[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 33 (Friday, February 20, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7930-7932]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-3627]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[IA-08-022; NRC-2009-0067]
In the Matter of Dhiraj Soni; Order Prohibiting Involvement in
NRC-Licensed Activities
I
Dhiraj Soni is the former Vice President of Eastern Testing and
Inspection, Inc. (ETI) (Licensee) in Thorofare, New Jersey. ETI holds
License No. 29-09814-01 issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC or Commission) pursuant to 10 CFR part 30 in 1964. The license
authorizes possession and use of sealed radioactive sources for use in
radiographic exposure devices and in portable gauge devices, and
possession and use of radioactive material for shielding for
radiographic and source changer equipment in accordance with the
conditions specified therein.
II
An investigation of licensed activities was conducted by the NRC
Office of Investigations (OI) at the Licensee's facility in Thorofare,
New Jersey. The OI investigation was completed on October 26, 2007. The
investigation was conducted, in part, to determine whether ETI
deliberately provided the NRC inaccurate information related to
compliance with an NRC Order issued to ETI (ETI Order) and contrary to
10 CFR 30.9, ``Completeness and accuracy of information.'' Based on
information from the investigation, inspection, and after review of a
written response from Dhiraj Soni, the NRC concluded that Dhiraj Soni
was in violation of 10 CFR 30.10, ``Deliberate misconduct,'' by
deliberately causing ETI to be in violation of 10 CFR 30.9 when he
provided inaccurate information to the company that was, in turn,
provided to the NRC on behalf of ETI to demonstrate actions toward
compliance with the ETI Order. The NRC also concluded that Dhiraj Soni
was in violation of 10 CFR 30.10 by deliberately providing inaccurate
information in verbal statements made to an NRC inspector on September
20, 2006.
During the investigation, Dhiraj Soni gave inconsistent statements
in his sworn testimony regarding his actions at issue. Further, the
sworn testimony of law enforcement officers and an NRC inspector
contradict the exculpatory testimony and statements of Dhiraj Soni. Due
to Dhiraj Soni's inconsistent statements and the consistent statements
of law enforcement officers and the NRC inspector, the NRC does
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not credit Dhiraj Soni's statements as an accurate portrayal of the
events at issue.
III
Based on the above, the NRC concluded that Dhiraj Soni, a Licensee
official, specifically the Vice President of the Licensee at the time
of the violations, engaged in deliberate misconduct that caused the
Licensee, ETI, to be in violation of 10 CFR 30.9, ``Completeness and
accuracy of information'' in two separate communications to the NRC
regarding its actions toward compliance with the ETI Order. As such,
Dhiraj Soni was in violation of 10 CFR 30.10, ``Deliberate
misconduct,'' which states, in part, that any Licensee or employee of a
Licensee may not engage in deliberate misconduct that causes a Licensee
to be in violation of any rule, regulation, or order issued by the
Commission. Dhiraj Soni also engaged in deliberate misconduct in
violation of 10 CFR 30.10 by deliberately providing inaccurate
information in verbal statements made to an NRC inspector on September
20, 2006.
The NRC must be able to rely on the Licensee and its employees to
comply with NRC requirements, including the requirement to provide
complete and accurate information at all times. Dhiraj Soni's action in
causing the Licensee to violate 10 CFR 30.9, and in his violation of 10
CFR 30.10, raises 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 public health, safety, and
interest of the public will be protected if Dhiraj Soni were permitted
at this time to be involved in NRC-licensed activities. Therefore, the
public health, safety and interest require that Dhiraj Soni be
prohibited from any involvement in NRC-licensed activities for a period
of one year from the effective date of this Order.
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, 10 CFR 30.10, and 10 CFR 150.20, it is
hereby ordered that:
1. Dhiraj Soni is prohibited for one year from the date of the
effectiveness 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 Dhiraj Soni is currently involved with another entity
involved in NRC-licensed activities, he must immediately cease those
activities, and inform the NRC of the name, address and telephone
number of that entity, and provide a copy of this Order to the entity.
The Director, OE, may, in writing, relax or rescind any of the
above conditions upon demonstration by Dhiraj Soni of good cause.
V
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202, Dhiraj Soni must submit an answer
to this Order within 20 days of its issuance. If security-related
information is included in the response, please mark the entire
response, ``Security-Related Information--Withhold Under 10 CFR
2.390.'' If the response does not contain any sensitive, security-
related information, the NRC will make the response publicly available.
Further, to the extent possible, any response provided should not
include any personal privacy or proprietary information. In addition,
Dhiraj Soni and any other person adversely affected by this Order may
request a hearing on this Order within 20 days of its issuance. 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.
