[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 201 (Wednesday, October 17, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63893-63897]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-25538]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2012-0242]
In the Matter of Timothy M. Goold; IA-12-014; Confirmatory Order
(Effective Immediately)
I
Mr. Timothy Goold was employed as a radiographer at JANX Integrity
Group, Inc. (JANX), at a temporary jobsite on Spy Island, Alaska during
July 2011. JANX is the holder of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC or Commission's) Materials License No. 21-16560-01 which
authorized, at the time, specific activities involving byproduct,
source, and/or special nuclear material.
[[Page 63894]]
This Confirmatory Order is the result of an agreement reached
during an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mediation session
conducted on August 24, 2012.
II
On July 27, 2011, the NRC conducted an unannounced inspection of
JANX's radiographic activities on Spy Island. As a result of the
inspector's observations, on October 31, 2011, the NRC's Office of
Investigations (OI) began an investigation at JANX. Based on the
evidence developed during its investigation, OI substantiated that 1)
Mr. Goold willfully performed radiography without a second person
present, and (2) Mr. Goold willfully impeded the NRC's inspection by
avoiding the NRC inspector. In a letter dated March 15, 2012,
(ML12076A253) the NRC informed Mr. Goold that the NRC was considering
escalated enforcement action for two apparent violations of section
30.10 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), the NRC's
deliberate misconduct rule. The NRC offered Mr. Goold the opportunity
to respond in writing, request a predecisional enforcement conference
or request ADR with the NRC in an attempt to resolve issues associated
with this matter. Mr. Goold provided a written response on April 9,
2012 (ML12121A669).
On June 25, 2012, the NRC issued an Order to Mr. Goold based on a
review of all the available information including Mr. Goold's April 9,
2012, letter and the results of the inspection and OI investigations.
The NRC concluded that Mr. Goold twice engaged in deliberate misconduct
in violation of 10 CFR 30.10(a)(1). First, Mr. Goold engaged in
deliberate misconduct in violation of 10 CFR 30.10(a)(1) by performing
radiography without a second person present causing JANX to be in
violation of 10 CFR 34.41(a). Second, Mr. Goold again engaged in
deliberate misconduct in violation of 10 CFR 30.10(a)(1) when he
avoided the inspector by leaving when the inspector tried to question
him regarding the whereabouts of the second qualified radiographer,
causing JANX to be in violation of 10 CFR 30.52(a).
Subsequent to the issuance of the NRC's June 25, 2012 Order, Mr.
Goold requested to participate in the NRC's alternate dispute
resolution (ADR) process. ADR is a process in which a neutral mediator
with no decision-making authority assists the parties in reaching an
agreement and resolving any differences regarding the dispute. On
August 24, 2012, the NRC and Mr. Goold met in an ADR session mediated
by a professional mediator, arranged through Cornell University's
Institute on Conflict Resolution. This confirmatory order is issued
pursuant to the agreement reached during the ADR process.
III
In response to the NRC's offer, Mr. Goold requested use of the NRC
ADR process to resolve differences he had with the NRC. During that ADR
session, a preliminary settlement agreement or an Agreement in
Principle was reached. As part of the Agreement in Principle, the
parties agreed to disagree on whether Mr. Goold engaged in deliberate
misconduct as discussed in the Order (IA-12-014) issued to Mr. Goold on
June 25, 2012.
The remaining elements of the Agreement in Principle consisted of
the following:
A. Work Restrictions
1. Mr. Timothy Goold will not engage in NRC-licensed activities
until the issuance of the Confirmatory Order. 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. This means that during the
prohibition period Mr. Goold is prohibited from performing,
supervising, assisting or otherwise engaging in (1) industrial
radiographic operations in NRC jurisdiction for an Agreement State
licensee that are conducted under a general license 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 in NRC jurisdiction. It was mutually agreed that the
NRC will consider that the prohibition period began when Mr. Goold
voluntarily informed his employer on or about July 1, 2012, of the
terms of the June 25, 2012, Order and ceased performing licensed
activities and that the prohibition will continue until the issuance of
the Confirmatory Order.
