Press Release-IV-03-036, NRC Proposes $6,000 Fine for Longview Inspection, Inc. of Houston, Tx

Press Release-IV-03-036: NRC Proposes $6,000 Fine for Longview Inspection, Inc. of Houston, Tx

ML032310275
Person / Time
Issue date:	08/19/2003
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region IV
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-IV-03-036
Download: ML032310275 (2)

Text

NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Region IV 611 Ryan Plaza Drive - Suite 400 Arlington, TX 76011-4005 No. IV-03-036 August 19, 2003

Contact:

Victor Dricks E-Mail: opa4@nrc.gov Phone: 817-860-8128 NRC PROPOSES $6,000 FINE FOR LONGVIEW INSPECTION, INC. OF HOUSTON, TX The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has proposed a fine of $6,000 against Longview Inspection, Inc., of Houston, Texas, for violating NRC radioactive material security requirements.

In a letter to the company, Thomas P. Gwynn, Acting Administrator of the NRCs Region IV office in Arlington, Texas, said that as a result of an NRC inspection on April 11, the agency determined that the company violated NRC requirements associated with the control of radioactive materials. During an inspection of a temporary job site in Janesville, Wisconsin, an NRC inspector determined that Longview radiography personnel were not maintaining adequate surveillance of a radiography camera, as required, Mr. Gwynn said.

In particular, we noted that this incident appeared to be very similar to one which occurred on October 9, 2001, which resulted in the NRC issuing escalated enforcement action to Longview, Mr. Gwynn said.

The company said it has taken corrective actions by discussing the incident with all radiography personnel to stress the importance of securing industrial radiographic devices, distributing a memo reinforcing radiation safety requirements, conducting more frequent and unannounced audits of radiography personnel by radiation safety and management personnel, and creating incentives for radiographers and regional managers to follow safety requirements.

The NRC has classified the violations as a Severity Level III problem, which carries a

$6,000 fine. The agency uses a four-level severity scale in which Severity Level I is the most serious. The company has 30 days to either pay the civil penalty or to challenge the proposed fine.

The NRCs letter, its enclosures, and the companys response will be made available to interested members of the public through the agencys public electronic reading room at:

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.Help in accessing these documents is available from the NRC Public Document Room at (301) 415-4737 or at 1-800-397-4209.