]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2012-0114; IA-12-009]


Mr. James Chaisson; Order Prohibiting Involvement in NRC-Licensed 
Activities

I

    Mr. James Chaisson was employed from April 10, 2009, through April 
30, 2010, as an area supervisor and lead radiographer for the Wyoming 
operations of Texas Gamma Ray, LLC (TGR or Licensee), whose corporate 
offices are located in Pasadena, Texas. TGR is the former holder of 
License No. 42-29303-01 issued on January 6, 2009, by the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission), pursuant to Title 10 of 
the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) part 34. The license 
authorized industrial radiographic operations in accordance with 
conditions specified therein. The license was terminated at the 
licensee's request on July 25, 2011.

II

    From June 4, 2009, through November 30, 2010, the NRC conducted a 
safety and security inspection of the use of byproduct material for 
industrial radiographic operations conducted under TGR's former NRC 
license. As a result of this inspection, the NRC's Office of 
Investigations (OI), Region IV, initiated two investigations (OI Report 
Nos. 04-2009-066 and 04-2011-034) to determine, in part, whether Mr. 
Chaisson: (1) Deliberately stored radiographic exposure devices at a 
location he knew was not authorized by TGR's radioactive material 
license, and (2) deliberately failed to implement NRC security 
requirements for the use, storage, and protection of licensed material 
for radiographic operations.
    By letter dated February 23, 2012 (ML12055A162), the NRC informed 
Mr. Chaisson that the NRC was considering escalated enforcement action 
for an apparent violation of the NRC's deliberate misconduct rule, 10 
CFR 30.10. The NRC offered Mr. Chaisson the opportunity to request a 
predecisional enforcement conference (PEC), or request alternative 
dispute resolution (ADR) with the NRC in an attempt to resolve issues 
associated with this matter. During a March 19, 2012, conference call 
between Mr. Chaisson and NRC staff, Mr. Chaisson indicated that he was 
not interested in a PEC or ADR. Mr. Chaisson stated that he would, 
however, submit a written response to the NRC's February 23rd letter. 
On March 26, 2012, Region IV received a written response from Mr. 
Chaisson postmarked March 23, 2012 (ML12095A366).
    Based on a review of the information in Mr. Chaisson's March 2012, 
letter, and the results of the inspection and OI investigations, the 
NRC has concluded that Mr. Chaisson twice engaged in deliberate 
misconduct in violation of 10 CFR 30.10(a)(1). First, Mr. Chaisson 
engaged in deliberate misconduct that caused Texas Gamma Ray, LLC 
(TGR), at the time an NRC licensee, to be in violation of License 
Condition 19 of its NRC Radioactive Material License, which required 
TGR to comply with NRC security requirements. Mr. Chaisson chose to 
store a radiographic exposure device at a leased facility on Elk Street 
in Rock Springs, Wyoming, even though he knew the facility did not 
comply with applicable NRC security requirements pertaining to the use, 
storage, and protection of licensed material. He periodically stored 
the radiographic exposure device at this location from December 2009 
through April 30, 2010.
    Second, by storing the radiographic exposure device at the Elk 
Street location, Mr. Chaisson engaged in deliberate misconduct that 
caused TGR, at the time an NRC licensee, to be in violation of License 
Condition 11 of its NRC Radioactive Material License, which required 
TGR to limit the storage of radioactive material approved on the 
license to temporary job sites in NRC jurisdiction. Specifically, Mr. 
Chaisson chose to store a radiographic exposure device at the leased 
facility on Elk Street in Rock Springs, Wyoming, even though he knew 
the facility was not an authorized storage location listed on the 
license.
    Mr. Chaisson is a radiographer with 27 years experience, 8 of those 
years as a radiation safety officer (RSO). TGR assigned him as the area 
supervisor and lead radiographer for Wyoming operations and as such, he 
was responsible for TGR's radiographic operations in Wyoming. He was 
listed as the person to contact in case of an emergency in Wyoming. Mr. 
Chaisson was in possession of a copy of TGR's NRC license and was 
knowledgeable of the restrictions and security requirements associated 
with the use and storage of radioactive material. Mr. Chaisson admitted 
that he stored the radiographic exposure device at the Elk

