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NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION II 61 Forsyth Street, Suite 23T85, Atlanta, GA 30303

NRC BARS FORMER PUERTO RICO COMPANY EMPLOYEES FROM NRC-LICENSED ACTIVITIES AND CITES COMPANY

The U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued an order to the former president and radiation safety officer of NDT Services, Inc. (NDTS) of Caguas, Puerto Rico, prohibiting involvement in NRC-licensed activities for five years. The NRC has also issued orders to two former NDTS senior radiographers prohibiting their involvement in NRC-licensed activities for one year. The orders were based on deliberate violations of NRC requirements by the three employees.

The NRC is also citing the company for these former company employees failing to comply with NRC regulations numerous times between 1994 and 1999. Many of those failures involved deliberate actions and the NRC is issuing the highest severity level enforcement action the agency can issue against NDTS. The company had been licensed to use radioactive sources in mobile radiography equipment at sites in Puerto Rico, but NDTS is now out of business, and has transferred its licensed material. With this NRC enforcement action, the company's NRC license is also terminated.

While the company was still operating, the NRC found that NDTS radiation safety officers failed to adequately oversee licensed activities, which resulted in NDTS employees failing to meet NRC regulations by creating excessive radiation levels in unrestricted areas, failing to do proper surveys and post radiation areas, failing to control access to areas, permitting unqualified employees to conduct radiographic operations without direct supervision, failing to report an incident and providing inaccurate information to the NRC regarding that incident.

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