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	NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION III 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle IL 60532
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		Angela Greenman (630) 829-9662/e-mail: opa3@nrc.gov

RIII-99-46

October 25, 1999

NRC Proposes $8,800 Fine For Illinois Company
for Violations Involving Radiography Operations

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has proposed an $8,800 fine against Professional Service Industries (PSI) Inc. of Lombard, Ill., for failing to adhere to agency safety regulations during the performance of radiography work.

Based on an investigation by the NRC's Office of Investigations (OI) and information gathered during a closed Predecisional Enforcement Conference on August 24, the NRC has determined that PSI employees -- despite receiving training regarding NRC requirements -- committed apparent violations at a temporary job site in Pocatello, Idaho, on September 15, 1998. The apparent violations that are the subject of the fine include a failure to have at least two qualified individuals observing operations and a failure to supervise a radiography assistant while work was being done.

In a related action, the NRC has issued an order to the PSI radiographer involved with the violations. The order bars him from taking part in NRC-licensed activities for one year. The order also requires that, for one additional year, the radiographer notify the NRC within 20 days of his acceptance of each employment offer involving NRC-licensed activities. The order is effectively immediately.

The NRC has also issued a Notice of Violation to the radiography assistant who took part in the activities.

During the evening of September 14, 1998, and the early morning of September 15, 1998, the radiographer and the assistant used a radiography camera containing a sealed source of about 60 curies of cobalt-60 to complete panoramic radiography testing of a large steel tank at the Idaho metal products plant. The apparent violations were identified during an NRC OI follow-up investigation of the operation.

Carl J. Paperiello, the NRC's deputy executive director for materials, research and state programs, wrote in a letter to PSI notifying it of the enforcement action that "based on all of the available evidence, the NRC, in conjunction with OI, concludes that the individuals deliberately violated NRC requirements during and after the third and fourth radiographic shots because they knew or should have known that those actions were violations of NRC requirements. The NRC is particularly concerned about the violations involving the deliberate failure to supervise the assistant radiographer and to follow the two-person rule."

In response to the incident, PSI has implemented several corrective actions, including refresher training for all radiographers and assistants in the company's Salt Lake City, Utah, office, where the team that performed the Idaho work was based; a complete corporate-level review and investigation of the circumstances surrounding the apparent violations; and the creation of a radiography assistant refresher exam.

PSI has 30 days to contest all or part of the enforcement action.

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