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Street location from December 2009 through April 30, 2010. However, Mr. 
Chaisson asserted that he had only done as TGR managers instructed him 
when he stored the radiographic exposure device at the Elk Street 
location. The NRC has concluded that this statement lacks credibility. 
Mr. Chaisson's statements varied each time OI interviewed him, and 
again in his March 2012, letter to the NRC, as to which manager 
provided him with the instruction to store licensed material at the Elk 
Street location. At first he claimed the corporate RSO gave him the 
permission, but later when he found out that the corporate RSO had been 
out of the country, and not reachable by phone, he stated it was the 
Operations Manager who gave him the permission. As a trained RSO, Mr. 
Chaisson is fully knowledgeable of the requirements for storage of 
radiographic exposure devices and knew that the devices should not be 
stored at a location not authorized by the license. Also, he had 
previously met the security requirements for storing the radiographic 
exposure devices inside his company truck at his former residence. Yet, 
he claimed that he was not responsible for meeting the security 
requirements at the leased facility; a claim disputed by multiple TGR 
officials who pointed out he was responsible for Wyoming operations, 
including meeting NRC license requirements (as he had done at his 
residence).
    In addition, Mr. Chaisson arranged to have another NRC licensee 
lease the Elk Street facility just prior to the expiration of TGR's 
lease of the same facility. Mr. Chaisson then went to work for the 
other NRC licensee and instructed TGR to remove their radiographic 
exposure devices, which TGR did. Mr. Chaisson then ensured all the 
security requirements were met at the same facility for his new 
employer.
    The NRC concluded that Mr. Chaisson's claims were not credible; 
that Mr. Chaisson understood the terms of TGR's license and NRC 
security requirements; that he knew at the time that the Elk Street 
facility was not an authorized storage location; and that security 
requirements had not been met at that location.

III

    Based on the above, the NRC has concluded that Mr. James Chaisson, 
a former area site supervisor and lead radiographer employed by Texas 
Gamma Ray, LLC, violated 10 CFR 30.10(a)(1) by engaging in deliberate 
misconduct that caused Texas Gamma Ray, LLC, to be in violation of 
License Conditions 11 and 19 of NRC license 42-29303-01.
    The NRC must be able to rely on licensees and their employees to 
comply with the NRC requirements, including the requirement that 
specific licensees comply with their license conditions. Mr. Chaisson's 
actions caused the licensee to violate their license conditions and 
have raised serious doubt as to whether he can be relied upon to comply 
with the NRC requirements and to provide complete and accurate 
information to the NRC.
    Consequently, I lack the requisite reasonable assurance that 
licensed activities can be conducted in compliance with the 
Commission's requirements and that health and safety of the public will 
be protected if Mr. Chaisson were permitted at this time to be involved 
in NRC-licensed activities. Therefore, the public health and safety and 
interest require that Mr. Chaisson be prohibited from any involvement 
in NRC-licensed activities for a period of 3 years from the effective 
date of this Order, as defined in Section V. Additionally, Mr. Chaisson 
is required to notify the NRC of his first employment in NRC-licensed 
activities for a period of 1 year following the prohibition period.

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, 10 CFR 30.10 and 10 CFR parts 20 and 34, 
it is hereby ordered that:
    1. Mr. James Chaisson is prohibited for 3 years from the effective 
date of this Order, as defined in Section V, 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. 
Specifically, Mr. Chaisson is prohibited from performing, supervising, 
assisting or otherwise engaging in (1) industrial radiographic 
operations for an Agreement State licensee that are conducted in non-
Agreement States, in areas of exclusive Federal jurisdiction within 
Agreement States, or in offshore waters under an NRC general license 
granted pursuant to 10 CFR 150.20; (2) industrial radiographic 
operations for an NRC licensee, including, but not limited to, 
radiography conducted under the authority of a license issued pursuant 
to 10 CFR part 34; and (3) any other licensed activity under NRC 
jurisdiction.
    2. As of the effective date of this Order, if Mr. Chaisson is 
currently involved in NRC-licensed activity, he must immediately cease 
those activities, and inform the NRC of the name, address, and 
telephone number of the employer, and provide a copy of this Order to 
the employer.
    3. For a period of 1 year after the 3-year period of prohibition 
has expired, Mr. Chassion shall, within 20 days of acceptance of his 
first employment offer involving NRC-licensed activities or his 
becoming involved in NRC-licensed activities, as defined in paragraph 
IV.1 above, provide notice to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, of the name, 
address, and telephone number of the employer or entity where he is, or 
will be, involved in the NRC-licensed activities. In the notification, 
Mr. Chaisson shall include a statement of his commitment to compliance 
with NRC regulatory requirements and the basis for why the Commission 
should have confidence that he will now comply with applicable NRC 
requirements.
    The Director, Office of Enforcement, may, in writing, relax or 
rescind any of the above conditions upon demonstration by Mr. Chaisson 
of good cause.

