WASHINGTON–The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a $7,000 civil penalty to Acuren USA for violations of NRC regulations related to its industrial radiographic operations at a facility in Kenai, Alaska. The company is licensed to use radioactive materials in devices for making images of pipe welds.
Inspectors walking around the outside of the facility during an unannounced inspection on April 10, 2014, observed high readings on their radiation survey meters in an area without boundaries or physical controls to prevent entry by the public during radiography operations.
An initial dose estimate performed by the inspectors indicated that had a member of the public been standing next to the building during the time the radiography operations were conducted on that day, they could have been exposed to radiation in excess of NRC annual limits (100 millirem). In addition, the inspectors were concerned that over the course of a year, members of the public employed in a nearby office had the potential to receive a dose in excess of NRC annual limits. The NRC determined that no members of the public had received radiation exposures as a result of the company’s failure to establish required controls. The company has taken numerous corrective actions designed to ensure safe operations at the Kenai facility.
NRC staff met with company officials May 12 to discuss results of the NRC inspection before determining that seven violations of NRC regulations had occurred, including two that were willful. The violations were identified in an NRC inspection report issued March 24.
