In the Matter of Theodore D. Simmons, II; Confirmatory Order (Effective Immediately), 9177-9178 [06-1620]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
cprice-sewell on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 35 / Wednesday, February 22, 2006 / Notices
established. In addition, an untimely
request or petition should address the
factors that the Commission will also
consider, in reviewing untimely
requests or petitions, set forth in 10 CFR
2.309(c)(1)(i) through (viii).
Requests for a hearing and petitions
for leave to intervene should be served
upon Mr. Jay M. Gutierrez at Morgan,
Lewis & Bockius, LLP, 1111
Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC
20004, telephone: 202–739–5466, fax:
202–739–3001, and e-mail
jgutierrez@morganlewis.com; the
General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555–0001 (e-mail address for
filings regarding license transfer cases
only: OGCLT@NRC.gov); and the
Secretary of the Commission, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555–0001, Attention:
Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, in
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302 and
2.305.
The Commission will issue a notice or
order granting or denying a hearing
request or intervention petition,
designating the issues for any hearing
that will be held and designating the
Presiding Officer. A notice granting a
hearing will be published in the Federal
Register and served on the parties to the
hearing.
As an alternative to requests for
hearing and petitions to intervene,
within 30 days from the date of
publication of this notice, persons may
submit written comments regarding the
license transfer application, as provided
for in 10 CFR 2.1305. The Commission
will consider and, if appropriate,
respond to these comments, but such
comments will not otherwise constitute
part of the decisional record. Comments
should be submitted to the Secretary,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555–0001, Attention:
Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff,
and should cite the publication date and
page number of this Federal Register
notice.
For further details with respect to this
action, see the application dated January
23, 2006, available for public inspection
at the Commission’s Public Document
Room (PDR), located at One White Flint
North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555
Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville,
Maryland. Publicly available records
will be accessible electronically from
the Agency wide Documents Access and
Management System’s (ADAMS) Public
Electronic Reading Room on the Internet
at the NRC Web site, https://
www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
Persons who do not have access to
ADAMS or who encounter problems in
accessing the documents located in
VerDate Aug<31>2005
14:35 Feb 21, 2006
Jkt 208001
ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR
Reference staff by telephone at 1–800–
397–4209, 301–415–4737 or by e-mail to
pdr@nrc.gov.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 13th day
of February 2006.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Patrick D. Milano,
Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing
Branch I–1, Division of Operating Reactor
Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 06–1617 Filed 2–21–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[IA 05–041]
In the Matter of Theodore D. Simmons,
II; Confirmatory Order (Effective
Immediately)
I
Theodore D. Simmons, II (Mr.
Simmons) is employed by a contractor
hired to provide various health and
safety services to NASA’s Goddard
Space Flight Center. Mr. Simmons
serves as the Radiation Safety Officer
(RSO) on the NRC license.
II
On January 16, 2003, the NRC Office
of Investigations (OI) initiated an
investigation (OI Case No. 1–2003–011)
at NASA. Based on the evidence
developed during its investigations, OI
did substantiate that Mr. Simmons
deliberately failed to report missing
licensed material as required, and
provided incomplete and inaccurate
information, verbally and in writing, to
the NRC in violation of 10 CFR 30.9(a).
The results of the investigation,
completed on May 25, 2005, were sent
to Mr. Simmons in a letter dated August
18, 2005.
III
Subsequent to the inspection in
December 2002, and after becoming
aware of the details of the apparent
violation, Mr. Simmons undertook a
number of corrective actions to assure
that these events would not recur. These
actions included changing the manner
in which assessments were completed
and source location was verified, and
attendance at a 40-hour Radiation Safety
Officer course in November 2005 which
addressed the issue of communications
and reportability to the NRC.
In response to the NRC’s August 18,
2005, letter, Mr. Simmons requested the
use of Alternative Dispute Resolution
(ADR) to resolve these apparent
PO 00000
Frm 00097
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
9177
violations and pending enforcement
action. ADR is a process in which a
neutral mediator, with no decisionmaking authority, assists the NRC and
the individual to resolve any
disagreements on whether a violation
occurred, the appropriate enforcement
action, and the appropriate corrective
actions. At Mr. Simmons’ request: (1) A
joint Alternative Dispute Resolution
(ADR) mediation session was held at the
NASA facility in Greenbelt, Maryland,
on November 4, 2005, between Mr.
