Re: Review of Internal Company(Licensee)Audits by A Regulatory

["Brewer, Ronald K.(RBREWER)" <RBREWER@apsc.com>]

An NRC inspector has the right to see ANY record, required by 
regulation/license or not, which has a bearing on licensed activities. 
 Failure to disclose (i.e. withholding) pertinent information from the 
regulator can get you into another realm of regulatory action entirely.  You 
don't want to go there.

The question is, how does the inspector know to ask for a particular record? 
 One of a couple ways.  1)  The record (s) is required by regulation/license 
condition.  2)  The record is required as part of your RP program/procedural 
requirement (i.e. self reporting/problem resolution management records, 
periodic audits/walkdowns, external audits, etc.).  3)  The record is eluded 
to in a record specified in 1 or 2 above.

Otherwise, the inspector would not know to ask for the record, and the 
question is moot.  Note that proprietary information is not excluded, you 
must however inform the inspector that the information is proprietary and 
mark it such.

R.K. Brewer
Health Physicist
 ----------
From: James G. Barnes
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: Re: Review of Internal Company(Licensee)Audits by A Regulatory
Date: Wednesday, April 17, 1996 1:51PM

Ms. Hamrick's reply reflects my understanding of the regulations.  It should
be
noted, however, that NRC and Agreement State regulations are supportive of
"self-identified" violations, so one is encouraged to root out any
programmatic
faults, note them in an audit process, and address them in a timely manner.
By
doing so, one reduces the severity of a potential violation.

Other regulatory agencies (such as EPA) do not take this approach, thus
self-identifying a violation is tantamount to putting one's head in a noose
and
inviting the agency to kick the ladder out.  This creates a problem, as it 
is
tantamount to self-incrimination.  I believe that this issue is being
adjudicated at the present in several court cases(???).

I have generally opened any file an NRC or State Radiological Regulator 
wants
to see, as long as the inspector could demonstrate that his agency had
jurisdiction in the subject matter of the file material.


Jim Barnes, CHP
RSO
Rocketdyne Divison; Rockwell Aerospace

=========================================
> In a message dated 96-04-17 12:13:35 EDT, Ashok Dhar wrote:
>
> > Can a NRC or an Agreement State Inspector DEMAND to see your internal
> > Radiation Safety AUDITS conducted by your Company Staff ?
> >
> >Some of these audits may be conducted for Annual Rad Safety audits for 
Part
> >20 compliance
> >and others for compliance with license conditions (e.g.; Quarterly 
Audits)
> >and/or company SOPs.
>
> Check 10 CFR 19.14(a):  Each licensee shall afford to the Commission at 
all
> reasonable times opportunity to inspect materials, activities, facilities,
> premises, and records pursuant to the regulations in this chapter.
>
> Most Agreement States will have similar language somewhere in their
> regulations.  If the record, of survey, audit, recordable incident, etc. 
is
> required by regulation and/or license condition to be maintained, the
> inspector shall be given the opportunity to inspect it.
>
> That's my understanding of the matter.
>
> Barbara L. Hamrick
> Los Angeles County - Radiation Management
> BLHamrick@aol.com
>