ML20134K484
| ML20134K484 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 15000004 |
| Issue date: | 02/11/1997 |
| From: | NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION IV) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20134K460 | List: |
| References | |
| 15000004-96-17, NUDOCS 9702140047 | |
| Download: ML20134K484 (8) | |
See also: IR 015000004/1996017
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ENCLOSURE 2
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
REGION IV
Docket No.- 150-00004
License No. California 5309-80
Report No.: 150-00004/96-17
Licensee: Construction Testing & Engineering, Inc.
Facility: Construction Testing & Engineering, Inc.
Escondido, California
Location: 2414 Vineyard Ave, Suite G ,
Escondido, California
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Dates: December 11,1996, through January 27,1997
Inspector.: Kent M. Prendergast i
Radiation Specialist l
Approved By: Linda Howell, Chief
Nuclear Materials inspection and
Fuel Cycle / Decommissioning Branch
Division of Nuclear Materials Safety
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ATTACHMENTS: Supplemental inspection Information
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9702140047 970211
PDR STPRG ESGCA
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- Construction Testing & Engineering, Inc.
Escondido, California
NRC Inspection Report 150-00004/96-17
Proaram Overview
Construction Testing & Engineering, Inc. (CTE), is a large engineering firm licensed
by the state of California to use byproduct material (cesium-137 r:nd americium-241
sources) in moisture / density gauges to measure che properties of construction
materials. CTE operates six offices in California cod performs licensed activities
under two licenses issued by the state (both authorize use of portable gauging
devices).
Work Performed in Areas of Exclusive Federal Jurisdiction
- CTE submitted an NRC Form 241 in May 1996 to report proposed activities at
federal f acilities during the remainder of the calendar year. The inspection
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determined that in addition to numerous dates of work at federal facilities between
May and October 1996, CTE had also performed licensable activities at military
facilities considered areas of exclusive federal jurisdiction between January and May
1996, prior to CTE filing an NRC Form 241. This was identified as an apparent
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violation of 10 CFR 30.3.
- In reviewing CTE's activities, CTE was requested on several occasions to provide
information about its activities in areas under NRC jurisdiction between January and
May 1996. CTE responded in facsimile transmittals dated October 25 and
December 12,1996; however, information provided in these responses did not
include all dates and locations of work in areas of exclusive federal jurisdiction.
This was identified as an apparent violation of 10 CFR 30.9. CTE subsequently
corrected the information and provided a fulllisting of its activities from January to
May 1996 in a facsimile transmittal dated December 19.
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Report Details
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1 Prooram Overview (87100)
CTE is a large engineering firm with six offices in California. At the time of this
inspection, CTE was authorized under a radioactive materials license issued by the
state of California to possess and use up to 44 portable moisture / density gauges.
The corporate office is located in Escondido, California. CTE also maintains a
Modesto, California, office that is authorized to possess and use byproduct material
in portable gauges under a separate license issued by the state of California.
Although the state elected to issue two licenses to CTE, the inspector noted that
the moisture / density gauges listed on the Modesto license were also authorized on
the Escondido license and the training requirements for both licenses were the
same.
Responsibility for the radiation safety program was recently transferred from the
company vice president (VP) to an engineer who was designated as the radiation
- safety officer (RSO). This change became effective on August 7,1996, when
Amendment 11 to the CTE Escondido license was issued. According to the new
RSO, this change was made to improve the radiation safety program and allow more -
attention to be devoted to the program.
CTE has performed licensed activities in areas of federal jurisdiction since 1993.
The NRC first became aware that CTE used portable gauges at military facilities
considered areas of exclusive federal jurisdiction in late 1993. An inspection was
conducted to review CTE's activities and the NRC subsequently issued a Notice of
Violation and Proposed imposition of Civil Penalty (Notice) on March 24,1994, for
CTE's use of byproduct material from August 6 to 20,1993,in areas of exclusive
federal jurisdiction without authorization under either a specific or general NRC
license. CTE responded to the Notice by letter dated April 4,1994, indicating the
reason for the violation was a lack of knowledge regarding special requirements for
operations in federal jurisdiction. CTE's written response also indicated that CTE
would continue to submit an NRC Form 241 on an annual basis.
Following the inspection performed at the licensee's f acilities in late 1993, CTE
submitted an NRC Form 241 on December 8,1993, to report work proposed in
areas of exclusive federal jurisdiction during calendar year 1994. CTE next
submitted an NRC Form 241 on November 9,1994, to report proposed activities in
areas of exclusive federal jurisdiction during calendar year 1995. The NRC
acknowledged receipt of the Form 241 submitted by CTE in November 1994 by
letter dated December 29,1994. With exception of correspondence related to the
March 24,1994, Notice and the Form 241 submitted in November 1994, the NRC
had no further communications with CTE until 1996.
