In the Matter of Timothy M. Goold; IA-12-014; Confirmatory Order (Effective Immediately), 63893-63897 [2012-25538]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 201 (Wednesday, October 17, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63893-63897]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-25538]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[NRC-2012-0242]


In the Matter of Timothy M. Goold; IA-12-014; Confirmatory Order 
(Effective Immediately)

I

    Mr. Timothy Goold was employed as a radiographer at JANX Integrity 
Group, Inc. (JANX), at a temporary jobsite on Spy Island, Alaska during 
July 2011. JANX is the holder of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
(NRC or Commission's) Materials License No. 21-16560-01 which 
authorized, at the time, specific activities involving byproduct, 
source, and/or special nuclear material.

[[Page 63894]]

    This Confirmatory Order is the result of an agreement reached 
during an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mediation session 
conducted on August 24, 2012.

II

    On July 27, 2011, the NRC conducted an unannounced inspection of 
JANX's radiographic activities on Spy Island. As a result of the 
inspector's observations, on October 31, 2011, the NRC's Office of 
Investigations (OI) began an investigation at JANX. Based on the 
evidence developed during its investigation, OI substantiated that 1) 
Mr. Goold willfully performed radiography without a second person 
present, and (2) Mr. Goold willfully impeded the NRC's inspection by 
avoiding the NRC inspector. In a letter dated March 15, 2012, 
(ML12076A253) the NRC informed Mr. Goold that the NRC was considering 
escalated enforcement action for two apparent violations of section 
30.10 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), the NRC's 
deliberate misconduct rule. The NRC offered Mr. Goold the opportunity 
to respond in writing, request a predecisional enforcement conference 
or request ADR with the NRC in an attempt to resolve issues associated 
with this matter. Mr. Goold provided a written response on April 9, 
2012 (ML12121A669).
    On June 25, 2012, the NRC issued an Order to Mr. Goold based on a 
review of all the available information including Mr. Goold's April 9, 
2012, letter and the results of the inspection and OI investigations. 
The NRC concluded that Mr. Goold twice engaged in deliberate misconduct 
in violation of 10 CFR 30.10(a)(1). First, Mr. Goold engaged in 
deliberate misconduct in violation of 10 CFR 30.10(a)(1) by performing 
radiography without a second person present causing JANX to be in 
violation of 10 CFR 34.41(a). Second, Mr. Goold again engaged in 
deliberate misconduct in violation of 10 CFR 30.10(a)(1) when he 
avoided the inspector by leaving when the inspector tried to question 
him regarding the whereabouts of the second qualified radiographer, 
causing JANX to be in violation of 10 CFR 30.52(a).
    Subsequent to the issuance of the NRC's June 25, 2012 Order, Mr. 
Goold requested to participate in the NRC's alternate dispute 
resolution (ADR) process. ADR is a process in which a neutral mediator 
with no decision-making authority assists the parties in reaching an 
agreement and resolving any differences regarding the dispute. On 
August 24, 2012, the NRC and Mr. Goold met in an ADR session mediated 
by a professional mediator, arranged through Cornell University's 
Institute on Conflict Resolution. This confirmatory order is issued 
pursuant to the agreement reached during the ADR process.

III

    In response to the NRC's offer, Mr. Goold requested use of the NRC 
ADR process to resolve differences he had with the NRC. During that ADR 
session, a preliminary settlement agreement or an Agreement in 
Principle was reached. As part of the Agreement in Principle, the 
parties agreed to disagree on whether Mr. Goold engaged in deliberate 
misconduct as discussed in the Order (IA-12-014) issued to Mr. Goold on 
June 25, 2012.
    The remaining elements of the Agreement in Principle consisted of 
the following:

A. Work Restrictions

    1. Mr. Timothy Goold will not engage in NRC-licensed activities 
until the issuance of the Confirmatory Order. 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. This means that during the 
prohibition period Mr. Goold is prohibited from performing, 
supervising, assisting or otherwise engaging in (1) industrial 
radiographic operations in NRC jurisdiction for an Agreement State 
licensee that are conducted under a general license pursuant to 10 CFR 
150.20; (2) industrial radiographic operations for an NRC licensee 
including but not limited to, radiography conducted under the authority 
of a license issued pursuant to 10 CFR Part 34; and (3) any other 
licensed activity in NRC jurisdiction. It was mutually agreed that the 
NRC will consider that the prohibition period began when Mr. Goold 
voluntarily informed his employer on or about July 1, 2012, of the 
terms of the June 25, 2012, Order and ceased performing licensed 
activities and that the prohibition will continue until the issuance of 
the Confirmatory Order.
    2. For a 2-year period from the effective the date of the 
Confirmatory Order, Mr. Goold is prohibited from engaging in NRC-
licensed industrial radiographic operations unless he is working under 
the direct supervision of a radiographer who meets the requirements of 
10 CFR 34.43.
    3. For a 2-year period from the effective date of the Confirmatory 
Order, Mr. Goold is prohibited from working for any NRC licensee as an 
Area Supervisor, Radiation Safety Officer, trainer, or in any other 
supervisory position while in NRC jurisdiction. This includes the 
situation where he works for an Agreement State licensee performing 
work in NRC jurisdiction under reciprocity.