2. For a 2-year period from the effective the date of the
Confirmatory Order, Mr. Goold is prohibited from engaging in NRC-
licensed industrial radiographic operations unless he is working under
the direct supervision of a radiographer who meets the requirements of
10 CFR 34.43.
3. For a 2-year period from the effective date of the Confirmatory
Order, Mr. Goold is prohibited from working for any NRC licensee as an
Area Supervisor, Radiation Safety Officer, trainer, or in any other
supervisory position while in NRC jurisdiction. This includes the
situation where he works for an Agreement State licensee performing
work in NRC jurisdiction under reciprocity.
B. Notifications
1. For a 2-year period from the effective date of the Confirmatory
Order, Mr. Goold will notify NRC Region III office within 15 days of
his acceptance of any employment with an NRC or Agreement State
licensee. Mr. Goold may provide this notification by email to the
attention of the Director, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region III at the email address listed
in B.2.
2. For a 2-year period from the effective date of the Confirmatory
Order, Mr. Goold will notify NRC Region III office on a weekly basis of
where he will be performing radiography. Mr. Goold will provide that
notification to the NRC by no later than 1200 hours Eastern Time each
Sunday for activities performed the following 7 days. Mr. Goold may
provide this notification by email to the attention of the Director,
Division of Nuclear Materials Safety; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Region III, email: [email protected]. The email will
contain the name and location of the radiography site where Mr. Goold
expects to be performing radiography and which days he expects to be
shooting. If Mr. Goold does not expect to be performing radiography
during the week, he will provide notification so stating.
3. For a 2-year period from the effective date of the Confirmatory
Order, in order to ensure NRC licensees are aware of the limitations on
Mr. Goold's NRC licensed activities, Mr. Goold will provide a copy of
the Confirmatory Order to his employers who are either NRC licensees or
are Agreement State licensees performing work in the NRC's jurisdiction
under reciprocity.
4. For a 2-year period from the effective date of the Confirmatory
Order and while performing industrial radiographic operations at an NRC
or Agreement State licensee, Mr. Goold will provide the NRC Region III
office a copy of the semi-annual audit report performed by the licensee
under 10 CFR 34.43(e) or under the applicable Agreement State
requirement and any additional audits that Mr. Goold's employer
performs. If the licensee indicates that the inspection results were
not documented, then Mr. Goold
[[Page 63895]]
will send in a letter attesting to whom he spoke to in the licensee's
office and upon what date, such that the NRC can confirm the
information. The letter will be addressed to the Director of the
Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 2443 Warrenville Road, Suite 210,
Lisle, IL 60532. Alternatively, the email address in item B.2 above can
be used.
5. Mr. Goold recognizes an opportunity for other radiographers to
learn from his actions. Mr. Goold will convey his personal lessons
learned from the events by preparing an article. Mr. Goold agrees that
the article will contain a description of the events of July 27, 2011;
what he learned from them, including his understanding of why it's
important to have two people present during all radiographic operations
and why it's important to cooperate with NRC inspectors; what he would
do differently in the future; and the consequences of his behavior. Mr.
Goold will submit the draft article to the NRC Region III Enforcement/
Investigations Officer within 120 days of the issuance of the
Confirmatory Order and will submit the final article to a trade
publication (such as the American Society for Nondestructive Testing)
for possible publication, after providing 30 days for NRC comment, and
no later than 180 days of the date of the confirmatory order. Within 7
days of Mr. Goold's submission of the article, Mr. Goold will provide a
copy of that submission to the NRC Region III Director of the Division
of Nuclear Materials Safety, 2443 Warrenville Road, Suite 210, Lisle,
IL 60532. Alternatively, the email address in item B.2 above can be
used. The NRC, at its sole discretion, may also publish the article in
a future Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental
Management Programs (FSME) Newsletter.
6. Mr. Goold recognizes an opportunity to expand upon his previous
response to the NRC. Mr. Goold will provide an expanded response which
will address in more detail what Mr. Goold has learned from the events
of July 27, 2011, including his understanding of why it's important to
have two people present during all radiographic operations and why it's
important to cooperate with NRC inspectors; what he would do
differently in the future; and the consequences of his behavior. Mr.
Goold will submit this response to the NRC Region III Director of the
Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 2443 Warrenville Road, Suite 210,
Lisle, IL 60532 within 180 days of the Confirmatory Order.
