DOE Cites Argonne LabSubcontractor for Nuclear Safety Violations

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Note:

Small Tool Monitor wouldn't have worked here!
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Department of Energy Cites Argonne LabSubcontractor for Nuclear 
Safety Violations
  
WASHINGTON, April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The Department of Energy this 
week cited the MOTA Corp. of Columbia, S.C., for violating nuclear 
safety requirements at the department's Argonne National Laboratory 
near Chicago, Ill.  MOTA Corp. is a subcontractor of the University 
of Chicago, which operates the Argonne laboratory for the department. 
 The violation involved a failure to adhere to procedures for the 
handling and management of materials in a controlled area of the 
site. 

"All subcontractors on Department of Energy sites are required to 
follow the safety requirements established for that site, and we hold 
them just as accountable for nuclear safety as we do our operating 
contractors," said Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety and 
Health, Dr. David Michaels. "The safety requirements are designed to 
protect workers and the public, and it is essential that they are 
followed." 

The Preliminary Notice of Violation citing MOTA Corp. for violating 
nuclear safety requirements describes a March 12, 2000 incident in 
which a MOTA project manager took more than 1,300 pounds of aluminum 
home in his personal vehicle without permission and without 
monitoring for potential contamination.  The half-inch wide, 3-inch 
thick aluminum strips ranging from 2 to 8 feet in length were 
originally part of the exterior shell of an accelerator that was 
being dismantled.  They were stored in a controlled area at the lab, 
where the accelerator formerly operated. 

An Argonne National Laboratory building manager quickly notified 
security when he noticed a pile of aluminum strips that had been 
placed near a dock area; it is alleged that an employee subsequently 
put the aluminum in his vehicle and drove home.  The building 
manager's response allowed for a quick recovery and survey of the 
material. 

Energy Department procedures require radiation protection personnel 
to test material that may be contaminated before it can be moved off 
the premises.  This requirement is designed to prevent unplanned or 
unauthorized removal of contaminated material to places where it 
could pose a threat to the public.  In this instance, the material 
was determined not to be contaminated only after radiation protection 
personnel tested it while it was still in the project manager's 
vehicle at his home. 

The Department of Energy has categorized this a "Level II" safety 
violation on a three-step scale on which Level I violations pose the 
greatest potential impact to worker or public safety.  Although there 
were no consequences to worker or public safety in this instance, the 
project manager ignored Energy Department and Argonne National 
Laboratory safety requirements when he took the material from the lab 
to his residence without permission and without first having 
radiation protection personnel confirm it was not contaminated. 

The Preliminary Notice of Violation is issued under the Price-
Anderson Act, which allows the Department of Energy to fine 
contractors for nuclear safety violations but exempts nuclear 
accelerator activities and not-for-profit institutions and their 
subcontractors.  Argonne National Laboratory and its nuclear 
accelerators are operated by the University of Chicago, a not-for-
profit institution.  In the absence of the legal exemption, the 
Department of Energy would have assessed a civil penalty of $55,000 
for this nuclear safety violation. 

The Preliminary Notice of Violation requires MOTA Corp. to take 
appropriate and effective corrective actions.  The employee no longer 
has access to the Department of Energy site, and he has been 
suspended from his job pending further investigation of the incident. 
 The department will validate MOTA Corp.'s response to the notice and 
determine whether further enforcement action is required. 

The notice will become final in 30 days unless MOTA Corp. provides 
sufficient justification and information to rebut the findings of the 
enforcement action. 

A copy of the violation is available on the Internet at: 
http://tis.eh.doe.gov/enforce. 

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Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
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