No. III-08-041 

Contacts: 

Viktoria Mitlyng 630-829-9662 

Prema Chandrathil 630-829-9663 

 November 12, 2008 

 E-Mail: opa3@nrc.gov 

Web site: www.nrc.gov

NRC ISSUES AN ORDER TO RADIOGRAPHY COMPANY 

FOR INADEQUATE SAFETY PRACTICES 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a confirmatory order to Mistras Holding 

Group documenting the company’s commitments to improve safety practices in radiography 

work. Mistras Holding Group, which operates from multiple locations throughout the country 

including Illinois and Pennsylvania, also does business as CONAM Inspection and Engineering 

Services Quality Services Laboratories, Inc. 

The NRC’s confirmatory order makes the company’s commitments into conditions of its 

license. If these conditions are not met, the company’s NRC license may be terminated; criminal 

or civil charges may be brought against the company; and fines may be levied. 

In January 2007, CONAM reported to the NRC that a radiographer may have been 

overexposed to radiation while performing industrial radiography at a Sunoco refinery in 

Philadelphia, Penn. Industrial radiography involves the use of a sealed radiation source to 

produce x-ray-like images. 

The NRC looked into the circumstances around the event. Inspectors identified five 

apparent violations, such as the radiographer’s failure to secure the sealed source with radioactive 

material in the shielded position; failure to wear a radiation alarm at all times; failure to stop 

radiography when a pocket radiation measuring device showed off-the-scale radiation levels; and 

failure to make sure that the radiation safety officer named in the NRC license performed the 

intended function. A subsequent NRC investigation showed that most of the apparent violations 

were willful or deliberate. 

Even though the radiographer was exposed to radiation as a result of the event, the 

radiation dose received was not in excess of regulatory limits and is not expected to cause 

adverse health effects. The company took corrective actions following the event, such as 

removing the radiographer from radiography work; implementing new procedures to verify that 

the radiation source is properly retracted into a shielded position; and briefing all employees at 

the Pennsylvania facility on the circumstances and causes of the event. 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Region III 

2443 Warrenville Road 

Lisle IL 60532 
The NRC and CONAM addressed the apparent violations through an alternative dispute 

resolution process which involves the use of mediation to reach a conclusion acceptable to both 

parties. 

As part of the agreement reached by the NRC and the company, CONAM committed to: 

increasing the number of audits of its radiographers by 25 percent; revising its audit procedures 

to address the conduct of audits and documentation of results; disseminating lessons learned 

through an online training program; creating a safety hotline for radiographers to report safety 

concerns; and conducting surveys of safety consciousness in the company. 

 

 The confirmatory order can be accessed at: http://www.nrc.gov/aboutnrc/regulatory/enforcement/current.html. Other documents are available through the NRC RIII 

Office of Public Affairs and at the NRC web site: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/webbased.html. 

 

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