[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]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-M
