No. I-08-036 

Contact: Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 

 Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331 

May 28, 2008

NRC PROPOSES $3,250 CIVIL PENALTY FOR CHESAPEAKE, VA., FIRM 

FOR VIOLATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH TEMPORARY LOSS OF NUCLEAR GAUGE 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing a $3,250 fine for McCallum Testing 

Laboratories, of Chesapeake, Va., for two violations of agency requirements involving the 

control and security of a portable nuclear gauge. The device, which contains small amounts of 

radioactive material, is used for such industrial purposes as checking the density of soil at 

construction sites. 

An NRC inspector identified the violations during an inspection conducted on June 19, 

2007, at the offices of McCallum Testing and at a Chesapeake fire department. That inspection 

was performed to examine licensed activities as they relate to radiation safety and to review the 

circumstances surrounding an event that took place in February 2007. 

On Feb. 15, 2007, McCallum Testing notified the NRC that a portable moisture density 

gauge owned by the company had been lost at the intersection of Route 17 and George 

Washington Parkway in Chesapeake. The company also stated that local police had been 

informed of the loss. About a half-hour later, the company reported that the gauge had been 

found by two city employees and taken to the Deep Creek Fire Department in Chesapeake. 

Further investigation by the company determined that the device had fallen from a truck 

driven by a company employee who was an authorized gauge user. The driver had failed to 

secure the gauge in its transportation box and when the truck turned a corner, the vehicle’s 

tailgate opened and the device fell onto the street. The gauge was subsequently struck and 

damaged by a truck driven by the two city employees. In addition, a radioactive source rod that 

is part of the gauge became detached at an unspecified point, leaving a cesium-137 source in an 

unshielded position. That condition could have exposed a worker or member of the public to 

radiation. However, based on reviews by the company and NRC inspectors, no harmful radiation 

exposures occurred as a result of the event. 

“During the time that the damaged gauge was lost, a potential existed for significant 

radiation exposures to members of the public, if the source rod had been compromised or 

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
contamination occurred,” NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins wrote to the company 

in a letter notifying it of the enforcement action. 

The violations identified by the NRC for which the fine is being proposed are: 1) a failure 

to control and maintain constant surveillance of a portable nuclear gauge in an unrestricted area; 

and 2) failure to properly block and brace a gauge prior to transporting it. The NRC also cited 

three other violations, including a failure to ensure employees received required hazmat training; 

a failure on two occasions to use a lock or outer locked container to prevent unauthorized or 

accidental removal of a sealed gauge source from its shielded position when being transported or 

when in storage; and failure to perform periodic reviews of the company’s radiation safety 

program content and implementation. 

McCallum Testing was offered the opportunity to take part in a predecisional 

enforcement conference or submit a written response prior to the NRC rendering its final 

decision on an enforcement action. The company declined both options. 

The company is required to provide a written response to the Notice of Violation and the 

proposed imposition of the civil penalty within 30 days. 

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