B. Notifications

    1. For a 2-year period from the effective date of the Confirmatory 
Order, Mr. Goold will notify NRC Region III office within 15 days of 
his acceptance of any employment with an NRC or Agreement State 
licensee. Mr. Goold may provide this notification by email to the 
attention of the Director, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region III at the email address listed 
in B.2.
    2. For a 2-year period from the effective date of the Confirmatory 
Order, Mr. Goold will notify NRC Region III office on a weekly basis of 
where he will be performing radiography. Mr. Goold will provide that 
notification to the NRC by no later than 1200 hours Eastern Time each 
Sunday for activities performed the following 7 days. Mr. Goold may 
provide this notification by email to the attention of the Director, 
Division of Nuclear Materials Safety; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Region III, email: R3.Reciprocity@nrc.gov. The email will 
contain the name and location of the radiography site where Mr. Goold 
expects to be performing radiography and which days he expects to be 
shooting. If Mr. Goold does not expect to be performing radiography 
during the week, he will provide notification so stating.
    3. For a 2-year period from the effective date of the Confirmatory 
Order, in order to ensure NRC licensees are aware of the limitations on 
Mr. Goold's NRC licensed activities, Mr. Goold will provide a copy of 
the Confirmatory Order to his employers who are either NRC licensees or 
are Agreement State licensees performing work in the NRC's jurisdiction 
under reciprocity.
    4. For a 2-year period from the effective date of the Confirmatory 
Order and while performing industrial radiographic operations at an NRC 
or Agreement State licensee, Mr. Goold will provide the NRC Region III 
office a copy of the semi-annual audit report performed by the licensee 
under 10 CFR 34.43(e) or under the applicable Agreement State 
requirement and any additional audits that Mr. Goold's employer 
performs. If the licensee indicates that the inspection results were 
not documented, then Mr. Goold

[[Page 63895]]

will send in a letter attesting to whom he spoke to in the licensee's 
office and upon what date, such that the NRC can confirm the 
information. The letter will be addressed to the Director of the 
Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 2443 Warrenville Road, Suite 210, 
Lisle, IL 60532. Alternatively, the email address in item B.2 above can 
be used.
    5. Mr. Goold recognizes an opportunity for other radiographers to 
learn from his actions. Mr. Goold will convey his personal lessons 
learned from the events by preparing an article. Mr. Goold agrees that 
the article will contain a description of the events of July 27, 2011; 
what he learned from them, including his understanding of why it's 
important to have two people present during all radiographic operations 
and why it's important to cooperate with NRC inspectors; what he would 
do differently in the future; and the consequences of his behavior. Mr. 
Goold will submit the draft article to the NRC Region III Enforcement/
Investigations Officer within 120 days of the issuance of the 
Confirmatory Order and will submit the final article to a trade 
publication (such as the American Society for Nondestructive Testing) 
for possible publication, after providing 30 days for NRC comment, and 
no later than 180 days of the date of the confirmatory order. Within 7 
days of Mr. Goold's submission of the article, Mr. Goold will provide a 
copy of that submission to the NRC Region III Director of the Division 
of Nuclear Materials Safety, 2443 Warrenville Road, Suite 210, Lisle, 
IL 60532. Alternatively, the email address in item B.2 above can be 
used. The NRC, at its sole discretion, may also publish the article in 
a future Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental 
Management Programs (FSME) Newsletter.
    6. Mr. Goold recognizes an opportunity to expand upon his previous 
response to the NRC. Mr. Goold will provide an expanded response which 
will address in more detail what Mr. Goold has learned from the events 
of July 27, 2011, including his understanding of why it's important to 
have two people present during all radiographic operations and why it's 
important to cooperate with NRC inspectors; what he would do 
differently in the future; and the consequences of his behavior. Mr. 
Goold will submit this response to the NRC Region III Director of the 
Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 2443 Warrenville Road, Suite 210, 
Lisle, IL 60532 within 180 days of the Confirmatory Order. 
Alternatively, the email address in item B.2 above can be used.