V

    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202, Mr. James Chaisson must, and any 
other person adversely affected by this Order may, submit an answer to 
this Order within 30 days of its issuance date. In addition, Mr. 
Chaisson and any other person adversely affected by this Order may 
request a hearing on this Order within 30 days of its issuance date. 
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 of the 
extension.
    All documents filed in the NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including 
a request for a hearing, a petition for leave to intervene, any motion 
or other document filed in the proceeding prior to the submission of a 
request for hearing or petition to intervene, and documents filed by 
interested governmental entities participating under 10 CFR 2.315(c), 
must be filed in accordance with NRC E-Filing rule (72 FR 49139, August 
28, 2007). The E-Filing process requires participants to submit and 
serve all adjudicatory

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documents over the Internet, or in some cases to mail copies on 
electronic storage media. Participants may not submit paper copies of 
their filings unless they seek an exemption in accordance with the 
procedures described below.
    To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 10 
days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should contact the 
Office of the Secretary by email at [email protected], or by 
telephone at 301-415-1677, to request (1) a digital identification (ID) 
certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or 
representative) to digitally sign documents and access the E-Submittal 
server for any proceeding in which it is participating; and (2) advise 
the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a request or 
petition for hearing (even in instances in which the participant, or 
its counsel or representative, already holds an NRC-issued digital 
certificate). Based on this information, the Secretary will establish 
an electronic docket for the hearing in this proceeding if the 
Secretary has not already established an electronic docket.
    Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is 
available on the NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/apply-certificates.html. System requirements for accessing 
the E-Submittal server are detailed in the NRC's ``Guidance for 
Electronic Submission,'' which is available on the agency's public Web 
site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. Participants 
may attempt to use other software not listed on the Web site, but 
should note that the NRC's E-Filing system does not support unlisted 
software, and the NRC Meta System Help Desk will not be able to offer 
assistance in using unlisted software.
    If a participant is electronically submitting a document to the NRC 
in accordance with the E-Filing rule, the participant must file the 
document using the NRC's online, web-based submission form. In order to 
serve documents through the Electronic Information Exchange System, 
users will be required to install a web browser plug-in from the NRC's 
Web site. Further information on the web-based submission form, 
including the installation of the web browser plug-in, is available on 
the NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html.
    Once a participant has obtained a digital ID certificate and a 
docket has been created, the participant can then submit a request for 
a hearing or petition for leave to intervene. Submissions should be in 
portable document format (PDF) in accordance with the NRC guidance 
available on the NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. A filing is considered complete at the time the 
documents are submitted through the NRC's E-Filing system. To be 
timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the E-Filing 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 email notice confirming receipt of the document. The 
E-Filing system also distributes an email notice that provides access 
to the document to the NRC's 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, applicants and 
other participants (or their counsel or representative) must apply for 
and receive a digital ID certificate before a hearing request/petition 
to intervene is filed so that they can obtain access to the document 
via the E-Filing system.
    A person filing electronically using the agency's adjudicatory E-
Filing system may seek assistance by contracting the NRC Meta System 
Help Desk thorough the ``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC's Web 
site at http://www.nrc/gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by email at 
[email protected], or by a toll free call at 1-866-672-7640. The 
NRC Meta System Help Desk is available between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., 
Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, excluding government holidays.
    Participants who believe that they have a good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file an extension request, 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, MD 
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. A presiding officer, having 
granted an exemption request from using E-Filing, may require a 
participant or party using E-Filing if the presiding officer 
subsequently determines that the reason for granting the exemption from 
use of E-Filing no longer exists.
    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the 
NRC's electronic hearing docket, which is available to the public at 
http://ehd1.nrc.gov/ehd, unless excluded pursuant to an order of the 
Commission, or the 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, unless an NRC 
regulation or other law requires submission of such information. 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 submissions.
    If a person other than Mr. James Chaisson 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 Mr. Chaisson or any other 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 a hearing shall be whether this 
Order should be sustained. In the absence of any request for hearing or 
ADR, or written approval of an extension of time in which to request a 
hearing, the effective date of this Order (the date that the provisions 
specified in Section IV above become final and effective) shall be 30 
days from the issuance date of this Order without further order or 
proceedings. If an extension of time for requesting a hearing has been 
approved, the effective date of this Order shall be when the extension 
expires if a hearing request has not been received. If a hearing or ADR 
is requested, the effective date of this Order shall be determined in 
accordance with the hearing or ADR process.

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    A request for hearing shall not stay the immediate effectiveness of 
this order.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

    Dated at Rockville, MD, this 15th day of May 2012.
Roy P. Zimmerman,
Director, Office of Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2012-12358 Filed 5-21-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P