ML22101A218
ML22101A218 | |
Person / Time | |
---|---|
Site: | 15000017 |
Issue date: | 04/12/2022 |
From: | O'Keefe N NRC Region 4 |
To: | Thibodeaux I GIR Solutions |
References | |
EA-22-014 IR 2022001 | |
Download: ML22101A218 (11) | |
See also: IR 015000017/2022001
Text
April 12, 2022
Isaac Thibodeaux
Radiation Safety Officer
GIR Solutions LLC.
P.O. Box 369
Broussard, LA 70518
SUBJECT: GIR SOLUTIONS LLC. NOTICE OF VIOLATION; NRC INSPECTION
REPORT 150-00017/2022-001
Dear Mr. Thibodeaux:
This letter refers to the in-office review of information submitted by GIR Solutions LLC to the
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on January 30, 2022, regarding the performance of
licensed activities in exclusive Federal jurisdiction. Specifically, GIR Solutions LLC, submitted a
clarification of work activities to the NRC on January 30, 2022, for work that began on
January 31, 2022. The preliminary findings of this in-office review were discussed with you on
February 1, 2022. A final exit briefing was conducted telephonically with you and your
supervisor, Jeremy Johnson on April 7, 2022.
Based on the information submitted by GIR Solutions LLC, the NRC has determined that one
Severity Level IV violation of NRC requirements occurred involving GIRs failure to file an initial
NRC Form 241, and pay the required reciprocity fee, prior to performing licensed activities in
Federal jurisdiction for calendar year 2022. The violation was evaluated in accordance with the
NRC Enforcement Policy. The current Enforcement Policy is included on the NRC's Website at
(https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/enforcement/enforce-pol.html). The violation is cited
in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice) and the circumstances surrounding it are described
in detail in the subject inspection report. The violation is being cited in the Notice because it
was identified by the NRC during a review of records submitted by GIR Solutions LLC and
involved the failure to file an initial NRC Form 241, Report of Proposed Activities in Non-
Agreement States, Areas of Exclusive Federal Jurisdiction, or Offshore Waters, and pay the
required reciprocity fee, three days prior to engaging in licensed activities in Federal jurisdiction
for calendar year 2022.
In accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, the failure to file an NRC Form 241 three days
prior to engaging in licensed activities in NRC jurisdiction is normally categorized as a Severity
Level III violation. The NRC Enforcement Policy includes Severity Level IV violations when
certain criteria are met. As a materials licensee whose licensed activity is designated as a
Priority 1 NRC inspection, you only met three of the four criteria in Section 6.9.d.14 to be
characterized as a Severity Level IV violation.
I. Thibodeaux 2
However, in this case, several factors were considered to disposition this violation as a Severity
Level IV violation. The factors included: (1) GIR Solutions LLC submitted the NRC Form 241
the day before the material arrived on the jobsite and no work was performed until the NRC
provided the licensee reciprocity approval; therefore the NRC had the opportunity to inspect the
licensee prior to work completion; (2) GIR Solutions LLC had only had been a reciprocity
licensee for one year and misunderstood the yearly reciprocity requirements; and, (3) the
licensed activities were performed in offshore waters, thereby limiting security access concerns,
as well as potential for exposure and contamination to members of the public. Considering
these mitigating factors, the NRC determined this violation is more appropriately characterized
as a Severity Level IV violation.
You are required to respond to this letter and should follow the instructions specified in the
enclosed Notice when preparing your response. If you have additional information that you
believe the NRC should consider, you may provide it in your response to the Notice. The NRC
review of your response to the Notice will also determine whether further enforcement action is
necessary to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRCs Agency Rules of Practice, a copy of this letter,
its enclosure(s), and your response will be made available electronically for public inspection in
the NRC Public Document Room or from the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS), accessible from the NRC Website at
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To the extent possible, your response should not
include any personal privacy or proprietary, information so that it can be made available to the
public without redaction.
Please feel free to contact Ms. Alldredge or Ms. Hanson if you have any questions regarding
this in-office review. Ms. Alldredge can be reached at 817-200-1546 or
casey.alldredge@nrc.gov, and Ms. Hanson can be reached at 817-200-1286 or
latischa.hanson@nrc.gov.