C. Training

    Mr. Goold has stated that he has completed additional training in 
industrial radiography, radiation safety, and the corresponding NRC 
regulations in December 2011--January 2012, which will be acknowledged 
in the Confirmatory Order. Mr. Goold agreed to provide documentation of 
the training to the NRC Region III Enforcement/Investigations Officer. 
If the training does not meet or exceed 40 hours of instruction in the 
subjects described in 10 CFR 34.43(g), Mr. Goold agreed to attend 
additional training that would satisfy that level of instruction within 
180 days of issuance of the Confirmatory Order.

D. Rescission of June 25, 2012 NRC Order

    The NRC agrees to rescind the Order previously issued to Mr. Goold 
on June 25, 2012. The NRC agrees not to pursue any further enforcement 
action concerning the violations described in the June 25, 2012 Order. 
This does not prohibit NRC from taking enforcement action in accordance 
with the NRC Enforcement Policy if Mr. Goold commits a similar 
violation in the future or violates the Confirmatory Order stemming 
from this Agreement in Principle.

IV

    On August 27, 2012, Mr. Goold provided the NRC with training 
records demonstrating that he had successfully completed 21.5 hours of 
instructional training covering the majority of the areas in 10 CFR 
34.43(g). Therefore, Section V.C of the Order requires that Mr. Goold 
attend training to satisfy an additional 18.5 hours of instruction in 
the subjects described in 10 CFR 34.43(g), including the requirements 
of pertinent federal regulations and case histories of accidents in 
radiography within 180 days of issuance of the Confirmatory Order.
    On October 1, 2012, Mr. Goold consented to issuing this Order with 
the commitments, as described in Section V below. Mr. Goold further 
agreed that this Order is to be effective upon issuance and that he has 
waived his right to a hearing.
    Since Mr. Goold has agreed to take additional actions to address 
NRC concerns, as set forth in Item III above, the NRC has concluded 
that its concerns can be resolved through issuance of this Confirmatory 
Order.
    I find that the Mr. Goold's commitments as set forth in Section V 
are acceptable and necessary and conclude that with these commitments 
the public health and safety are reasonably assured. In view of the 
foregoing, I have determined that public health and safety require that 
Mr. Goold's commitments be confirmed by this Order. Based on the above 
and Mr. Goold's consent, this Confirmatory Order is immediately 
effective upon issuance.

V

    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 81, 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, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, EFFECTIVE 
IMMEDIATELY, THAT:

A. Work Restrictions

    1. For a 2-year period from the effective date of the Confirmatory 
Order, Mr. Goold is prohibited from engaging in NRC-licensed industrial 
radiographic operations unless he is working under the direct 
supervision of a radiographer who meets the requirements of 10 CFR 
34.43.
    2. For a 2-year period from the effective date of the Confirmatory 
Order, Mr. Goold is prohibited from working for any NRC licensee as an 
Area Supervisor, Radiation Safety Officer, trainer, or in any other 
supervisory position while in NRC jurisdiction. This includes the 
situation where he works for an Agreement State licensee performing 
work in NRC jurisdiction under reciprocity.

B. Notifications

    1. For a 2-year period from the effective date of the Confirmatory 
Order, Mr. Goold will notify NRC Region III office within 15 days of 
his acceptance of any employment with an NRC or Agreement State 
licensee. Mr. Goold may provide this notification by email to the 
attention of the Director, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety; U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region III at the email address listed 
in B.2.
    2. For a 2-year period from the effective date of the Confirmatory 
Order, Mr. Goold will notify NRC Region III office on a weekly basis of 
where he will be performing radiography. Mr. Goold will provide that 
notification to the NRC by no later than 1200 hours Eastern Time each 
Sunday for activities performed the following 7 days. Mr. Goold may 
provide this notification by email to the attention of the Director, 
Division of Nuclear Materials Safety; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Region III, email: R3.Reciprocity@nrc.gov. The email will 
contain the name and location of the

