Order Prohibiting Involvement in NRC-Licensed Activities; In the Matter of Mr. Joseph Quintanilla, 49835-49837 [2012-20230]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 160 (Friday, August 17, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49835-49837]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-20230]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2012-0194; IA-12-029]


 Order Prohibiting Involvement in NRC-Licensed Activities; In the 
Matter of Mr. Joseph Quintanilla

I

    Mr. Joseph Quintanilla is a radiographer who was formerly employed 
by Quality Inspection and Testing (QIT or Licensee), a radiography 
company whose corporate offices are located in New Iberia, Louisiana. 
QIT holds an Agreement State license issued by the State of Louisiana 
(L-11238-L01) and was operating under a general license issued pursuant 
to 10 CFR 150.20 at a temporary jobsite near Rock Springs, Wyoming, on 
October 27, 2010.

II

    On October 27, 2010, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 
conducted a safety and security inspection of the use of byproduct 
material for industrial radiographic operations conducted under QIT's 
general license issued pursuant to 10 CFR 150.20. When approaching 
QIT's radiography truck, the inspector observed the radiography camera 
outside the truck (unsecured) with both the radiographer (Mr. 
Quintanilla) and the assistant radiographer inside the truck; thus 
neither man was maintaining surveillance over the camera and the camera 
was not secured. When Mr. Quintanilla and the assistant radiographer 
emerged from the darkroom on the truck, about 2 minutes later, neither 
individual was wearing any personnel monitoring equipment (film badge, 
pocket dosimeter or alarm ratemeter). Mr. Quintanilla stated he forgot 
to wear his personnel monitoring equipment while conducting radiography 
but that his dosimetry was in the truck. The inspector observed Mr. 
Quintanilla retrieve all three of his required personnel monitoring 
devices. During a conference call with QIT managers in January 2011, 
QIT informed the NRC that Mr. Quintanilla told QIT that the camera was 
left unattended for only a few seconds after the wind blew the door to 
the darkroom closed (both Mr. Quintanilla and the assistant 
radiographer were inside the darkroom). This conflicted with the 
inspector's observations that both men were in the darkroom for about 2 
minutes before emerging. As a result of this inspection, the NRC's 
Office of Investigation (OI), Region IV initiated an investigation (OI 
Report 04-2011-031) to determine the facts and circumstances 
surrounding the inspection and whether Mr. Quintanilla provided 
inaccurate information to QIT.
    In his OI interview, Mr. Quintanilla stated that the camera was 
unattended for about 5 minutes, and Mr. Quintanilla denied providing 
information to QIT that the camera was only unattended for a few 
seconds because the wind blew the door shut. Mr. Quintanilla stated he 
asked the assistant radiographer to leave the darkroom and to watch the 
radiography camera, but the assistant did not go and Mr. Quintanilla 
did not ensure that the assistant went. Mr. Quintanilla also admitted 
to knowingly conducting radiographic operations without wearing his 
film badge, but he claimed that he was wearing his pocket ion chamber 
and alarming ratemeter. By letter dated June 5, 2012 [Reference 
redacted, not publicly available] the NRC informed Mr. Quintanilla that 
the NRC was considering escalated enforcement action for apparent 
violations of the NRC's deliberate misconduct rule, 10 CFR 30.10. The 
June 5, 2012, letter identified apparent violations of the deliberate 
misconduct rule, specifically apparent violations of 10 CFR 30.10(a)(1) 
were identified. The 10 CFR 30.10(a)(1) apparent violation was related 
to Mr. Quintanilla's actions which resulted in QIT being in violation 
of 10 CFR 20.1802 associated with leaving the radiography camera, 
unattended and unsecured, and 10 CFR 34.47(a) for failing to wear the 
required dosimetry when conducting radiographic operations. The NRC's 
June 5th letter provided Mr. Quintanilla the opportunity to request a 
predecisional enforcement conference (PEC), or request alternative 
dispute resolution (ADR) with the NRC in an attempt to resolve issues 
associated with these apparent violations. During a June 13, 2012 
conference call between Mr. Quintanilla and NRC staff, Mr. Quintanilla 
indicated that he would like to participate in a predecisional 
enforcement conference. A PEC was conducted on June 22, 2012.
    During the PEC, Mr. Quintanilla indicated that he was aware the 
camera was outside of the dark room and did not contest that apparent 
violation. Mr. Quintanilla maintained his position that he was wearing 
his pocket dosimeter and his alarm ratemeter while conducting 
radiography, but he stated he left his film badge in Utah and was not 
wearing it during radiography. This conflicted with the inspector's 
observation that Mr. Quintanilla retrieved his film badge, pocket 
dosimeter, and alarm ratemeter from the truck when the inspector 
requested to see his dosimetry. Mr. Quintanilla maintained that he 
never talked with