Alternatively, the email address in item B.2 above can be used.
C. Training
Mr. Goold has stated that he has completed additional training in
industrial radiography, radiation safety, and the corresponding NRC
regulations in December 2011--January 2012, which will be acknowledged
in the Confirmatory Order. Mr. Goold agreed to provide documentation of
the training to the NRC Region III Enforcement/Investigations Officer.
If the training does not meet or exceed 40 hours of instruction in the
subjects described in 10 CFR 34.43(g), Mr. Goold agreed to attend
additional training that would satisfy that level of instruction within
180 days of issuance of the Confirmatory Order.
D. Rescission of June 25, 2012 NRC Order
The NRC agrees to rescind the Order previously issued to Mr. Goold
on June 25, 2012. The NRC agrees not to pursue any further enforcement
action concerning the violations described in the June 25, 2012 Order.
This does not prohibit NRC from taking enforcement action in accordance
with the NRC Enforcement Policy if Mr. Goold commits a similar
violation in the future or violates the Confirmatory Order stemming
from this Agreement in Principle.
IV
On August 27, 2012, Mr. Goold provided the NRC with training
records demonstrating that he had successfully completed 21.5 hours of
instructional training covering the majority of the areas in 10 CFR
34.43(g). Therefore, Section V.C of the Order requires that Mr. Goold
attend training to satisfy an additional 18.5 hours of instruction in
the subjects described in 10 CFR 34.43(g), including the requirements
of pertinent federal regulations and case histories of accidents in
radiography within 180 days of issuance of the Confirmatory Order.
On October 1, 2012, Mr. Goold consented to issuing this Order with
the commitments, as described in Section V below. Mr. Goold further
agreed that this Order is to be effective upon issuance and that he has
waived his right to a hearing.
Since Mr. Goold 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 Confirmatory
Order.
I find that the Mr. Goold'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
Mr. Goold's commitments be confirmed by this Order. Based on the above
and Mr. Goold's consent, this Confirmatory 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, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, EFFECTIVE
IMMEDIATELY, THAT:
A. Work Restrictions
1. For a 2-year period from the effective date of the Confirmatory
Order, Mr. Goold is prohibited from engaging in NRC-licensed industrial
radiographic operations unless he is working under the direct
supervision of a radiographer who meets the requirements of 10 CFR
34.43.
2. For a 2-year period from the effective date of the Confirmatory
Order, Mr. Goold is prohibited from working for any NRC licensee as an
Area Supervisor, Radiation Safety Officer, trainer, or in any other
supervisory position while in NRC jurisdiction. This includes the
situation where he works for an Agreement State licensee performing
work in NRC jurisdiction under reciprocity.
B. Notifications
1. For a 2-year period from the effective date of the Confirmatory
Order, Mr. Goold will notify NRC Region III office within 15 days of
his acceptance of any employment with an NRC or Agreement State
licensee. Mr. Goold may provide this notification by email to the
attention of the Director, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety; U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region III at the email address listed
in B.2.
2. For a 2-year period from the effective date of the Confirmatory
Order, Mr. Goold will notify NRC Region III office on a weekly basis of
where he will be performing radiography. Mr. Goold will provide that
notification to the NRC by no later than 1200 hours Eastern Time each
Sunday for activities performed the following 7 days. Mr. Goold may
provide this notification by email to the attention of the Director,
Division of Nuclear Materials Safety; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Region III, email: [email protected]. The email will
contain the name and location of the
[[Page 63896]]
radiography site where Mr. Goold expects to be performing radiography
and which days he expects to be shooting. If Mr. Goold does not expect
to be performing radiography during the week, he will provide
notification so stating.
3. For a 2-year period from the effective date of the Confirmatory
Order, in order to ensure NRC licensees are aware of the limitations on
Mr. Goold's NRC licensed activities, Mr. Goold will provide a copy of
the Confirmatory Order to his employers who are either NRC licensees or
are Agreement State licensees performing work in the NRC's jurisdiction
under reciprocity.