[[Page 63896]]

radiography site where Mr. Goold expects to be performing radiography 
and which days he expects to be shooting. If Mr. Goold does not expect 
to be performing radiography during the week, he will provide 
notification so stating.
    3. For a 2-year period from the effective date of the Confirmatory 
Order, in order to ensure NRC licensees are aware of the limitations on 
Mr. Goold's NRC licensed activities, Mr. Goold will provide a copy of 
the Confirmatory Order to his employers who are either NRC licensees or 
are Agreement State licensees performing work in the NRC's jurisdiction 
under reciprocity.
    4. For a 2-year period from the effective date of the Confirmatory 
Order and while performing industrial radiographic operations at an NRC 
or Agreement State licensee, Mr. Goold will provide the NRC Region III 
office a copy of the semi-annual audit report performed by the licensee 
under 10 CFR 34.43(e) or under the applicable Agreement State 
requirement and any additional audits that Mr. Goold's employer 
performs of Mr. Goold's activities. If the licensee indicates that the 
audit results were not documented, then Mr. Goold will send in a letter 
attesting to whom he spoke to in the licensee's office and upon what 
date, such that the NRC can confirm the information. The letter will be 
addressed to the Director of the Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 
2443 Warrenville Road, Suite 210, Lisle, IL, 60532. Alternatively, the 
email address in item B.2 above can be used.
    5. Mr. Goold recognizes an opportunity for other radiographers to 
learn from his actions. Mr. Goold will convey his personal lessons 
learned from the events by preparing an article. Mr. Goold agrees that 
the article will contain a description of the events of July 27, 2011; 
what he learned from them, including his understanding of why it's 
important to have two people present during all radiographic operations 
and why it's important to cooperate with NRC inspectors; what he would 
do differently in the future; and the consequences of his behavior. Mr. 
Goold will submit the draft article to the NRC Region III Enforcement/
Investigations Officer within 120 days of the issuance of the 
Confirmatory Order and will submit the final article to a trade 
publication (such as the American Society for Nondestructive Testing) 
for possible publication, after providing 30 days for NRC comment, and 
no later than 180 days of the date of the confirmatory order. Within 7 
days of Mr. Goold's submission of the article to a trade publication, 
Mr. Goold will provide a copy of that submission to the NRC Region III 
Director of the Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 2443 Warrenville 
Road, Suite 210, Lisle, IL, 60532. Alternatively, the email address in 
item B.2 above can be used. The NRC, at its sole discretion, may also 
publish the article in a future Office of Federal and State Materials 
and Environmental Management Programs (FSME) Newsletter.
    6. Mr. Goold recognizes an opportunity to expand upon his previous 
response to the NRC. Mr. Goold will provide an expanded response which 
will address in more detail what Mr. Goold has learned from the events 
of July 27, 2011, including his understanding of why it's important to 
have two people present during all radiographic operations and why it's 
important to cooperate with NRC inspectors; what he would do 
differently in the future; and the consequences of his behavior. Mr. 
Goold will submit this response to the NRC Region III Director of the 
Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, 2443 Warrenville Road, Suite 210, 
Lisle, IL, 60532 within 180 days of the Confirmatory Order. 
Alternatively, the email address in item B.2 above can be used.

C. Training

    Mr. Goold will attend training to satisfy 18.5 hours of instruction 
in the subjects described in 10 CFR 34.43(g), including the 
requirements of pertinent federal regulations and case histories of 
accidents in radiography within 180 days of issuance of the 
Confirmatory Order.
    Upon issuance of this Confirmatory Order, the Order Prohibiting 
Involvement in NRC-Licensed Activities, IA-12-014, dated June 25, 2012, 
is rescinded.
    The Regional Administrator, NRC Region III, may, in writing, relax 
or rescind any of the above conditions upon demonstration by Mr. Goold 
of good cause.

VI

    Any person adversely affected by this Confirmatory Order, other 
than Mr. Goold, may request a hearing within 20 days of its publication 
in the Federal Register. 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-
0001, 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 (1) request 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 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 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

[[Page 63897]]

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 submit a request for 
hearing or petition for leave to intervene. Submissions should be in 
Portable Document Format (PDF) in accordance with the NRC's 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 
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. Goold) requests a hearing, that person 
shall set forth with particularity the manner in which his interest is 
adversely affected by this Confirmatory 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 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 V above shall be final 20 days from the date this 
Confirmatory 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 V shall be final 
when the extension expires if a hearing request has not been received.
    A REQUEST FOR HEARING SHALL NOT STAY THE IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVENESS OF 
THIS ORDER.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

    Dated at Rockville, MD, this 10th day of October 2012.
Roy P. Zimmerman,
Director, Office of Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2012-25538 Filed 10-16-12; 8:45 am]
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