Simmons, NASA, and the NRC; and (2)
an individual ADR session was held in
the Region I Office in King of Prussia,
PA, on December 19, 2005, between Mr.
Simmons and the NRC, at which NASA
participated in portions of the
mediation. These ADR sessions were
mediated by a professional mediator,
arranged through Cornell University’s
Institute of Conflict Management. Based
on the discussions during the ADR
sessions, a settlement agreement was
reached regarding this matter. The
elements of the settlement agreement
are as follows:
1. The NRC determined that
violations of NRC requirements
occurred at NASA when: (a) Contrary to
10 CFR 20.1501, Mr. Simmons failed to
perform a reasonable and necessary
evaluation of information provided to
him in memoranda from a health
physics technician on September 10,
2002, and October 21, 2002, to
determine whether the licensed material
reported, in those memoranda, as
missing at the NASA Goddard Space
Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland,
reached the threshold for reportability
under 10 CFR 20.2201; and (b) contrary
to 10 CFR 30.9 (a) Mr. Simmons
provided inaccurate information to an
NRC inspector during an NRC
inspection on December 18–19, 2002,
when he provided an inspector with an
inventory form used by health physics
technicians to account for sources
indicating all sources were accounted
for, when in fact, sources were not
accounted for at the time.
2. Mr. Simmons agreed that he caused
NASA to violate NRC requirements
when he failed to perform a reasonable
and necessary evaluation, pursuant to
10 CFR 20.1501, of information
provided to him by the health physics
technician, to determine whether the
licensed material reported as missing in
the memoranda identified in Item 1
reached the threshold for reportability
under 10 CFR 20.2201. Mr. Simmons
also agreed that he provided inaccurate
information during the December 18–19,
2002, inspection, as noted in Item 1.
3. The NRC maintained that Mr.
Simmons’ actions were willful, at a
E:\FR\FM\22FEN1.SGM
22FEN1
cprice-sewell on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES
9178
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 35 / Wednesday, February 22, 2006 / Notices
minimum, in careless disregard of NRC
requirements, because Mr. Simmons
had reasonable information that
material was not accounted for, yet
failed to evaluate and take appropriate
action, and he provided information to
the inspector that was inaccurate. Mr.
Simmons contended that his actions
were not willful or in careless disregard,
in part, because he had doubts about the
accuracy of the information, and did not
believe it warranted an immediate
evaluation. The NRC and Mr. Simmons
agreed to disagree on willfulness of his
actions.
4. While Mr. Simmons and the NRC
agreed to disagree on the willfulness of
Mr. Simmons’ actions, Mr. Simmons
and the NRC agreed that Mr. Simmons’
actions caused NASA to be in violation
of NRC requirements, which resulted in
an enforcement action that will be taken
against NASA as part of a separate ADR
agreement between NASA and the NRC.
5. Mr. Simmons, subsequent to the
NRC’s identification of these violations,
took actions to assure that he learned
from these violations and provided the
NRC with assurance that it would not
recur. These actions included
attendance at a 40-hour Radiation Safety
Officer course in November 2005 which
addressed the issue of communications
and reportability to the NRC.
6. During the ADR mediation session,
Mr. Simmons recognized an opportunity
for others in the industry to learn from
his actions which contributed to the
violations set forth in Item 1. Therefore,
Mr. Simmons agreed to take the
following future corrective actions,
namely: (a) Providing a lessons learned
presentation to all NASA Goddard users
of material, as well as to other NASA
Goddard employees willing to attend,
addressing, at a minimum, reporting
requirements, requirements for ensuring
completeness and accuracy of
information, and being forthright with
the NRC in response to questions from
inspectors; and (b) providing a similar
session to employees from other NASA
facilities at a future NASA Occupational
Health Conference in 2006.
7. Mr. Simmons agreed to complete
the additional actions in Item 6 by
August 31, 2006, and send a letter to the
NRC informing the NRC that these
actions are complete. Mr. Simmons
agreed to send this letter to the NRC
within 30 days of completion of all
actions.
8. In light of the actions Mr. Simmons
took as described in Item 5, the actions
Mr. Simmons has committed to take as
described in Items 6 and 7, and the
action that the NRC will take against
NASA for the violations, the NRC agrees
to neither issue a Notice of Violation to
VerDate Aug<31>2005
14:35 Feb 21, 2006
Jkt 208001
Mr. Simmons, nor issue an Order
banning him from NRC-licensed
activities. Rather, the NRC will issue a
letter and Confirmatory Order to Mr.
