No. I-08-004 

Contact: Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 

 Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331 

 February 7, 2008

NRC PROPOSES $3,250 FINE FOR N.J. COMPANY OVER VIOLATION 

ASSOCIATED WITH THEFT OF PORTABLE NUCLEAR GAUGE 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has proposed a $3,250 civil penalty for Underwood 

Engineering Testing Co., Inc., based in Bellmawr (Camden County), N.J., for a violation of 

agency requirements involving the control and security of NRC-licensed radioactive materials. 

The proposed fine is for a violation identified during an NRC special inspection conducted last 

year. That inspection was initiated after a portable nuclear gauge owned by the firm was reported 

stolen from a company employee’s vehicle last March. 

On March 20, 2007, the NRC’s Operations Center was notified about the theft of the 

nuclear gauge the previous day. The gauge, which is used for such industrial purposes as 

measuring the density of soil at a construction site, contained sealed radioactive sources; one 

held a small amount of cesium-137 and the other a small amount of americium-241. At the time, 

the vehicle in which it was stored was parked at a temporary job site in Philadelphia. City police 

located the gauge’s transport container on March 22 near a Philadelphia scrap yard. 

An NRC-licensed contractor retained by Underwood Engineering could locate only the 

cesium-137 source. The cesium-137 source was packaged and shipped off-site for disposal. 

Detailed radiological surveys of the site by the NRC and the Pennsylvania Department of 

Environmental Protection also failed to find the americium-241 source. A load of scrap metal 

transferred from the scrap yard to a metal recycling facility in Camden, N.J., on March 21 also 

led to checks at that location on March 24, but those efforts likewise failed to turn up the missing 

source. In addition, detailed surveys of the temporary job site, the scrap yard and the Camden 

facility by personnel from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Radiological Assistance Team were 

unable to locate the americium-241. 

The NRC, in response to the event, conducted a special inspection of Underwood 

Engineering’s radiation safety program, its procedures to secure portable gauges from 

unauthorized removal, and the circumstances surrounding the theft of the device. It was also 

 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs, Region I 

475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406 

E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov 

Site: http://www.nrc.gov
performed to evaluate the company’s corrective actions. The inspection took place during the 

period of March 28 through Aug. 13 at the company’s facilities in Bellmawr and at six 

temporary job sites. 

The violation for which the fine has been proposed is based on multiple examples of 

inadequate control of nuclear gauges, including the loss of the radioactive source. NRC 

regulations require that each portable gauge be secured with a minimum of two independent 

physical controls to prevent its unauthorized removal when they are not under the control or 

constant surveillance of company personnel. However, NRC inspectors found repeated occasions 

when Underwood Engineering personnel did not adhere to that requirement. 

“Even though no instances of contamination were identified among personnel, the 

presence of licensed radioactive material in the public domain has the potential to cause 

contamination and unnecessarily expose members of the public to radiation,” NRC Region I 

Administrator Samuel J. Collins wrote in a letter to the company notifying it of the enforcement 

action. 

Underwood Engineering took part in an NRC Predecisional Enforcement Conference 

regarding the special inspection findings on Nov. 19. Such conferences allow companies an 

opportunity to provide the agency with additional information prior to the NRC reaching a 

decision on potential enforcement actions. During that meeting, company representatives 

discussed the root causes of the apparent violations that had been identified and corrective 

actions taken and/or planned to prevent future violations. The corrective actions include: meeting 

with the company’s authorized users to discuss gauge security requirements; the installation of 

fixed storage room structures; having the firm’s Radiation Safety Officer conduct site visits 

twice a month to ensure authorized users are adhering to NRC regulations; and hiring an 

independent consultant to enhance the radiation safety program. 

The company is required to provide the NRC with a response to the enforcement action 

within 30 days. The agency will conduct additional inspections to verify the firm’s 

implementation of its corrective actions. 

### 

 News releases are available through a free listserv subscription at the following Web address: 

http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC homepage at www.nrc.gov also offers a SUBSCRIBE 

link. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web site.