NRC NEWS

 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

 Office of Public Affairs, Region I

 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa.

www.nrc.gov

 

No. I-06-025 April 18, 2006

Contact: Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov

Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331

NRC PROPOSES $3,250 CIVIL PENALTY AGAINST FIRM IN PUERTO RICO

FOR LOSS OF PORTABLE NUCLEAR GAUGE

 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has proposed a $3,250 fine against a San Juan, Puerto

Rico-based company for violations associated with the loss of a portable nuclear gauge in August 2005. 

The gauge, which contains radioactive material, is used for industrial purposes such as measuring soil

density.

 On Aug. 16, 2005, an employee of GEO-EXPLOR, Inc., was using the gauge at a

temporary job site in Dorado, Puerto Rico. When finished with the work, the employee placed the

device in the open bed of a pickup truck but failed to secure it to the vehicle or to close the tailgate. 

After traveling for less than a mile on a public highway, the driver realized the container holding the

gauge had fallen off the truck. Although the employee retraced his route, he was unable to locate the

device. It was subsequently recovered – intact and undamaged – by a member of the public, then

stored in a commercial warehouse before being returned to the company on Aug. 22, 2005.

 Based on an inspection conducted on Nov. 15, 2005, the NRC has identified three

violations of agency requirements with regard to the event. Specifically, a company employee failed to

maintain control and constant surveillance of the gauge when it was lost on the highway and kept in the

commercial warehouse; the employee failed to use two independent physical controls to secure the

container in which the gauge was being transported even though there were two available chains in the

truck’s bed; and the employee placed the case holding the gauge in the truck bed without securing it in

any way and without closing the vehicle’s tailgate.

 

 “Although the gauge was locked in the shielded condition and it was in a locked transport

case at the time it was found by the member of the public, these violations are of concern to the NRC

because (1) the gauge was in the public domain for approximately 6 days, and (2) such sources can

result in unintended radiation exposure to an individual if the (radioactive) source is not in the shielded

position,” NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins wrote in a letter to GEO-EXPLOR regarding

the enforcement action.

 The company was given an opportunity to respond to the apparent violations identified by

the NRC by either submitting a written response or attending a predecisional enforcement conference. 
In a letter dated March 6, GEO-EXPLOR wrote that it agreed with the information regarding the

apparent violations and described steps it had taken to prevent a recurrence, including retraining its

entire staff on gauge use and transportation. The NRC concluded that the corrective actions were

comprehensive. However, a civil penalty was proposed consistent with the NRC policy for cases

involving the loss of such materials. 

 The firm is required to provide the NRC with a written reply to the enforcement action

within 30 days.

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