NOTE: Although a specific or general NRC license was required to possess and use
byproduct materialin an area of exclusive federal jurisdiction within an Agreement
State during calendar years 1993-1996,as a matter of practice, the NRC has
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accepted the submittal of an NRC Form 241, with the associated fee, in lieu of an
application for a specific NRC license authorizing use of byproduct materialin areas
of exclusive federaljurisdiction in an Agreement State. Submittal of an NRC
Form 241 is requirement for work performed under the generallicense pursuant to
In December 1996, CTE submitted an application for a specific NRC license. A
specific license authorizing use of portable gauging devices was issued to CTE on
December 31,1996.
1 Work Performed in Areas of Exclusive Federal Jurisdiction (87100) i
a. Insoectian Scope
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The inspector reviewed records, including NRC Form 241s, submitted by CTE to the '
NRC Region IV office, and records maintained by CTE documenting activities
performed at federal facilities in the state of California. Interviews were also
conducted with CTE employees to confirm work activities performed by CTE during
1996.
b. Observations and Findinas
CTE submitted an NRC Form 241 dated May 16,1996, providing notification of
proposed work activities at federal facilities during the remainder of calendar year
1996. CTE's submittal was acknowledged by NRC letter dated June 4,1996.
During a subsequent review of Form 241s submittad by Agreement State licensees,
it war noted that the Form 241 submitted by CTE appeared inconsistent with past
submittals because CTE had generally worked at federal facilities throughout the
calendar year. CTE personnel were subsequently contacted by telephone on
September 20,1996,in preparation for the inspection.
During the September 20,1996, telephone conversation, the VP (who was
contacted because he was listed as the RSO on the May 16,1996, Form 241)
acknostedged that CTE may have worked in areas of federal jurisdiction prior to its
May 16,1996, submittal. The VP committed to review CTE's work activities and
indicated that he would need a couple of weeks to obtain the required information
from the other CTE offices. During this convet sation other provisions relating to
filing an NRC Form 241, such as clarification 01 work activities, were also
discussed. NRC records indicate that the VP sabsequently contacted the Region IV
nuclear materials licensing staff on September .?O,1996, to further discuss
notifications required of Agreement State licensets working in areas under NRC
jurisdiction. During the latter conversation, the V2 was informed of requirements
i for providing the NRC notification of each proposed date of work performed under
! the provisions of the generallicense pursuant to 10 CFR 150.20 (see note above).
{ During the second September 20 conversation, the CTE VP committed to provide
the NRC Region IV office with a complete list of CTE activities performed in areas of
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May 16,1996. The VP indicated that he had not obtained all of the information at )
, that time and stated that he would try to provide the information to the inspector by
October 16,1996.
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On October 25,1996, the VP sent a f acsimile transmittal to the inspector. The
transmittal was a copy of an October 17,1996, letter from the new CTE RSO to
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the Region IV nuclear materials licensing staff indicating he was providing the
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information requrested of CTE. The letter was directed to the Region IV staff
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member who discussed requirements for submitting clarifications of work activities
performed under the general license pursuant to 10 CFR 105.20 with the CTE VP
- on September 20,1996. The letter indicated the RSO had completed his research
l into site activities for 1996 and enclosed a listing of CTE's activities in areas of
i exclusive federal jurisdiction for 1996. The list was substantial (10 pages) and
I identified locations where CTE had conducted licensable activities at federal
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facilities from June 3 to October 16,1996 (after CTE submitted an NRC Form 241).
- There were no activities listed prior to June 3,1996. (It should be noted that NRC
- staff did not verify whether each location identified on the list was an area of
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exclusive federal jurisdiction.) The letter further clarified that CTE was fully aware
of, and understood, that notification to the NRC is required prior to performing work
at federal facilities and that CTE would provide notification for dates of work at
federal f acilities as early as practicable in the future.
A site visit was conducted on December 11,1996, at CTE's Escondido office.
During this portion of the inspection, the inspector examined the material utilization 1
logs for the Escondido office and noted a number of entries indicating that CTE
worked at Camp Pendleton and other federal f acilities on numerous occasions prior
June 1996. Specifically, CTE worked at Camp Pendleton, which is an area of
exclusive federal jurisdiction, on January 2 and 8, February 13 and 29, March 4,7,
11,12 and 14, and other days in 1996, prior to submitting an NRC Form 241 and q
receiving acknowledgement of the submittal by letter dated June 4,1996. At the '
conclusion of the site visit on December 11, CTE's VP committed to provide the
NRC with a complete list activities performed by CTE in areas of exclusive federal :
jurisdiction prior to its submittal of the NRC Form 241 on May 16 1996 , .
