[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 33 (Tuesday, February 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4858-4861]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-02667]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[IA-18-043; NRC-2019-0039]


In the Matter of Mr. Randy Bethea

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Order; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing an 
order prohibiting involvement in NRC-licensed activities to Mr. Randy 
Bethea. Mr. Bethea was employed as a radiographer at Mistras Group, 
Inc., (Mistras). Mr. Bethea engaged in deliberate misconduct in 
violation of the regulations that caused Mistras to be in violation of 
the regulations and license condition 9.A of its license.

DATES: The Order prohibiting involvement in NRC-licensed activities was 
issued on February 13, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2019-0039 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly-available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2019-0039. Address 
questions about dockets in Regulations.gov to Krupskaya Castellon; 
telephone: 301-287-9221; email: [email protected]. For 
technical questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Document collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS 
Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, contact the NRC's Public Document 
Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email 
to [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number for each document 
referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) is provided the first time 
that it is mentioned in this document.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Leelavathi Sreenivas, Office of 
Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-

[[Page 4859]]

001; telephone: 301-287-9249, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the Order is attached.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 13th day of February 2019.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
George A. Wilson Jr.,
Acting Director Office of Enforcement.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

    In the Matter of Randy Bethea
IA-18-043

ORDER PROHIBITING INVOLVEMENT IN NRC-LICENSED ACTIVITIES

I

    At the time of the incident described below, Mr. Randy Bethea was 
employed as a radiographer at Mistras Group, Inc., (Mistras or 
licensee) located in Burr Ridge, Illinois. Mistras holds License 
No.12[dash]16559[dash]02, as amended on October 31, 2018, by the U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) pursuant to Part 34 
of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR). The license 
authorizes radiographic operations in accordance with the conditions 
specified in the license.

II

    On September 8, 2017, a Sinclair Oil Refinery (Sinclair) quality 
assurance department employee was reviewing production radiography film 
packets provided by a Mistras employee and identified a radiograph of a 
human hand. Sinclair staff notified Mistras management personnel of the 
radiograph, who verified it was a radiograph of a hand. On the day the 
radiograph was submitted to Sinclair staff, only two Mistras employees 
were at the Sinclair facility. In a written report, dated October 2, 
2017, Mistras' corporate radiation safety officer notified the NRC of 
an industrial radiographer possibly exceeding the annual occupational 
dose limit in 10 CFR 20.1201(a)(1)(i). The written report also 
indicated that the radiographer admitted to intentionally radiographing 
his own hand. The NRC staff reviewed the written report and noted 
several items concerning NRC regulations for conducting radiographic 
operations that required further agency review.
    The NRC Office of Investigations (OI), Region III Field Office, 
initiated an investigation to determine whether: (1) a radiographer 
willfully failed to use iridium-192 for industrial radiography as 
authorized by the NRC license issued to Mistras while at a refinery in 
Sinclair, Wyoming; (2) a radiographer willfully conducted radiographic 
operations without being accompanied by another qualified radiographer 
or an individual who has met the necessary training requirements; (3) 
Mistras willfully permitted an individual to act as a radiographer 
during radiographic operations without wearing on the body a personal 
dosimeter that is processed and evaluated by an accredited National 
Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program processor; (4) a 
radiographer willfully failed to conduct a survey of the radiographic 
device after each radiographic exposure to determine that the sealed 
source had been returned to its shielded position; and (5) Mistras 
willfully failed to control the annual occupational dose of an 
individual adult to 5 rem.
    The Region III OI interviewed a number of individuals including: 
(1) Sinclair quality assurance staff; (2) Mistras staff and management; 
(3) Mr. Bethea, the Mistras radiographer assigned to the Sinclair site 
at the time of the hand radiography; and (4) the radiographer's 
assistant assigned to the Sinclair site at the time of the hand 
radiography. During the OI investigation, Mr. Bethea admitted to 
radiographing his own hand. The individual indicated that he took two 
radiographs of his hand. Mr. Bethea indicated that he took the 
radiographs of his hand by himself, without the knowledge of the 
radiographer's assistant. Mr. Bethea also indicated that he did not 
intend to provide the hand radiographs to anyone. However, one of the 
hand radiographs was in the packet of radiographs provided to Sinclair 
quality assurance staff on September 8, 2017.
    During the OI investigation, Mr. Bethea indicated that he wore his 
personal dosimeter and performed a survey of the guide tube and 
exposure device after each radiographic exposure of his hand. The 
results of the OI investigation also indicated the licensee had 
originally calculated that Mr. Bethea had received an occupational dose 
of 5.311 rem for the year. However, after the licensee performed a 
recalculation of Mr. Bethea's exposure using the actual strength of the 
source used for the hand radiographs, the licensee determined that the 
radiographer's occupational dose was 4.897 rem for the year.
    In a letter received by the NRC on January 3, 2019, Mr. Bethea 
stated the reason for the violation was too much stress from personal 
issues at home including a sick family member. Mr. Bethea also stated 
there was no excuse for his actions and that corrective actions 
included not working away from home for extended periods of time and 
stating that any blatant disrespect to the NRC regulations will never 
happen again.
    Based on a review of the OI report, training records, statements 
from the radiographer, and statements from Mistras personnel, it 
appears that on September 8, 2017, Mr. Bethea deliberately radiographed 
his own hand, a use not authorized by Condition 9.A of Mistras' NRC 
license and contrary to 10 CFR 30.34(c), which limits the use of 
radioactive material to the purposes authorized in the license.