Sincerely,
Signed by O©Keefe, Cornelius
on 04/12/22
Neil OKeefe, Chief
Materials Licensing Branch
Division of Radiological Safety and Security
Docket No. 150-00017
License No. 10 CFR 150.20
Enclosure: Notice of Violation
NRC Inspection Report 150-00017/2022-001
cc w/Enclosure:
J. Dauzat, Administrator
State of Louisiana Radiation
Control Program
SUNSI Review ADAMS: Sensitive Non-Publicly Available Keyword
By: KCB Yes No Non-Sensitive Publicly Available NRC-002
OFFICE HP:MLB ACES C:MLB
NAME CAlldredge JGroom NOKeefe
SIGNATURE /RA/ /RA/ /RA/
DATE 4/11/2022 4/11/2022 4/12/2022
NOTICE OF VIOLATION
GIR Solutions LLC Docket No. 150-00017
Broussard, Louisiana License No. 10 CFR 150.20
During an NRC in-office inspection conducted on January 31, 2022, one violation of NRC
requirements was identified. In accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, the violation is
listed below:
10 CFR 30.3(a) requires, in part, that no person shall receive, acquire, own, possess, or
use byproduct material except as authorized in a specific or general license issued in
accordance with the regulations in 10 CFR Chapter I.
10 CFR 150.20(a)(1) requires, in part, that any person who holds a specific license from
an Agreement State is granted a general NRC license to conduct the same activity in
offshore waters subject to the provisions of 10 CFR 150.20(b).
10 CFR 150.20(b)(1) requires, in part, that any person engaging in activities in offshore
waters shall, at least 3 days before engaging in each activity for the first time in a
calendar year, file a submittal containing an NRC Form 241, Report of Proposed
Activities in Non-Agreement States, a copy of its Agreement State specific license, and
the appropriate fee with the Regional Administrator of the appropriate NRC regional
office.
Contrary to the above, on January 31, 2022, GIR Solutions, LLC, a licensee of the State
of Louisiana, engaged in activities in offshore waters without filing a submittal containing
an NRC Form 241, Report of Proposed Activities in Non-Agreement States, a copy of
its Agreement State specific license, and the appropriate fee with the Regional
Administrator of the NRC Regional Office at least 3 days before engaging in each
activity for the first time in a calendar year. Specifically, GIR Solutions, LLC, transported
and stored radioactive material at Offshore Waters in the Gulf of Mexico on January 31,
2022 in anticipation of beginning work, but did not submit an NRC Form 241, a copy of
its Agreement State radioactive materials license, and the appropriate fee until
January 31, 2022, allowing the NRC to approve the initial reciprocity request on
February 1, 2022. Since the material was transported to and stored in offshore waters
beginning on January 31, 2022, the licensee was required to provide this information to
the NRC by January 28, 2022.
This is a Severity Level IV violation.
Pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 2.201, GIR Solutions LLC, is hereby required to submit a
written statement or explanation to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Document
Control Desk, Washington, DC 20555-0001, with a copy to the Regional Administrator, Region
IV, within 30 days of the date of the letter transmitting this Notice of Violation (Notice). This
reply should be clearly marked as a "Reply to a Notice of Violation; EA-22-014 and should
include for each violation: (1) the reason for the violation, or, if contested, the basis for disputing
the violation or severity level; (2) the corrective steps that have been taken and the results
achieved; (3) the corrective steps that will be taken; and (4) the date when full compliance will
be achieved. Your response may reference or include previous docketed correspondence, if
Enclosure 1
the correspondence adequately addresses the required response. If an adequate reply is not
received within the time specified in this Notice, an order or a Demand for Information may be
issued requiring information as to why the license should not be modified, suspended, or
revoked, or why such other action as may be proper should not be taken. Where good cause is
shown, consideration will be given to extending the response time.
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.