[[Page 49836]]

QIT managers about the results of the inspection.
    Based on the results of the inspection and the OI investigation, 
and information provided during the predecisional enforcement 
conference, the NRC has concluded that Mr. Quintanilla engaged in 
deliberate misconduct in violation of 10 CFR 30.10(a)(1) in two 
instances. First, he caused the licensee to be in violation of 10 CFR 
20.1802 related to leaving the camera, containing a quantity of 
concern, unattended and unsecured. A second example of his deliberate 
misconduct involved his failure to wear all the required dosimetry 
while conducting radiography (specifically, at the very least he failed 
to wear his film badge).

III

    Mr. Joseph Quintanilla, a former employee of Quality Inspection and 
Testing (QIT), has engaged in deliberate misconduct (in violation of 10 
CFR 30.10) that has caused the Licensee to be in violation of 10 CFR 
20.1802 and 10 CFR 34.47(a). QIT was required to follow those 
requirements by the general license issued to it pursuant to 10 CFR 
150.20. The NRC must be able to rely on the Licensee and its employees 
to act with integrity and comply with NRC requirements. Mr. 
Quintanilla's action in causing QIT to violate 10 CFR 20.1802, and 10 
CFR 34.47(a) raised serious doubt as to whether he can be relied upon 
to comply with NRC requirements.
    Consequently, I lack the requisite reasonable assurance that 
licensed activities can be conducted in compliance with the 
Commission's requirements and that the health and safety of the public 
will be protected if Mr. Joseph Quintanilla were permitted at this time 
to be involved in NRC-licensed activities. Therefore, the public 
health, safety, and interest require that Mr. Joseph Quintanilla be 
prohibited from any involvement in NRC-licensed activities for a period 
one year from the effective date of this Order. Additionally, Mr. 
Joseph Quintanilla is required to notify the NRC of his first 
employment in NRC-licensed activities for a period of one year 
following the prohibition period.

IV

    Accordingly, pursuant to sections 81, 161b, 161i, 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 30.10
    It is hereby ordered that:
    1. Mr. Joseph Quintanilla is prohibited for one year, from the 
effective date of this Order, from engaging in NRC-licensed activities. 
NRC-licensed activities are those activities that are conducted 
pursuant to a specific or general license issued by the NRC, including, 
but not limited to, those activities of Agreement State licensees 
conducted pursuant to the authority granted by 10 CFR 150.20.
    2. If Mr. Joseph Quintanilla is currently involved with another 
licensee in NRC-licensed activities, he must cease those activities no 
later than the effective date of this Order, and inform the NRC of the 
name, address and telephone number of the employer, and provide a copy 
of this order to the employer.
    3. For a period of one year after the one year period of 
prohibition has expired, Mr. Joseph Quintanilla shall, within 20 days 
of acceptance of his first employment offer involving NRC-licensed 
activities or his becoming involved in NRC-licensed activities, as 
defined in Paragraph IV.1 above, provide notice to the Director, Office 
of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001, of the name, address, and telephone number of the employer 
or the entity where he is, or will be, involved in the NRC-licensed 
activities
    The Director, OE, may, in writing, relax or rescind any of the 
above conditions upon demonstration by Mr. Joseph Quintanilla of good 
cause.