4. For a 2-year period from the effective date of the Confirmatory
Order and while performing industrial radiographic operations at an NRC
or Agreement State licensee, Mr. Goold will provide the NRC Region III
office a copy of the semi-annual audit report performed by the licensee
under 10 CFR 34.43(e) or under the applicable Agreement State
requirement and any additional audits that Mr. Goold's employer
performs of Mr. Goold's activities. If the licensee indicates that the
audit results were not documented, then Mr. Goold will send in a letter
attesting to whom he spoke to in the licensee's office and upon what
date, such that the NRC can confirm the information. The letter will be
addressed to the Director of the Division of Nuclear Materials Safety,
2443 Warrenville Road, Suite 210, Lisle, IL, 60532. Alternatively, the
email address in item B.2 above can be used.
5. Mr. Goold recognizes an opportunity for other radiographers to
learn from his actions. Mr. Goold will convey his personal lessons
learned from the events by preparing an article. Mr. Goold agrees that
the article will contain a description of the events of July 27, 2011;
what he learned from them, including his understanding of why it's
important to have two people present during all radiographic operations
and why it's important to cooperate with NRC inspectors; what he would
do differently in the future; and the consequences of his behavior. Mr.
Goold will submit the draft article to the NRC Region III Enforcement/
Investigations Officer within 120 days of the issuance of the
Confirmatory Order and will submit the final article to a trade
publication (such as the American Society for Nondestructive Testing)
for possible publication, after providing 30 days for NRC comment, and
no later than 180 days of the date of the confirmatory order. Within 7
days of Mr. Goold's submission of the article to a trade publication,
Mr. Goold will provide a copy of that submission to the NRC Region III
Director of the Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 2443 Warrenville
Road, Suite 210, Lisle, IL, 60532. Alternatively, the email address in
item B.2 above can be used. The NRC, at its sole discretion, may also
publish the article in a future Office of Federal and State Materials
and Environmental Management Programs (FSME) Newsletter.
6. Mr. Goold recognizes an opportunity to expand upon his previous
response to the NRC. Mr. Goold will provide an expanded response which
will address in more detail what Mr. Goold has learned from the events
of July 27, 2011, including his understanding of why it's important to
have two people present during all radiographic operations and why it's
important to cooperate with NRC inspectors; what he would do
differently in the future; and the consequences of his behavior. Mr.
Goold will submit this response to the NRC Region III Director of the
Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 2443 Warrenville Road, Suite 210,
Lisle, IL, 60532 within 180 days of the Confirmatory Order.
Alternatively, the email address in item B.2 above can be used.
C. Training
Mr. Goold will attend training to satisfy 18.5 hours of instruction
in the subjects described in 10 CFR 34.43(g), including the
requirements of pertinent federal regulations and case histories of
accidents in radiography within 180 days of issuance of the
Confirmatory Order.
Upon issuance of this Confirmatory Order, the Order Prohibiting
Involvement in NRC-Licensed Activities, IA-12-014, dated June 25, 2012,
is rescinded.
The Regional Administrator, NRC Region III, may, in writing, relax
or rescind any of the above conditions upon demonstration by Mr. Goold
of good cause.
VI
Any person adversely affected by this Confirmatory Order, other
than Mr. Goold, may request a hearing within 20 days of its publication
in the Federal Register. 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 made in writing 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.
All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including a
request for 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 the NRC E-Filing rule (72 FR 49139;
August 28, 2007). The E-Filing process requires participants to submit
and serve all adjudicatory 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 (1) request 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 ID
certificate). Based upon 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 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 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
[[Page 63897]]
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
hearing or petition for leave to intervene. Submissions should be in
Portable Document Format (PDF) in accordance with the NRC's 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
documents 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 contacting the NRC Meta System
Help Desk through 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 exemption 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, 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. A presiding officer, having
granted an exemption request from using E-Filing, may require a
participant or party to use 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
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 submission.
If a person (other than Mr. Goold) requests a hearing, that person
shall set forth with particularity the manner in which his interest is
adversely affected by this Confirmatory Order and shall address the
criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.309(d) and (f).
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.
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 this
Confirmatory Order is published in the Federal Register 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 at Rockville, MD, this 10th day of October 2012.
Roy P. Zimmerman,
Director, Office of Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2012-25538 Filed 10-16-12; 8:45 am]
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