Simmons confirming the commitments
set forth herein. This letter and the
confirmatory Order will be publically
available in ADAMS, will appear on the
NRC ‘‘Significant Enforcement
Actions—Individuals’’ website for a
period of 1 year, and will be discussed
in a press release announcing the ADR
agreement between NASA and the NRC.
9. Mr. Simmons agreed to issuance of
the letter and Confirmatory Order
confirming this agreement and also
agrees to waive any request for a hearing
regarding this Confirmatory Order.
IV
In light of the actions Mr. Simmons
has taken and agreed to take to correct
the violations and prevent recurrence,
as set forth in Section III above, the NRC
has concluded that its concerns
regarding the violations can be resolved
through the NRC’s confirmation of the
commitments as outlined in this
Confirmatory Order.
I find that Mr. Simmons’
commitments as set forth in Section III
above are acceptable. However, in view
of the foregoing, I have determined that
these commitments shall be confirmed
by this Confirmatory Order. Based on
the above, and Mr. Simmons’ consent,
this Confirmatory Order is immediately
effective upon issuance.
V
Accordingly, pursuant to Sections
103, 161b, 161i, 161o, 182, and 186 of
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as
amended, and the Commission’s
regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR
Parts 20 and 30, it is hereby ordered,
that:
1. Mr. Simmons will: (a) Provide a
lessons learned presentation to all
NASA Goddard users of material, as
well as to other NASA Goddard
employees willing to attend, addressing,
at a minimum, reporting requirements,
requirements for ensuring completeness
and accuracy of information, and being
forthright with the NRC in response to
questions from inspectors; and (b)
provide a similar session to employees
from other NASA facilities at a future
NASA Occupational Health Conference
in 2006.
2. Mr. Simmons will complete these
additional actions by August 31, 2006,
and will send a letter to the NRC
informing the NRC that these actions are
complete. Mr. Simmons will send this
letter to the NRC within 30 days of
completion of all actions.
PO 00000
Frm 00098
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
The Director, Office of Enforcement,
may relax or rescind, in writing, any of
the above conditions upon a showing by
Mr. Simmons of good cause.
VI
Any person adversely affected by this
Confirmatory Order, other than Mr.
Simmons, may request a hearing within
20 days of its issuance. Where good
cause is shown, consideration will be
given to extending the time to request a
hearing. A request for extension of time
must be made in writing to the Director,
Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555, and must include a statement
of good cause for the extension. Any
request for a hearing shall be submitted
to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Chief,
Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff,
Washington, DC 20555. Copies of the
hearing request shall also be sent to the
Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555, to the Assistant
General Counsel for Materials Litigation
and Enforcement, and to the Director of
the Division of Regulatory Improvement
Programs at the same address. Because
of continuing disruptions in delivery of
mail to United States Government
offices, it is requested that answers and
requests for hearing be transmitted to
the Secretary of the Commission either
by means of facsimile transmission to
301–415–1101 or by e-mail to
hearingdocket@nrc.gov and also to the
Office of the General Counsel by means
of facsimile transmission to 301–415–
3725 or e-mail to
OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov. If such a
person requests a hearing, that person
shall set forth with particularity the
manner in which his interest is
adversely affected by this Order and
shall address the criteria set forth in 10
CFR 2.309(d) and (f).
If a hearing is requested by a person
whose interest is adversely affected, the
Commission will issue an Order
designating the time and place of any
hearing. If a hearing is held, the issue to
be considered at such hearing shall be
whether this Confirmatory Order shall
be sustained. An answer or a request for
a hearing shall not stay the effectiveness
date of this order.
Dated this 10th day of February 2006.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Michael Johnson,
Director, Office of Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 06–1620 Filed 2–21–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
E:\FR\FM\22FEN1.SGM
22FEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 22, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9177-9178]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-1620]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[IA 05-041]
In the Matter of Theodore D. Simmons, II; Confirmatory Order
(Effective Immediately)
I
Theodore D. Simmons, II (Mr. Simmons) is employed by a contractor
hired to provide various health and safety services to NASA's Goddard
Space Flight Center. Mr. Simmons serves as the Radiation Safety Officer
(RSO) on the NRC license.