V

    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202, Mr. Joseph Quintanilla and any 
other person adversely affected by this Order may, submit an answer to 
this Order within 20 days of the date of the Order. In addition, Mr. 
Joseph Quintanilla and any other person adversely affected by this 
Order may request a hearing on this Order within 20 days of the date of 
this Order. Where good cause is shown, consideration will be given to 
extending the time to answer or request a hearing. A request for 
extension of time must be directed to the Director, Office of 
Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and include a 
statement of good cause for the extension.
    All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including a 
request for hearing, a petition for leave to intervene, any motion or 
other document filed in the proceeding prior to the submission of a 
request for hearing or petition to intervene, and documents filed by 
interested governmental entities participating under 10 CFR 2.315(c), 
must be filed in accordance with the NRC E-Filing rule (72 FR 49139; 
August 28, 2007). The E-Filing process requires participants to submit 
and serve all adjudicatory documents over the internet, or in some 
cases to mail copies on electronic storage media. Participants may not 
submit paper copies of their filings unless they seek an exemption in 
accordance with the procedures described below.
    To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 10 
days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should contact the 
Office of the Secretary by email at hearing.docket@nrc.gov, or by 
telephone at 301-415-1677, to request (1) a digital identification (ID) 
certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or 
representative) to digitally sign documents and access the E-Submittal 
server for any proceeding in which it is participating; and (2) advise 
the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a request or 
petition for hearing (even in instances in which the participant, or 
its counsel or representative, already holds an NRC-issued digital ID 
certificate). Based upon this information, the Secretary will establish 
an electronic docket for the hearing in this proceeding if the 
Secretary has not already established an electronic docket.
    Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is 
available on the NRC's public Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/apply-certificates.html. System requirements for accessing 
the E-Submittal server are detailed in the NRC's ``Guidance for 
Electronic Submission,'' which is available on the agency's public Web 
site at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. Participants 
may attempt to use other software not listed on the web site, but 
should note that the NRC's E-Filing system does not support unlisted 
software, and the NRC Meta System Help Desk will not be able to offer 
assistance in using unlisted software.
    If a participant is electronically submitting a document to the NRC 
in accordance with the E-Filing rule, the participant must file the 
document using the NRC's online, web-based submission form. In order to 
serve documents through the Electronic Information Exchange System, 
users will be required to install a web browser plug-in from the NRC's 
Web site. Further information on the web-based submission form, 
including the installation of the Web browser plug-in, is available on 
the NRC's public Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html.
    Once a participant has obtained a digital ID certificate and a 
docket has been created, the participant can then

[[Page 49837]]

submit a request for hearing or petition for leave to intervene. 
Submissions should be in Portable Document Format (PDF) in accordance 
with the NRC guidance available on the NRC's public Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html. A filing is considered 
complete at the time the documents are submitted through the NRC's E-
Filing system. To be timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to 
the E-Filing system no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due 
date. Upon receipt of a transmission, the E-Filing system time-stamps 
the document and sends the submitter an email notice confirming receipt 
of the document. The E-Filing system also distributes an email notice 
that provides access to the document to the NRC's Office of the General 
Counsel and any others who have advised the Office of the Secretary 
that they wish to participate in the proceeding, so that the filer need 
not serve the documents on those participants separately. Therefore, 
applicants and other participants (or their counsel or representative) 
must apply for and receive a digital ID certificate before a hearing 
request/petition to intervene is filed so that they can obtain access 
to the document via the E-Filing system.
    A person filing electronically using the agency's adjudicatory E-
Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the NRC Meta System 
Help Desk through the ``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC's Web site 
at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by email at 
MSHD.Resource@nrc.gov, or by a toll-free call at 1-866-672-7640. The 
NRC Meta System Help Desk is available between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., 
Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, excluding government holidays.
    Participants who believe that they have a good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file an exemption request, in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing 
requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in paper 
format. Such filings must be submitted by: (1) First class mail 
addressed to the Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: 
Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; or (2) courier, express mail, or 
expedited delivery service to the Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth 
Floor, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 
20852, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. Participants 
filing a document in this manner are responsible for serving the 
document on all other participants. Filing is considered complete by 
first-class mail as of the time of deposit in the mail, or by courier, 
express mail, or expedited delivery service upon depositing the 
document with the provider of the service. A presiding officer, having 
granted an exemption request from using E-Filing, may require a 
participant or party to use E-Filing if the presiding officer 
subsequently determines that the reason for granting the exemption from 
use of E-Filing no longer exists.
    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the 
NRC's electronic hearing docket, which is available to the public at 
https://ehd1.nrc.gov/ehd, unless excluded pursuant to an order of the 
Commission, or the presiding officer. Participants are requested not to 
include personal privacy information, such as social security numbers, 
home addresses, or home phone numbers in their filings, unless an NRC 
regulation or other law requires submission of such information. With 
respect to copyrighted works, except for limited excerpts that serve 
the purpose of the adjudicatory filings and would constitute a Fair Use 
application, participants are requested not to include copyrighted 
materials in their submission.
    If a person other than Mr. Quintanilla 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 licensee or a person whose interest 
is adversely affected, the Commission will issue an Order designating 
the time and place of any hearings. If a hearing is held, the issue to 
be considered at such hearing shall be whether this Order should be 
sustained. In the absence of any request for hearing, or written 
approval of an extension of time in which to request a hearing, the 
provisions specified in Section IV above shall be final 20 days from 
the date this Order is published in the Federal Register without 
further order or proceedings. If an extension of time for requesting a 
hearing has been approved, the provisions specified in Section IV shall 
be final when the extension expires if a hearing request has not been 
received.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of August, 2012.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Roy P. Zimmerman,
Director, Office of Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2012-20230 Filed 8-16-12; 8:45 am]
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