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On December 12,1996, the RSO provided a letter which included a list of CTE's
activities in federal jurisdiction and an explanation regarding CTE's failure to file for I
reciprocity prior to May 1996. The letter stated that as CTE had informed the
inspector in September and October 1996, (during above noted telephone I
discussions), CTE had performed licensable activities at federal facilities during the
period from January to May 1996, prior to CTE filing a Form 241. CTE further !
stated that the problem was due to a change in RSOs during that period and
because filing the Form 241 was forgotten since "no notification of expiration" of
the 1995 submittal was sent by the NRC. The letter noted that the listing provided
documented the date(s) and each federal f acility where CTE performed work
between January and May 1996. However, the list indicated only 16 days of work
at federal f acilities. (The list did not identify each f acility fully and did not identify
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f or note whether the facilities were considered areas of exclusive federal
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The inspector reviewed CTE's December 12 letter and determined that the list was
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j incomplete based on a comparison of information identified on the utilization logs
] reviewed at CTE's Escondido office on December 11,1996. The inspector
i contacted the RSO by telephone and explained that the list was incomplete and
j again requested a complete list of dates and locations that CTE had performed
- licensed activities in areas of exclusive federal jurisdiction between January and
- May 1996. CTE subsequently provided a f acsimile transmittal dated December 19,
! 1996, to the inspector which listed 83 dates on which CTE performed work using
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portable gauges at various federal f acilities between January 2 and May 30,1996.
Again, this listing did not identify which f acilities were considered areas of exclusive
federal jurisdiction; however, several in the list were recognized as exclusive federal
jurisdiction by the inspector.
CTE's f ailure to obtain authorization through either a specific or general NRC license
prior to working in areas of exclusive federal jurisdiction from January to May 1996
was identified as an apparent violation of 10 CFR 30.3 (Apparent Violation
150-00004/9617-01).10 CFR 30.3 requires, in part, that except for exemptions
not applicable in this case, that no person may possesses or use byproduct material
except as authorized in a specific or generallicense issued pursuant to the
regulations in Chapter 1, Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations. As noted
above, CTE representatives indicated that this oversight was due, in part, to the
fact that the VP, who was designated as the RSO in early 1996, was very busy and
forgot to submit the Form 241 prior to May 1996. In addition, the VP was in the
process of designating a new RSO during this period and the oversight was not
noted until May 1996.
CTE's f ailure to provide complete and accurate information regarding activities
performed using portably gauges in areas of exclusive federal jurisdiction between
January and May 1996in its October 25 and December 12,1996, written
responses was identified as an apparent violation of 10 CFR 30.9(a) (Apparent
Violation 150-00004/9617-02).10 CFR 30.9(a) requires, in part, that information
provided to the Commission by a licensee be complete and accurate in all material
respects in subsequent discussions with CTE staff regarding this issue, the VP
stated that he had requested that the RSO provide a listing of locations and dates
where CTE had performed licensable activities in 1996 in response to his
conversations with Region IV staff on September 20. The VP also noted that he
informed the inspector that he believed that CTE may have worked in areas under l
NRC jurisdiction prior to May 1996 during conversations with the inspector in l
September and October 1996. However, no explanation was provided as to why a j
full listing was not included with the RSO's December 12 f acsimile transmittal. '
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c. Conclusions
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The inspection determined that CTE had performed work using byproduct material l
at military facilities which are considered areas of exclusive federal jurisdiction in '
the state of California throughout calendar year 1996, including the period from
January through May 1996, before CTE submitted an NRC Form 241 to report
proposed activities to the NRC. The use of byproduct materialin an area of
exclusive federal jurisdiction without authorization under either a specific or general
NRC license from January to May 1996 was identified as an apparent violation of
10 CFR 30.3. In addition, in reviewing CTE's activities, several requests were made
of CTE to submit information regarding CTE's activities during the above noted
period. Information provided by CTE on October 25 and December 12,1996, was
not complete and accurate in that it did not include a fulllistir'g of dates and
locations of work performed in areas of exclusive federaljurisdiction from January
to May 1996. This was identified as an apparent violation of 10 CFR 30.9. This
was subsequently corrected, at the NRC's request, in the licensee's facsimile
transmittal on December 19,1996.
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ATTACHMENT 1
SUPPLEMENTAL INSPECTION INFORMATION
PARTIAL LIST OF PERSONS CONTACTED
Licensee
R. Ballard, Vice President
R. Jamma, RSO
NRC
K. Prendergast, Radiation Specialist
INSPECTION PROCEDURES USED
IP 87100: Licensed Materials Programs
iP 83822: Radiation Protection
IP 86740: Inspection of Transportation Activities
ITEMS OPENED, CLOSED, AND DISCUSSED
Ooened
150-00004/96-17-01 APV Use of byproduct materialin areas of exclusive federal
jurisdiction without authorization under either a specific
or general NRC license.
150-00004/96-17-02 APV Failure to provide clear and accurate information
regarding CTE's activities in areas under NRC
jurisdiction from January through May 1996.
LIST OF ACRONYMS USED
APV Apparent Violation
CFR Code of Federal Regulations
CTE Construction Testing & Engineering, Inc.
RSO Radiation Safety Officer
VP Vice President
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