II
On January 16, 2003, the NRC Office of Investigations (OI)
initiated an investigation (OI Case No. 1-2003-011) at NASA. Based on
the evidence developed during its investigations, OI did substantiate
that Mr. Simmons deliberately failed to report missing licensed
material as required, and provided incomplete and inaccurate
information, verbally and in writing, to the NRC in violation of 10 CFR
30.9(a). The results of the investigation, completed on May 25, 2005,
were sent to Mr. Simmons in a letter dated August 18, 2005.
III
Subsequent to the inspection in December 2002, and after becoming
aware of the details of the apparent violation, Mr. Simmons undertook a
number of corrective actions to assure that these events would not
recur. These actions included changing the manner in which assessments
were completed and source location was verified, and attendance at a
40-hour Radiation Safety Officer course in November 2005 which
addressed the issue of communications and reportability to the NRC.
In response to the NRC's August 18, 2005, letter, Mr. Simmons
requested the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to resolve
these apparent violations and pending enforcement action. ADR is a
process in which a neutral mediator, with no decision-making authority,
assists the NRC and the individual to resolve any disagreements on
whether a violation occurred, the appropriate enforcement action, and
the appropriate corrective actions. At Mr. Simmons' request: (1) A
joint Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mediation session was held
at the NASA facility in Greenbelt, Maryland, on November 4, 2005,
between Mr. Simmons, NASA, and the NRC; and (2) an individual ADR
session was held in the Region I Office in King of Prussia, PA, on
December 19, 2005, between Mr. Simmons and the NRC, at which NASA
participated in portions of the mediation. These ADR sessions were
mediated by a professional mediator, arranged through Cornell
University's Institute of Conflict Management. Based on the discussions
during the ADR sessions, a settlement agreement was reached regarding
this matter. The elements of the settlement agreement are as follows:
1. The NRC determined that violations of NRC requirements occurred
at NASA when: (a) Contrary to 10 CFR 20.1501, Mr. Simmons failed to
perform a reasonable and necessary evaluation of information provided
to him in memoranda from a health physics technician on September 10,
2002, and October 21, 2002, to determine whether the licensed material
reported, in those memoranda, as missing at the NASA Goddard Space
Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, reached the threshold for
reportability under 10 CFR 20.2201; and (b) contrary to 10 CFR 30.9 (a)
Mr. Simmons provided inaccurate information to an NRC inspector during
an NRC inspection on December 18-19, 2002, when he provided an
inspector with an inventory form used by health physics technicians to
account for sources indicating all sources were accounted for, when in
fact, sources were not accounted for at the time.
2. Mr. Simmons agreed that he caused NASA to violate NRC
requirements when he failed to perform a reasonable and necessary
evaluation, pursuant to 10 CFR 20.1501, of information provided to him
by the health physics technician, to determine whether the licensed
material reported as missing in the memoranda identified in Item 1
reached the threshold for reportability under 10 CFR 20.2201. Mr.
Simmons also agreed that he provided inaccurate information during the
December 18-19, 2002, inspection, as noted in Item 1.
3. The NRC maintained that Mr. Simmons' actions were willful, at a
[[Page 9178]]
minimum, in careless disregard of NRC requirements, because Mr. Simmons
had reasonable information that material was not accounted for, yet
failed to evaluate and take appropriate action, and he provided
information to the inspector that was inaccurate. Mr. Simmons contended
that his actions were not willful or in careless disregard, in part,
because he had doubts about the accuracy of the information, and did
not believe it warranted an immediate evaluation. The NRC and Mr.
Simmons agreed to disagree on willfulness of his actions.
4. While Mr. Simmons and the NRC agreed to disagree on the
willfulness of Mr. Simmons' actions, Mr. Simmons and the NRC agreed
that Mr. Simmons' actions caused NASA to be in violation of NRC
requirements, which resulted in an enforcement action that will be
taken against NASA as part of a separate ADR agreement between NASA and
the NRC.
5. Mr. Simmons, subsequent to the NRC's identification of these
violations, took actions to assure that he learned from these
violations and provided the NRC with assurance that it would not recur.
These actions included attendance at a 40-hour Radiation Safety Officer
course in November 2005 which addressed the issue of communications and
reportability to the NRC.
6. During the ADR mediation session, Mr. Simmons recognized an
opportunity for others in the industry to learn from his actions which
contributed to the violations set forth in Item 1. Therefore, Mr.
