U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Region III Office of Public Affairs

801 Warrenville Road, Lisle IL 60532-4351

NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT: RIII-96-66 October 25, 1996

CONTACT: Jan Strasma 630/829-9663

Angela Dauginas 630/829-9662

E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov

NRC STAFF PROPOSES $2,500 FINE FOR GAUGE USE BY UNAUTHORIZED

AND UNTRAINED INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION WORKER

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has proposed a

$2,500 fine against the Indiana Department of Transportation for

directing a worker to use a moisture-density gauge containing

radiation sources without the required training and

authorization.

An NRC inspection and an investigation by its Office of

Investigation completed in August of this year determined that a

worker had used the gauge for a four-month period in 1993 without

receiving the required training in radiation protection and use

of the gauge. The worker was also given a radiation monitoring

device assigned to another employee.

Moisture-density gauges, which contain sealed radiation

sources, are used to measure the condition of soil and other

materials at road and other construction sites.

The state agency was cited for two violations: the use of

the gauge by the worker without the required training and

authorization and the use of the radiation monitoring device by a

person other than the person it was assigned to.

The violations, which were determined to be deliberate,

occurred in the state Department of Transportation's

Crawfordsville District.

The NRC inspection and investigation found that a project

engineer had directed that an employee use the gauge even though

he had not received the necessary training from the Department's

Radiation Safety Officer or the device's manufacturer. The

project engineer also gave his radiation monitoring device to the

worker to record any radiation exposure received by the

individual.

"These deliberate violations are of significant regulatory

concern because they were caused by a project engineer who holds

a supervisory position and who was knowledgeable of the agency's

NRC-licensed procedures regarding the use of nuclear gauges,"
said A. Bill Beach, NRC Regional Administrator, in notifying the

agency of the proposed fine.

He continued, "While the safety consequence of the

violations was somewhat mitigated by the fact that the project

engineer did provide some training and a [radiation monitoring]

badge to the unauthorized trainee, the violations nonetheless are

significant because they resulted, in part, from a lack of

management support in providing the necessary resources to

conduct licensed activities."

The agency has until November 25 to pay the fine or to

protest it. If the fine is protested and subsequently imposed by

the NRC staff, the agency may request a hearing.

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