III

    Based on the above, the NRC has concluded that Mr. Randy Bethea 
engaged in deliberate misconduct in violation of 10 CFR 30.10(a)(1) 
that caused Mistras to be in violation of 10 CFR 30.34(c) and License 
Condition 9.A of its license. The NRC must be able to rely on the 
licensee and its employees to comply with NRC requirements. Mr. 
Bethea's actions raised serious doubt as to whether he can be relied 
upon to comply with NRC requirements.
    Consequently, the NRC lacks the requisite reasonable assurance that 
licensed activities can be conducted in compliance with the 
Commission's requirements, and that the health and safety of the public 
will be protected if Mr. Bethea were permitted at this time to be 
involved in NRC[dash]licensed activities. Therefore, the public's 
health, safety, and interest require that Mr. Bethea be prohibited from 
any involvement in NRC-licensed activities for a period of one year 
from the date of this Order. Additionally, Mr. Bethea is prohibited 
from acting as the lead radiographer, or from supervising or directing 
radiographic operations, for a period of three years from the date of 
this Order. Finally, Mr. Bethea is required to notify the NRC of his 
first employment in NRC-licensed activities for a period of one year 
following the one-year prohibition period for having any involvement in 
NRC licensed activities.

IV

    Accordingly, pursuant to sections 81, 161b, 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 30.10, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:
    1. Mr. Randy Bethea is prohibited for one year from the date of 
this Order from engaging in, supervising, directing, or in any other 
way conducting NRC-licensed activities. NRC[dash]licensed activities 
are those activities that are

[[Page 4860]]

conducted pursuant to a specific or general license issued by the NRC, 
including, but not limited to, those activities of Agreement State 
licensees conducted in the NRC's jurisdiction pursuant to the authority 
granted by 10 CFR 150.20.
    2. Mr. Randy Bethea is prohibited for three years from the date of 
this Order from acting as the lead radiographer, or from supervising or 
directing radiographic operations 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 in 
the NRC's jurisdiction pursuant to the authority granted by 10 CFR 
150.20.
    3. If Mr. Randy Bethea is currently engaged in NRC-licensed 
activities with any licensee, he must immediately cease those 
activities, and inform the NRC of the name, address and telephone 
number of the licensee, and provide a copy of this Order to the 
licensee.
    4. For a period of one year after the one-year period of 
prohibition for conducting NRC[dash]licensed activities has expired, 
Mr. Randy Bethea 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 the entity where he 
is, or will be, involved in the NRC[dash]licensed activities. In the 
notification, Mr. Bethea shall include a statement of his commitment to 
compliance with regulatory requirements and the basis why the 
Commission should have confidence that he will now comply with 
applicable NRC requirements.
    The Director, Office of Enforcement, or designee, may, in writing, 
relax or rescind any of the above conditions upon demonstration by Mr. 
Bethea of good cause.