Simmons agreed to take the following future corrective actions, namely:
(a) Providing a lessons learned presentation to all NASA Goddard users
of material, as well as to other NASA Goddard employees willing to
attend, addressing, at a minimum, reporting requirements, requirements
for ensuring completeness and accuracy of information, and being
forthright with the NRC in response to questions from inspectors; and
(b) providing a similar session to employees from other NASA facilities
at a future NASA Occupational Health Conference in 2006.
7. Mr. Simmons agreed to complete the additional actions in Item 6
by August 31, 2006, and send a letter to the NRC informing the NRC that
these actions are complete. Mr. Simmons agreed to send this letter to
the NRC within 30 days of completion of all actions.
8. In light of the actions Mr. Simmons took as described in Item 5,
the actions Mr. Simmons has committed to take as described in Items 6
and 7, and the action that the NRC will take against NASA for the
violations, the NRC agrees to neither issue a Notice of Violation to
Mr. Simmons, nor issue an Order banning him from NRC-licensed
activities. Rather, the NRC will issue a letter and Confirmatory Order
to Mr. Simmons confirming the commitments set forth herein. This letter
and the confirmatory Order will be publically available in ADAMS, will
appear on the NRC ``Significant Enforcement Actions--Individuals''
website for a period of 1 year, and will be discussed in a press
release announcing the ADR agreement between NASA and the NRC.
9. Mr. Simmons agreed to issuance of the letter and Confirmatory
Order confirming this agreement and also agrees to waive any request
for a hearing regarding this Confirmatory Order.
IV
In light of the actions Mr. Simmons has taken and agreed to take to
correct the violations and prevent recurrence, as set forth in Section
III above, the NRC has concluded that its concerns regarding the
violations can be resolved through the NRC's confirmation of the
commitments as outlined in this Confirmatory Order.
I find that Mr. Simmons' commitments as set forth in Section III
above are acceptable. However, in view of the foregoing, I have
determined that these commitments shall be confirmed by this
Confirmatory Order. Based on the above, and Mr. Simmons' consent, this
Confirmatory Order is immediately effective upon issuance.
V
Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 103, 161b, 161i, 161o, 182, and
186 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commission's
regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR Parts 20 and 30, it is hereby
ordered, that:
1. Mr. Simmons will: (a) Provide a lessons learned presentation to
all NASA Goddard users of material, as well as to other NASA Goddard
employees willing to attend, addressing, at a minimum, reporting
requirements, requirements for ensuring completeness and accuracy of
information, and being forthright with the NRC in response to questions
from inspectors; and (b) provide a similar session to employees from
other NASA facilities at a future NASA Occupational Health Conference
in 2006.
2. Mr. Simmons will complete these additional actions by August 31,
2006, and will send a letter to the NRC informing the NRC that these
actions are complete. Mr. Simmons will send this letter to the NRC
within 30 days of completion of all actions.
The Director, Office of Enforcement, may relax or rescind, in
writing, any of the above conditions upon a showing by Mr. Simmons of
good cause.
VI
Any person adversely affected by this Confirmatory Order, other
than Mr. Simmons, may request a hearing within 20 days of its issuance.
Where good cause is shown, consideration will be given to extending the
time to request a hearing. A request for extension of time must be made
in writing to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, and must include a
statement of good cause for the extension. Any request for a hearing
shall be submitted to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, ATTN: Chief, Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff,
Washington, DC 20555. Copies of the hearing request shall also be sent
to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555, to the Assistant General Counsel for
Materials Litigation and Enforcement, and to the Director of the
Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs at the same address.
Because of continuing disruptions in delivery of mail to United States
Government offices, it is requested that answers and requests for
hearing be transmitted to the Secretary of the Commission either by
means of facsimile transmission to 301-415-1101 or by e-mail to
hearingdocket@nrc.gov and also to the Office of the General Counsel by
means of facsimile transmission to 301-415-3725 or e-mail to
OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov. If such a person requests a hearing, that person
shall set forth with particularity the manner in which his interest is
adversely affected by this Order and shall address the criteria set
forth in 10 CFR 2.309(d) and (f).
If a hearing is requested by a person whose interest is adversely
affected, the Commission will issue an Order designating the time and
place of any hearing. If a hearing is held, the issue to be considered
at such hearing shall be whether this Confirmatory Order shall be
sustained. An answer or a request for a hearing shall not stay the
effectiveness date of this order.
Dated this 10th day of February 2006.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Michael Johnson,
Director, Office of Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 06-1620 Filed 2-21-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
