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-03-030 July 7, 2003

Contact: Victor Dricks E-Mail: opa4@nrc.gov

Phone: 817-860-8128

NRC STAFF ISSUES ORDER PROHIBITING INVOLVEMENT IN NRC-LICENSED

ACTIVITIES TO FORMER RADIATION SAFETY OFFICER IN IDAHO

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has issued an Order to the former radiation

safety officer of Structural Testing and Inspection Co., (STI) of Pocatello, Idaho, prohibiting him

from involvement in NRC-licensed activities for three years.

The order prohibits Lowell S. Trujillo from engaging in any NRC-licensed activities for

three years and requires him to notify the NRC if he engages in any such activity within a period

of three years from the time the prohibition expires. 

On September 12, 2002, a Custer County Deputy Sheriff investigating the theft of

construction equipment in Stanley, Idaho, confiscated and impounded a portable moisture

density gauge containing radioactive material after an STI employee was unable to provide any

proof of ownership. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Trujillo faxed to the sheriff’s office a copy of a bill

of sale for the gauge along with a copy of an NRC license issued to a company with which Mr.

Trujillo was no longer employed. The sheriff’s deputy released the gauge to Mr. Trujillo, then a

business partner with STI, but contacted the NRC to discuss the circumstances.

Subsequent investigation by the NRC has determined that Mr. Trujillo deliberately

violated NRC requirements by using a license issued to his former employer to purchase, possess

and use devices containing radioactive material under the false pretense that he was authorized to

do so. 

“To have adequate assurance that the public health and safety will be protected, the NRC

must be able to rely on the integrity of individuals to comply with NRC requirements,” Carl J.

Paperiello, NRC’s Deputy Executive Director for Materials, Research and State Programs, said

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the order issued to Mr. Trujillo. Mr. Paperiello said the NRC staff does not find Mr. Trujillo’s

explanation that he did not deliberately violate NRC requirements to be credible, as Mr. Trujillo

had been involved with NRC licensed activities for 10 years. 

The NRC staff also determined that STI violated NRC requirements by failing to obtain a

specific license from NRC or an Agreement State prior to acquiring and using byproduct

(radioactive) material, a Severity Level II violation. The agency uses a four-level severity scale in

which Severity Level I is the most serious. However, in this case, the NRC is not considering a

civil penalty because STI has withdrawn its application for an NRC license.

The company and Mr. Trujillo have 30 days to respond if they choose to do so. Copies of

the NRC letters and their enclosures, as well as any replies from the parties, will be made

available to interested members of the public through the agency’s 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. 

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