V

    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202, Mr. Bethea must submit a written 
answer to this Order under oath or affirmation within 30 days of its 
publication in the Federal Register. Mr. Bethea's failure to respond to 
this Order could result in additional enforcement action in accordance 
with the Commission's Enforcement Policy. Any person adversely affected 
by this Order may submit a written answer to this Order within 30 days 
of its publication in the Federal Register. In addition, Mr. Bethea and 
any other person adversely affected by this Order may request a hearing 
on this Order within 30 days of its publication in the Federal 
Register. 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, Washington, DC 20555-
001, 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 (hereinafter 
``petition''), and documents filed by interested governmental entities 
participating under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be filed in accordance with 
the NRC's E-Filing rule (72 FR 49139; August 28, 2007, as amended by 77 
FR 46562, August 3, 2012). 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 
ten (10) calendar days prior to the filing deadline, the participant 
should contact the Office of the Secretary by e-mail 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 
submissions and access the E-Filing system for any proceeding in which 
it is participating; and (2) advise the Secretary that the participant 
will be submitting a petition or other adjudicatory document (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 the NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/getting-started.html. Once a participant has obtained a 
digital ID certificate and a docket has been created, the participant 
can then submit adjudicatory documents. Submissions must be in Portable 
Document Format (PDF). Additional guidance on PDF submissions is 
available on the NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/electronic-sub-ref-mat.html. A filing is considered complete at the 
time the document is submitted through the NRC's E[dash]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[dash]Filing system time-stamps the 
document and sends the submitter an e-mail notice confirming receipt of 
the document. The E-Filing system also distributes an e-mail 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 adjudicatory 
documents are filed so that they can obtain access to the documents via 
the E-Filing system.
    A person filing electronically using the NRC's adjudicatory E-
Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the NRC's Electronic 
Filing Help Desk through the ``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC's 
Public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by 
e-mail to [email protected], or by a toll-free call at 1-866-672-
7640. The NRC Electronic Filing Help Desk is available between 9 a.m. 
and 6 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, excluding government 
holidays.
    Participants who believe that they have 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 
stating why there is good cause for not filing electronically and 
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, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, 20852, Attention: Rulemaking and 
Adjudications Staff. Participants filing adjudicatory documents in this 
manner are responsible for serving the document on all other 
participants. Filing is considered complete by first-class mail

[[Page 4861]]

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 the 
NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at 
https://adams.nrc.gov/ehd, unless excluded pursuant to an Order of the 
Commission or the presiding officer. If you do not have an NRC-issued 
digital ID certificate as described above, click ``Cancel'' when the 
link requests certificates and you will be automatically directed to 
the NRC's electronic hearing dockets where you will be able to access 
any publicly available documents in a particular hearing docket. 
Participants are requested not to include personal privacy information, 
such as social security numbers, home addresses, or personal phone 
numbers in their filings, unless an NRC regulation or other law 
requires submission of such information. For example, in some 
instances, individuals provide home addresses in order to demonstrate 
proximity to a facility or site. 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.
    The Commission will issue a notice or Order granting or denying a 
hearing request or intervention petition, designating the issues for 
any hearing that will be held and designating the Presiding Officer. A 
notice granting a hearing will be published in the Federal Register and 
served on the parties to the hearing.
    If a person (other than Randy Bethea) 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 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. 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 thirty (30) calendar days from the date 
of issuance 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.

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

George A. Wilson Jr.,

Acting Director Office of Enforcement

    Dated this 13\th\ day of February 2019

[FR Doc. 2019-02667 Filed 2-15-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P