No. I-07-065 

Contact: Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 

 Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331 

Dec. 12, 2007

NRC TO DISCUSS APPARENT VIOLATION WITH NEW JERSEY FIRM 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff will meet with representatives of a 

Hopelawn (Middlesex County), N.J., company on Tuesday, Dec. 18, to discuss an apparent 

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

materials. The apparent violation by Materials Testing, Inc. (MTI), is based on an NRC 

inspection that identified two examples of a failure to properly secure portable nuclear gauges. 

Both examples involved gauges not being properly secured or under the direct control and 

constant surveillance of company employees. 

Known as a predecisional enforcement conference, the meeting is scheduled to begin at 

11 a.m. at the NRC Region I Office, at 475 Allendale Road in King of Prussia, Pa. It will be 

open to the public for observation and there will be an opportunity for interested attendees to ask 

questions of NRC staff before adjournment. 

On June 19, 2007, NRC inspectors performed an unannounced inspection at MTI 

facilities in Neffs (Lehigh County), Pa. During this review, the inspectors observed three 

portable nuclear gauges that had been left unattended by company staff and were not secured by 

a minimum of two tangible barriers to prevent unauthorized removal, as required by NRC 

regulations. (Nuclear gauges, which contain small amounts of radioactive material, are used for 

such purposes as measuring the density of soil at construction sites.) 

During the same review, the inspectors observed an MTI authorized gauge user enter the 

Neffs facility and report that he was transporting a portable nuclear gauge in his personal vehicle 

because a company truck had broken down that morning. When the inspectors walked outside to 

examine the vehicle, they saw that the gauge was being transported in the rear of a locked 

vehicle that had the driver-side and passenger-side windows open. The gauge was therefore left 

unattended and without two tangible barriers to prevent theft during the time the authorized user 

was inside the MTI facility. 

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
The NRC’s inspection report notes that MTI was cited for similar violations during a 

previous inspection, in 2006, and that as such the company’s corrective actions were not 

effective. 

The purpose of the Dec. 18th meeting is to obtain information to enable the NRC to 

determine what, if any, enforcement action is warranted. There will be an effort to come to a 

common understanding of the facts and a discussion of root causes of the event and corrective 

actions undertaken by the company. 

No enforcement decision will be made by the NRC staff at the session. Rather, NRC 

management will render a decision following a final evaluation of the apparent violations. 

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