ML25121A180
| ML25121A180 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 15000037 |
| Issue date: | 05/22/2025 |
| From: | Jack Giessner Region 3 Administrator |
| To: | Donato T McKenna, Sunabe, & Associates |
| Shared Package | |
| ML25121A173 | List: |
| References | |
| EA-24-136, EAO-RIII-2025-0072 IR 2024001 | |
| Download: ML25121A180 (1) | |
Text
OFFICIAL USE ONLY - SECURITY-RELATED INFORMATION OFFICIAL USE ONLY - SECURITY-RELATED INFORMATION EA-24-136 EAO-RIII-2025-0072 Travis Donato Operations Manager McKenna, Sunabe, & Associates, LLC 12370 Jackson Run Road Sugar Grove, PA 16350
SUBJECT:
NOTICE OF VIOLATION; NRC INSPECTION REPORT NO. 15000037/2024001 (DRSS) - MCKENNA, SUNABE, & ASSOCIATES, LLC
Dear Travis Donato:
This letter refers to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) inspection conducted on September 5, 2024, with continued in-office review through January 28, 2025, of activities that McKenna, Sunabe, & Associates performed under the terms of a general license for reciprocity in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 150.20(a)(1) at a temporary job site in Mount Vernon, Indiana. The purpose of the inspection was to review activities performed under this general license to ensure that activities were being performed in accordance with NRC requirements and your Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Radioactive Materials License. During the inspection, two apparent violations of NRC requirements were identified. The circumstances surrounding the apparent violations, the significance of the issues, and the need for lasting and effective corrective actions were discussed with you during a telephone exit meeting on February 5, 2025. Details regarding the apparent violations were provided in NRC Inspection Report No. 15000037/2024001 (DRSS) (non-public) dated March 4, 2025.
In the letter transmitting the inspection report, we provided you with the opportunity to address the apparent violations identified in the report by attending a predecisional enforcement conference, by providing a written response, or by attending an alternative dispute resolution mediation session before we made our final enforcement decision. In a letter dated March 19, 2025 (non-public), and in an email dated April 2, 2025 (non-public), you provided responses to the apparent violations.
Based on the information developed during the inspection and the information you provided in your responses to the inspection report; the NRC has determined that two violations of NRC requirements occurred. The first violation is security-related and is cited in the Notice of Violation (Notice) in Enclosure 1 (non-public) and the circumstances surrounding it are described in detail in the non-public version of our inspection report, dated March 4, 2025. This Enclosures 1 and 2 contain Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information. When separated from Enclosures 1 and 2, this transmittal letter and are decontrolled.
May 22, 2025
OFFICIAL USE ONLY - SECURITY-RELATED INFORMATION T. Donato OFFICIAL USE ONLY - SECURITY-RELATED INFORMATION violation is of concern to the NRC for the reasons stated in the Determination of Severity Level and Description of Corrective Actions in Enclosure 2 (non-public). Therefore, this violation has been categorized collectively, in accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, at Severity Level III.
In accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, a base civil penalty in the amount of $9,000 is considered for a Severity Level III violation.
Because your facility has not been the subject of escalated enforcement actions previously, the NRC considered whether credit was warranted for Corrective Action in accordance with the civil penalty assessment process in Section 2.3.4 of the Enforcement Policy. Corrective actions for the security violation are documented in Enclosure 2 (non-public). Based on those corrective actions, the NRC determined that Corrective Action credit is warranted.
Therefore, to encourage prompt and comprehensive correction of violations, and in recognition of the absence of previous escalated enforcement action, I have been authorized, after consultation with the Director, Office of Enforcement, not to propose a civil penalty in this case.
However, significant violations in the future could result in a civil penalty. In addition, issuance of this Severity Level III violation constitutes an escalated enforcement action that may subject you to increased inspection effort. The NRC also includes significant enforcement actions on its web site at (http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/enforcement/actions/).
The second violation involved the failure to comply with U.S. Department of Transportation requirements for blocking and bracing a Type B package containing radioactive material while in transport on public highways, as required by 10 CFR 71.5(a). This violation is cited in the enclosed Notice (Enclosure 3) (public) and the circumstances surrounding it are described in detail in the subject inspection report. This violation has been categorized in accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy at Severity Level IV.
The NRC has concluded that information regarding: (1) the reason for the violations; (2) the corrective actions that have been taken and the results achieved; and (3) the date when full compliance was achieved is already adequately addressed on the docket in Inspection Report No. 15000037/2024001(DRSS), your letter dated March 19, 2025, and your email dated April 2, 2025. Therefore, you are not required to respond to this letter unless the description therein does not accurately reflect your corrective actions or your position. In that case, or if you choose to provide additional information, you should follow the instructions specified in the enclosed Notice.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390, of the NRCs Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure, a copy of this letter and Enclosure 3 will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room and in the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), accessible from the NRC web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. However, the material in Enclosures 1 and 2 contain Security-Related Information in accordance with 10 CFR 2.390(d)(1) and its disclosure to
OFFICIAL USE ONLY - SECURITY-RELATED INFORMATION T. Donato OFFICIAL USE ONLY - SECURITY-RELATED INFORMATION unauthorized individuals could present a security vulnerability. Therefore, Enclosures 1 and 2 will not be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from ADAMS. If you choose to respond and Security-Related Information is necessary to provide an acceptable response, please mark your entire response Security-Related Information - Withhold Under 10 CFR 2.390 and follow the instructions for withholding in 10 CFR 2.390(b)(1).
