[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 22, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9869-9870]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-4269]



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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 030-31252; License No. 35-26996-01; EA 95-018]


Blackhawk Engineering, Inc., and Maria Hollingsworth (dba 
Blackhawk Engineering, Inc.) Tulsa, OK; Order to Cease and Desist Use 
and Possession of Regulated Byproduct Material

I

    Blackhawk Engineering, Inc. (Blackhawk) was issued Byproduct 
Material License 35-26996-01 by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC 
or Commission) on August 22, 1989. The license authorized the 
possession and use of cesium-137 and americium-241 in gauges, in 
accordance with the conditions specified therein. The license expired 
on August 31, 1994, and the licensee did not submit a renewal 
application 30 days prior to the expiration date, as required by 10 CFR 
30.37. Furthermore, the NRC has determined that Blackhawk Engineering, 
Inc., has not been recognized as a corporation in the state of Oklahoma 
since February 20, 1987, when the State of Oklahoma suspended 
Blackhawk's corporate status. Thus, although Blackhawk has been doing 
business as Blackhawk Engineering, Inc., it was not a legal corporation 
recognized by the State of Oklahoma or the NRC. The president of 
Blackhawk is Maria Hollingsworth.

II

    On August 30, 1994, an NRC Region IV employee placed a phone call 
to Maria Hollingsworth, the president of Blackhawk, to discuss the 
August 31, 1994 license expiration. Records of that phone call indicate 
that Ms. Hollingsworth said she had received a renewal package from NRC 
and that she planned to send a renewal application within 30 days. No 
renewal application was received. Ms. Hollingsworth has stated in a 
recent interview with an NRC investigator on January 12, 1995, that she 
had apparently confused payment of an NRC annual fee with license 
renewal at the time of the August 1994 call, and stated ``I had no idea 
I had to submit another application.''
    On November 3, 1994, an NRC Region IV employee again called Ms. 
Hollingsworth and discussed the fact that Blackhawk's NRC license had 
expired and, therefore, in accordance with 10 CFR 30.36(c)(1)(i), 
Blackhawk was no longer authorized to use NRC-regulated gauges listed 
on the license, i.e., gauges containing sealed sources of radioactive 
material. During this call, the NRC instructed Ms. Hollingsworth to 
secure these gauges and maintain them in storage, and confirmed her 
[[Page 9870]] commitment to submit a new license application. These 
commitments were confirmed by NRC in a November 8, 1994 Confirmatory 
Action Letter (CAL) to Ms. Hollingsworth. The CAL described the 
commitments that she had made, including her commitment to ``Ensure 
that licensed material is not used until this matter is resolved and a 
specific license authorizing possession and use of byproduct material 
is issued from this office.'' Her receipt of the CAL was confirmed on 
November 23, 1994, during another telephone call from NRC Region IV. On 
December 19, 1994, NRC Region IV conducted an inspection of Blackhawk.
    In January 1995, the NRC Office of Investigations began an 
investigation based on concerns about the accuracy of Ms. 
Hollingsworth's statements to NRC personnel during the December 19, 
1994 inspection. Ms. Hollingsworth was interviewed by an NRC 
investigator and, in a signed, sworn statement on January 12, 1995, she 
admitted that she understood in November 1994 that she should no longer 
use the gauges; admitted that she had used gauges containing byproduct 
material up until December 22, 1994, to complete a construction job; 
and admitted that she had not been truthful when she told the NRC 
inspector, during the December 19, 1994 inspection, that she had not 
used any gauges since 1992. She stated ``I needed to get the job done 
and I thought by not telling * * * the truth I could go ahead and get 
the job done.''

III

    Based on the above, Maria Hollingsworth, doing business as 
Blackhawk Engineering, Inc., has willfully violated NRC requirements by 
deliberately using NRC-regulated material in violation of 10 CFR 
30.36(c)(1)(i), and by deliberately making false statements to NRC 
personnel in violation of 10 CFR 30.9. These deliberate violations also 
constitute a violation of 10 CFR 30.10, which prohibits deliberate 
misconduct. The NRC must be able to rely on the Licensee and its 
employees to comply with NRC requirements, including the requirement to 
provide information that is complete and accurate in all material 
respects. By her actions, Ms. Hollingsworth has demonstrated that she 
is either unwilling or unable to comply with Commission requirements 
and cannot be trusted to provide complete and accurate information to 
the Commission. Furthermore, Ms. Hollingsworth is currently in 
possession of NRC-regulated byproduct material without a valid NRC 
license.
    Consequently, I lack the requisite reasonable assurance that the 
health and safety of the public will be protected. Therefore, the 
public health, safety, and interest require that Blackhawk Engineering, 
Inc. and Maria Hollingsworth, doing business as Blackhawk Engineering, 
Inc., be required to cease and desist unauthorized possession of 
regulated byproduct material and to provide certification to the NRC 
that all regulated byproduct material has been transferred to 
authorized recipients.

IV

    Accordingly, pursuant to sections 81, 161b, 161c, 161i, and 161o of 
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commission's 
regulations in 10 CFR parts 20 and 30, it is hereby ordered that 
Blackhawk Engineering, Inc. and Maria Hollingsworth, doing business as 
Blackhawk Engineering, Inc., shall:
    A. Immediately cease and desist from any further use of byproduct 
material now in their possession, with the exception that sealed 
source(s) containing cesium-137 or americium-241 shall be tested for 
leakage by a person authorized to perform the test prior to the 
transfer of the source(s) to another person or entity if a leak test 
has not been performed within the last six months prior to transfer.
    B. Maintain safe control over the byproduct material, as required 
by 10 CFR part 20, by keeping the material in locked storage and not 
allowing any person access to the material, except for purposes of 
assuring the material's continued safe storage, until the material is 
transferred to a person authorized to receive and possess the material 
in accordance with the provisions of this Order and the Commission's 
regulations.
    C. Within 30 days of the date of this Order, transfer all byproduct 
material to a person authorized to receive and possess it.
    D. At least two working days prior to the transfer of the byproduct 
material, notify Ms. Linda Howell, Region IV, by telephone (817-860-
8213) so that the NRC may, if it elects, observe the transfer of the 
material to the authorized recipient.
    E. Within seven days following completion of the transfer, provide 
to the Regional Administrator, Region IV, in writing, under oath or 
affirmation: (1) Confirmation, on NRC Form 314, that the byproduct 
material has been transferred; (2) the last date that the byproduct 
material was used; (3) a copy of the leak test performed prior to 
transfer; (4) a copy of the survey performed in accordance with 10 CFR 
30.36(c)(1)(v); and (5) a copy of the certification from the authorized 
recipient that the source has been received.
    Copies of the response to this Order shall be sent to the Regional 
Administrator, Region IV, 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400, Arlington, 
Texas 76011, and to the Assistant General Counsel for Hearings and 
Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 
20555.
    After reviewing the response, the NRC will determine whether 
further action is necessary to ensure compliance with NRC requirements.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 14th day of February 1995.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Hugh L. Thompson, Jr.,
Deputy Executive Director for Nuclear Materials Safety, Safeguards, and 
Operations Support.
[FR Doc. 95-4269 Filed 2-21-95; 8:45 am]
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