The answer shall be in writing and under oath and affirmation. The
answer may consent to this Order. Unless the answer consents to this
Order, the answer shall specifically admit or deny each allegation or
charge made in this Order and shall set for the matters of fact and law
on which Dhiraj Soni or other person adversely affected relies on the
reasons as to why the Order should not have been issued. Any answer to
this Order shall be submitted to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Attn: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, Washington, DC
20555-0001. Copies shall also be sent to: Director, Office of
Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001; the Assistant General Counsel for Materials Litigation and
Enforcement at the same address; Region Administrator, NRC Region I,
475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, PA 19406-1415. A copy of the
answer shall be provided to Dhiraj Soni, if the answer is by a person
other than Dhiraj Soni.
If a hearing request is submitted, the NRC will make the request
publicly available. Therefore, the request should not include any
security-related, personal, proprietary, or other sensitive information
in the hearing request, or, in the alternative, provide a redacted copy
of the hearing request that does not include such information. A copy
of the hearing request shall be provided to Dhiraj Soni by the
requester, if the request is made by a person other than Dhiraj Soni.
A request for a hearing must be filed in accordance with the NRC E-
Filing rule, which the NRC promulgated in August, 2007, 72 FR 49,139
(Aug. 28, 2007). The E-Filing process requires participants to submit
and serve documents over the internet or, in some cases, to mail copies
on electronic optical storage media. Participants may not submit paper
copies of their filings unless they seek a waiver in accordance with
the procedures described below.
To comply with the procedural requirements associated with E-
Filing, at least five (5) days prior to the filing deadline the
requestor must contact the Office of the Secretary by e-mail at
[email protected], or by calling (301) 415-1677, to request (1) a
digital ID certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or
representative) to digitally sign documents and access the E-Submittal
server for any NRC proceeding in which it is participating; and/or (2)
creation of an electronic docket for the proceeding (even in instances
when the requestor (or its counsel or representative) already holds an
NRC-issued digital ID certificate). Each requestor will need to
download the Workplace Forms ViewerTM to access the
Electronic Information Exchange (EIE), a component of the E-Filing
system. The Workplace Forms ViewerTM is free and is
available at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/install-viewer.html. Information about applying for a digital ID certificate
also is available on NRC's public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/apply-certificates.html.
Once a requestor has obtained a digital ID certificate, had a
docket created, and downloaded the EIE viewer, it can then submit a
request for a hearing through EIE. Submissions should be in Portable
Document Format (PDF) in accordance with NRC guidance available on the
NRC public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html.
A filing is considered complete at the time the filer submits its
document through EIE. To be timely, electronic filings must be
submitted to the EIE system no later than 11:59 p.m.
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Eastern Time on the due date. Upon receipt of a transmission, the E-
Filing system time-stamps the document and sends the submitter an e-
mail notice confirming receipt of the document. The EIE system also
distributes an e-mail notice that provides access to the document to
the NRC 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 document on those
participants separately. Therefore, any others who wish to participate
in the proceeding (or their counsel or representative) must apply for
and receive a digital ID certificate before a hearing request is filed
so that they may obtain access to the document via the E-Filing system.
A person filing electronically may seek assistance through the
``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html or by calling the NRC technical help line,
which is available between 8:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., Eastern Time,
Monday through Friday. The help line number is (800) 397-4209 or
locally, (301) 415-4737.
Participants who believe that they have good cause for not
submitting documents electronically must file a motion, 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.
Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in
NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at
http://ehd.nrc.gov/EHD_Proceeding/home.asp, unless excluded pursuant
to an order of the Commission, an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, or
a 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. 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 works.
If a person other than the Dhiraj Soni 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 Dhiraj Soni 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.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202(c)(2)(i), Dhiraj Soni, or any other person
adversely affected by this Order, may, in addition to demanding a
hearing, at the time the answer is filed or sooner, move the presiding
officer to set aside the immediate effectiveness of the Order on the
ground that the Order, including the need for immediate effectiveness,
is not based on adequate evidence but on mere suspicion, unfounded
allegations, or error. The motion must state with particularity the
reasons why the order is not based on adequate evidence and must be
accompanied by affidavits or other evidence relied on.
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 of
this Order 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. An answer or a request for
hearing shall not stay the immediate effectiveness of this order.
Dated this 10th day of February 2009.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Cynthia A. Carpenter,
Director, Office of Enforcement.
[FR Doc. E9-3627 Filed 2-19-09; 8:45 am]
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