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 Website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To
the extent possible, your response should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or
safeguards information so that it can be made available to the public without redaction. If
personal privacy or proprietary information is necessary to provide an acceptable response,
then please provide a bracketed copy of your response that identifies the information that
should be protected and a redacted copy of your response that deletes such information. If you
request withholding of such material, you must specifically identify the portions of your response
that you seek to have withheld and provide in detail the bases for your claim of withholding (e.g.,
explain why the disclosure of information will create an unwarranted invasion of personal
privacy or provide the information required by 10 CFR 2.390(b) to support a request for
withholding confidential commercial or financial information). If safeguards information is
necessary to provide an acceptable response, please provide the level of protection described
in 10 CFR 73.21.
In accordance with 10 CFR 19.11, you may be required to post this Notice within two working
days of receipt.
Dated this 12th day of April 2022
2
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
REGION IV
Docket: 150-00017
License: 10 CFR 150.20
Report: 2012-001
Licensee: GIR Solutions LLC
Location Inspected: In-office review only
Inspection Dates: January 31 through April 7, 2022
Exit Meeting Date: April 7, 2022
Inspector: Casey Alldredge, Health Physicist
Materials Licensing Branch
Division of Radiological Safety and Security
Approved by: Neil OKeefe, Chief
Materials Licensing Branch
Division of Radiological Safety and Security
Attachment: Supplemental Inspection Information
Enclosure 2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
GIR Solutions LLC
NRC Inspection Report 150-00017/2022-001
Program Overview
GIR Solutions LLC (GIR) is authorized under the State of Louisiana Department of
Environmental Quality License No. LA-14110-L01, to possess and use byproduct material,
including Cobalt-60 and Iridium-192, for industrial radiography operations. As of February 1,
2022, GIR is authorized to perform these same licensed activities at temporary job sites in
exclusive Federal jurisdiction under a general license pursuant to 10 CFR 150.20. (Section 1)
Inspection Findings
One violation was identified involving GIRs failure to file an initial NRC Form 241, and pay the
required reciprocity fee, prior to performing licensed activities in Federal jurisdiction for calendar
year 2022. This violation was identified when the licensee submitted a clarification for locations
of work to the NRC, and the NRC discovered that the licensee had never filed the initial
reciprocity request for 2022 prior to beginning licensed activities in Federal jurisdiction on
January 31, 2022. (Section 2)
Corrective Actions
GIR corrected this violation by submitting the appropriate information, to include the NRC
Form 241, Agreement State License and required reciprocity fee to the NRC on January 31,
2022. The NRC subsequently granted the reciprocity request in a letter dated February 1, 2022.
(Section 3)
2
REPORT DETAILS
1 Program Overview (87121)
1.1. Program Scope
GIR Solutions LLC (GIR) is authorized under the State of Louisiana Department of
Environmental Quality License No. LA-14110-L01, to possess and use byproduct
material, including Cobalt-60 and Iridium-192, for industrial radiography operations at
temporary job sites, in the State of Louisiana.
After the NRC received GIRs initial NRC Form 241 and reciprocity fee for calendar year
2022 on January 31, 2022, GIR became authorized to perform portable gauge
operations at temporary job sites under a general license pursuant to 10 CFR 150.20,
Recognition of Agreement State Licenses.
1.2. Observations and Findings
Upon reviewing the information submitted by the licensee notifying NRC of a change of
work locations in Federal jurisdiction and researching the local database where the initial
NRC Form 241 requests/approvals are maintained, the regional license reviewer
discovered that GIR had never submitted the initial NRC Form 241, nor had they paid
the reciprocity fee for the work to be performed in CY2022.
2 Inspection Findings (87121)
2.1 Inspection Scope
On Sunday, January 30, 2022, the licensee emailed NRC Region IV a clarification
notification, dated January 31, 2022 stating that they intended to conduct licensed
activities in Federal jurisdiction in offshore waters from January 31, 2022 through
February 13, 2022. The license reviewer used this information, in addition to performing
research on existing reciprocity approvals for calendar year 2022 to determine whether
the licensee was in compliance with regulatory requirements.
2.2 Observation and Findings
On Monday January 31, while reviewing their request, the license reviewer determined
that GIR had not filed an initial reciprocity application for 2022 and contacted the RSO.