Sincerely, John B. Giessner Regional Administrator Docket No. 150-00037 License No. PA-1687
Enclosures:
- 1. Notice of Violation (non-public
- 2. Determination of Severity Level and Description of Corrective Actions (non-public)
- 3. Notice of Violation (public) cc w/encl: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania State of Indiana Signed by Giessner, Jack on 05/22/25
OFFICIAL USE ONLY - SECURITY-RELATED INFORMATION OFFICIAL USE ONLY - SECURITY-RELATED INFORMATION Letter to T. Donato from J. Giessner dated May 22 2025.
SUBJECT:
NOTICE OF VIOLATION; NRC INSPECTION REPORT NO. 15000037/2024001 (DRSS) - MCKENNA, SUNABE, & ASSOCIATES, LLC DISTRIBUTION w/encl:
RidsSecyMailCenter OCADistribution Mirela Gavrilas Rob Lewis David Pelton June Cai Juan Peralta Leela Sreenivas Jack Giessner Mohammed Shuaibi Andrea Kock Mark Miller John Monninger Shannon Rogers Shelbie Lewman John Lubinski Kevin Williams Christian Einberg Michele Burgess Andy Miller Lauren Casey Mark Kowal Beth Alferink Diana Betancourt-Roldan Holly Harrington Thomas Ashley Meghan Blair Jeffrey Hamman David Curtis Jared Heck Rhex Edwards MIB Inspectors Harral Logaras Darren Piccirillo Viktoria Mitlyng Prema Chandrathil Kenneth Lambert Geoffrey Edwards Jason Draper Sarah Bakhsh Michelle Garza RidsOemailCenter Resource ADAMS Package: ML25121A173 ADAMS Accession Number: ML25121A176 (Non-Public)
ADAMS Accession Number: ML25121A180 (Public)
Publicly Available Non-Publicly Available Sensitive Non-Sensitive OFFICE RIII-EICS RIII-DRSS RIII-DRSS OE RIII-EICS RIII-ORA NAME JDraper for KLambert:ve RCraffey for REdwards DCurtis LSreenivas for JPeralta DBetancourt-Roldan JGiessner DATE 5/2/2025 5/2/2025 5/5/2025 5/21/2025 5/22/2025 5/22/2025 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
OFFICIAL USE ONLY - SECURITY-RELATED INFORMATION OFFICIAL USE ONLY - SECURITY-RELATED INFORMATION NOTICE OF VIOLATION McKenna, Sunabe, & Associates, LLC Docket No. 150-00037 Sugar Grove, Pennsylvania License No. PA-1687 EA-24-136 EAO-RIII-2025-0072 During a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) inspection conducted on September 5, 2004, with continued in-office review through January 28, 2025, a violation of NRC requirements was identified. In accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, the violation is listed below:
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 71.5(a) states that each licensee who transports licensed material outside the site of usage, as specified in the NRC license, or where transport is on public highways, or who delivers licensed material to a carrier for transport, shall comply with the applicable requirements of the DOT regulations in 49 CFR parts 107, 171 through 180, and 390 through 397, appropriate to the mode of transport.
Title 49 CFR 177.834(a) states, in part, that any package containing any hazardous material, not permanently attached to a motor vehicle, must be secured against shifting, including relative motion between packages, within the vehicle on which it is being transported, under conditions normally incident to transportation.
Title 49 CFR 177.842(d) states, for packages of Class 7 (radioactive) materials, that packages must be so blocked and braced that they cannot change position during conditions normally incident to transportation.
Contrary to the above, between September 3 and 5, 2024, McKenna, Sunabe & Associates, LLC. did not comply with the applicable requirements in 49 CFR part 177.834(a) and 49 CFR 177.842(d) to secure a QSA Global Model 880 Delta radiographic exposure device, a Type B package containing Class 7 (radioactive) material, against shifting or to block and brace it so that the package could not change position during conditions normally incident to transportation. Specifically, the licensee used a locked cable looped through an eye bolt on the inside wall of the vehicles darkroom to block and brace the exposure device by its handle, but the cable was sufficiently long to allow the device to shift and change position (i.e., roll/tilt) freely.
This is a Severity Level IV violation (Enforcement Policy Section 6.8).
The NRC has concluded that information regarding the reason for the violation, the corrective actions taken and planned to correct the violation and prevent recurrence, and the date when full compliance was achieved, is already adequately addressed on the docket in Inspection Report No. 15000037/2024001(DRSS), the licensees letter dated March 19, 2025, and the licensees email dated April 2, 2025. However, you are required to submit a written statement or explanation pursuant to 10 CFR 2.201 if the description therein does not accurately reflect your corrective actions or your position. In that case, or if you choose to respond, clearly mark your
OFFICIAL USE ONLY - SECURITY-RELATED INFORMATION 2
OFFICIAL USE ONLY - SECURITY-RELATED INFORMATION response as a Reply to a Notice of Violation, (EA-24-136; EAO-RIII-2025-0072) and send it to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Document Control Desk, Washington, DC 20555-0001 with a copy to the Regional Administrator, Region III, 2056 Westings Avenue, Naperville, IL 60563 within 30 days of the date of the letter transmitting this Notice of Violation (Notice).
If you contest this enforcement action, you should also provide a copy of your response, with the basis for your denial, to the Director, Office of Enforcement, United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
If you choose to respond, your response will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or in the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), accessible from the NRC web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Therefore, to the extent possible, the response should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or safeguards information so that it can be made available to the public without redaction.
In accordance with 10 CFR 19.11, you may be required to post this Notice within two working days of receipt.
Dated this 22nd day of May 2025.