The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering action against Waste Control Specialists for an apparent license violation in 2014 in which the company improperly moved 73 waste box containers between two of its facilities in West Texas.
According to NRC documents, WCS moved the containers from a storage pad outside of its “Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facility” building to its Federal Waste Facility. The company’s NRC license allows for the material to be stored at the original location but not the Federal Waste Facility. NRC and WCS discussed the apparent violation during a Sept. 26 meeting, according to the documents.
“The failure to comply with the regulatory or order requirements is significant because it resulted in the NRC not being able to conduct its regulatory responsibilities to ensure that the activities did not pose a significant risk to the public or environment,” according to a Sept. 26 letter from NRC’s Deputy Director for the Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs Andrea Kock to WCS President and CEO Rod Baltzer.
WCS spokesman Chuck McDonald said by email Tuesday that it’s company policy not to comment on open enforcement matters. The NRC letter provides the company’s reasoning for moving the containers.
“Based on the results of our investigation and records inspection, the NRC staff understands that WCS moved the waste to an unauthorized location in an effort to ensure the internal temperature of the waste did not exceed a 130 °F threshold and attempted to mitigate any potential risk to public health and safety,” the letter reads. “In making its final enforcement decision, the NRC will consider this information.”
The NRC said a civil penalty may not be warranted, given WCS’ clean enforcement record at the facility.
“The final decision will be based on you confirming on the license docket that the corrective actions previously described to the NRC staff have been or are being taken,” the letter states.
