FIRM IN INDIANA, PA., TO PAY $17,000 FINE, MAKE CHANGES

UNDER SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT WITH NRC

Superior Well Services, Ltd., of Indiana, Pa., has agreed to implement a broad range of 

corrective actions related to the use and transportation of radioactive materials and to pay a 

$17,000 fine under an agreement reached with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The settlement with the company was reached under the NRC’s Alternate Dispute 

Resolution (ADR) process, which was initiated at the request of Superior Well Services to 

address several violations of NRC regulations. (Under ADR, a trained neutral mediator works 

with the parties to help them reach resolution.) An ADR mediation session was held on Jan. 4 at 

the NRC Region I Office in King of Prussia, Pa., during which a preliminary settlement was 

reached. That agreement has now been finalized.

On Oct. 22, 2010, the NRC announced that it was proposing a $34,000 fine for Superior 

Well Services for the violations. In response, the company requested the use of the ADR process 

to resolve the differences it had with the NRC regarding the enforcement action.

As part of the settlement agreement reached during the Jan. 4th ADR session, the 

company has agreed to take a number of actions, in addition to several already implemented. 

These include: provide presentations at several professional and industry forums that discuss an 

event involving the temporary loss of radioactive sources which occurred on Sept. 20. 2008, 

including the firm’s lessons learned and corrective actions; submit an article discussing the 

event, lessons learned and corrective actions for consideration for use in several professional and 

industry publications; modify the company’s annual radiation training to emphasize that 

regulations and license conditions must be properly followed; and conduct enhanced audits of 

completed radiological surveys. The company has also taken action to enhance the corporate 

safety culture, including the implementation of anonymous employee safety concern feedback 

programs.

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs, Region I 

475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406

Site: http://www.nrc.gov

Blog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov

No. I-11-001

Contact: Diane Screnci (610) 337-5330

 Neil Sheehan (610) 337-5331

February 10, 2011

Email: OPA1.RESOURCE@nrc.gov
Superior Well Services has agreed to complete these actions within 90 days of the 

issuance of the Confirmatory Order containing these commitments, and to send the NRC a letter 

documenting completion of the actions within 30 days after they are done.

In recognition of these actions, as well as the corrective actions already taken by the 

company, the NRC has agreed to reduce the amount of the civil penalty to $17,000.

The violations by Superior Well Services were identified by the NRC during an 

inspection conducted during the period of July 23, 2009 to July 22, 2010, as well as an 

investigation by the agency’s Office of Investigations during the same period. Three of the 

violations stem from an event on Sept. 20, 2008, in which two sealed radioactive sources used 

for well logging – an oil and gas exploration technique – fell off a company truck while being 

transported.

One of the violations involved a failure to properly secure the packages containing the 

licensed radioactive material from shifting when the vehicle was in motion. As a result, when the 

truck reportedly hit a large pothole on Interstate 79 in West Virginia, the weld securing the 

source plate to the vehicle broke, allowing the radioactive sources to fall off and consequently to 

be left unattended by the side of a public highway. The second violation involved a failure to 

control and maintain constant surveillance of the sources while they were on the highway, which 

is an unrestricted area. The sources remained unattended for approximately 90 minutes until 

Superior Well Services personnel located and retrieved the sources. The third violation involved 

the company’s failure to immediately report the event to the NRC, as required. The NRC 

inspection and investigation found that company employees who were aware of the event did not 

recognize the need to file such a report, leading to Superior Well Services not notifying the NRC 

until July 23, 2009.

The other two violations cited by the NRC pertained to a failure by certain Superior Well 

Services employees to conduct required radiological surveys of vehicles transporting licensed 

radioactive materials and the creation, by the employees, of records indicating the surveys had 

been performed when, in fact, the employees knew they had not. Specifically, certain former 

Superior Well Services employees told the NRC that on numerous occasions they did not 

perform these surveys but instead completed the associated forms by copying data from 

previously completed forms.

A copy of the enforcement action will be posted on the NRC web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/enforcement/actions.

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