Code of Maine Rules › 10 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES › 144 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES - GENERAL › Chapter 220 - Rules Relating to Radiation Protection › Part B - ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS, PROCEDURES, AND CIVIL PENALTIES › Section 144-220-B-9 - Escalation of Enforcement Sanctions

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
A. The
				  Agency considers violations of Severity Levels I, II, or III to be serious. If
				  serious violations occur, the Agency will, where necessary, issue orders in
				  conjunction with civil penalties to achieve immediate corrective actions and to
				  deter further recurrence of serious violations. The Agency carefully considers
				  the circumstances of each case in selecting and applying the sanction(s)
				  appropriate to the case in accordance with the criteria described in sections
				  5, 6, 7, and 8 of this Part.
B.
				  Examples of enforcement actions that could be taken for similar Severity Level
				  I, II or III violations are set forth in Table 2. The actual progression to be
				  used in a particular case will depend on the circumstances. However,
				  enforcement sanctions will normally escalate for recurring similar
				  violations.
C. Normally, the
				  progression of enforcement actions for similar violations will be based on
				  violations under a single license. When more than one facility is covered by a
				  single license, the normal progression will be based on similar violations at
				  an individual facility and not on similar violations under the same license.
				  However, it should be noted that under some circumstances, e.g., where there is
				  common control over some facet of facility operations, similar violations may
				  be charged even though the second violation occurred at a different facility or
				  under a different license. For example, a health physics violation at division
				  1 of a dual unit hospital that repeats an earlier violation of division 2 might
				  be considered similar.
TABLE 1A - Base Civil Penalties
HealthPhysics,
Operations, EP,
and Miscellaneous
Transportation
Greater Than
Type A
								  Quantity1
Type A Quantity
or less2
a. Industrial users of
								  material3
$10,000
$5,000
$2,000
b. Waste disposal licensees
$10,000
$5,000
$2,000
c. Academic or medical
								  institutions4
$5,000
$2,500
$1,000
d. Other material licenses
$2,000
$2,500
$1,000
e. X-ray facilities
$1,000
1 Includes quantities requiring
					 Type B packaging.
2 Includes low specific activity
					 waste, low level waste, Type A packages and excepted quantities
and articles.
3 Includes industrial
					 radiographers, nuclear pharmacies, and other industrial users.
4 This applies to nonprofit
					 institutions not otherwise categorized under section a through e in this
table .
TABLE 1B - Base Civil Penalties
Severity Level
Base Civil
								  Penalty1
I
100%
II
80%
III
50%
IV
15%
V
5%
1 Percent of amount listed in
					 able 1A.
TABLE 2 - Examples Of Progressions Of Escalated
					 Enforcement Actions For Similar Violations In The
Same Activity Area Under The Same License
Severity of Violation
Number of similar violations from the date of the
								  last
inspection or within the previous two
								  years
(whichever period is greater)
1ST
2ND
3RD
I
a+b
a+b+c
d
II
a
a+b
a+b+c
III
----
a
a+b
a. Civil
				  penalty.
b. Suspension of affected
				  operations until the Radiation Control Program Manager is satisfied that there
				  is reasonable assurance that the licensee can operate in compliance with the
				  applicable requirements or modification of the license, as
				  appropriate.
c. Show cause for
				  modification or revocation of the license, as appropriate.
d. Further action, as
				  appropriate.