GIR stated that they thought they had one calendar year since they received their 2021
reciprocity approval, and had been planning to send an initial reciprocity application in
April 2022. The RSO immediately provided a copy of their Agreement State license and
the reciprocity fee. On February 1, 2022, the license reviewer inquired about the
location of the byproduct material and was told it had already been transported to the
temporary job site in offshore waters, but that it was in storage until they received NRC
approval of their reciprocity application. The LR informed GIR that they were not yet
authorized to possess or use the source in Federal jurisdiction and confirmed that it was
properly stored and secured until the necessary request was made and approved. GIR
quickly submitted the required form and payment. On February 1, 2022, the NRC
approved the reciprocity request.
3
10 CFR 30.3(a) requires, in part, that no person shall receive, acquire, own, possess, or
use byproduct material except as authorized in a specific or general license issued in
accordance with the regulations in 10 CFR Chapter I.
10 CFR 150.20(a)(1) requires, in part, that any person who holds a specific license from
an Agreement State is granted a general NRC license to conduct the same activity in
non-Agreement States subject to the provisions of 10 CFR 150.209(b).
10 CFR 150.20(b)(1) requires, in part, that any person engaging in activities in offshore
waters shall, at least 3 days before engaging in each activity for the first time in a
calendar year, file a submittal containing an NRC Form 241, Report of Proposed
Activities in Non-Agreement States, a copy of its Agreement State specific license, and
the appropriate fee with the Regional Administrator of the appropriate NRC regional
office.
Contrary to the above, on January 31, 2022, GIR Solutions, LLC, a licensee of the State
of Louisiana, engaged in activities in offshore waters without filing a submittal containing
an NRC Form 241, Report of Proposed Activities in Non-Agreement States, a copy of
its Agreement State specific license, and the appropriate fee with the Regional
Administrator of the NRC Regional Office at least 3 days before engaging in each
activity for the first time in a calendar year. Specifically, GIR Solutions, LLC, transported
and stored radioactive material at offshore waters in the Gulf of Mexico on January 31,
2022, in anticipation of beginning work, but did not submit an NRC Form 241, a copy of
its Agreement State radioactive materials license, and the appropriate fee until
January 31, 2022, allowing the NRC to approve the initial reciprocity request on
February 1, 2022. Since the material was stored in offshore waters beginning on
January 31, 2022, the licensee was required to provide this information to the NRC by
January 28, 2022.
2.3 Conclusions
The NRC identified one violation regarding GIRs failure to file an initial NRC
Form 241 for calendar year 2022 and pay the reciprocity fee, prior to engaging in
licensed activities in Federal jurisdiction beginning on January 31, 2022, as required
by 10 CFR 150.20(b)(1). (15000017/2022-01-01)
3 Corrective Actions
The Radiation Safety Officer for GIR stated that he had misunderstood the requirement
to send in the initial NRC Form 241 at the beginning of calendar year 2022, as he was a
new reciprocity licensee and incorrectly thought he had one calendar year from his
previous approval to work before sending a new initial NRC Form 241. GIR corrected
this violation by submitting the appropriate information, to include the NRC Form 241,
Agreement State License and required reciprocity fee to the NRC on January 31, 2022.
4 Exit Meeting Summary
The license reviewer presented the preliminary inspection findings at the conclusion of
the in-office review on January 31, 2022 with Isaac Thibodeaux, Radiation Safety Officer
for GIR. On April 7, 2022, a final telephonic exit meeting was conducted with Isaac
Thibodeaux, the radiation safety officer, and Jeremy Johnson, his supervisor.
4
The licensee acknowledged the findings and did not dispute any of the details presented
during the exit call.
5
SUPPLEMENTAL INSPECTION INFORMATION
PARTIAL LIST OF PERSONS CONTACTED
Isaac Thibodeaux, Radiation Safety Officer
INSPECTION PROCEDURES USED
87121 Industrial Radiography
ITEMS OPENED, CLOSED, AND DISCUSSED
Opened
1500017/22001-01 The failure to file an initial NRC Form 241 prior
to engaging in licensed activities in exclusive
Federal jurisdiction
Closed
None
Discussed
None
LIST OF ACRONYMS USED
ADAMS Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
CFR Code of Federal Regulations
NRC Nuclear Regulatory Commission
PEC Predecisional Enforcement Conference
RSO Radiation Safety Officer
TJS Temporary Job Site
Attachment