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-07-005 January 31, 2007

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

Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331

NRC PROPOSES $3,250 CIVIL PENALTY FOR MOUNT LAUREL, N.J., FIRM

OVER THEFT OF NUCLEAR GAUGE FROM PENNSYLVANIA SITE

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff is proposing a $3,250 fine for a firm based in Mount

Laurel, N.J., for a violation of agency requirements that contributed to a theft of a nuclear gauge in

Pennsylvania last year. Owned by TRC Engineers, Inc. (formerly SITE-Blauvelt Engineering, Inc.), the

gauge contains radioactive material and is used for such industrial purposes as measuring the density of

soil at construction sites.

TRC Engineers notified the NRC that the gauge had been stolen from a storage shed used by

the company in Stroudsburg (Monroe County), Pa., either on the night of Aug. 29, 2006 or on the

morning of Aug. 30, 2006. In response to the theft, NRC staff performed a special inspection in

September 2006 at the company’s Mount Laurel office and at the Stroudsburg location. The inspectors

determined that there was only one tangible barrier in place to prevent someone from taking the gauge. 

While the gauge was locked in a portable box, the only barrier preventing its unauthorized removal was

a locked toolshed door. 

The NRC is citing TRC Engineers for a failure to use a minimum of two independent physical

controls to prevent unauthorized removal of a licensed nuclear gauge when the device is not under the

direct control and constant surveillance of a company employee(s). “Although the portable gauge was

locked in a box inside a locked storage shed providing one barrier, a second independent barrier did not

exist in accordance with the regulations,” NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins wrote in a

letter to the company regarding the enforcement action.

To date, the gauge has not been recovered. As long as the sources are in the shielded position,

the gauge would present no hazard to the public. However, any attempt to tamper with the radioactive

sources in the device could subject the person to radiation exposure. 

TRC Engineers discussed the violation with NRC staff during a predecisional enforcement

conference on Dec. 20, 2006, held in the NRC’s Region I Office in King of Prussia, Pa. During that

meeting, the company stated that it takes the security of licensed radioactive material and compliance

with NRC requirements very seriously. The company also reviewed its efforts to recover the stolen

gauge – including notifying authorities and offering a reward -- and described steps it had taken to

prevent a recurrence.
 The company is required to provide the NRC with a written reply within 30 days.

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