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URS Corporation

September 2010 Radiological Contamination at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory

Date: 09/01/2011 (Date of PNOV)

Misconduct Type: Labor

Enforcement Agency: Energy

Contracting Party: Energy

Court Type: Administrative

Amount: $412,500

Disposition: Fine

Synopsis: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a Preliminary Notice of Violation (PNOV) to Washington Group International, Inc. (now a part of URS Corporation) for a September 2010 incident that violated radiation protection and nuclear safety regulations. The violations involved a radiological contamination incident that occurred on September 29, 2010, during open air demolition of Building H2 at the Separations Process Research Unit nuclear facilities located at the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in Niskayuna, New York. The event was traced to the removal and crushing of evaporator system components that were internally contaminated. As a result, radiological contamination from the crushed equipment spread from the demolition area to other areas of SPRU and KAPL. The PNOV cited seven Severity Level II and three Severity Level III violations of DOE regulations in the areas of management, quality improvement, work processes, assessments, contamination monitoring, air monitoring, entry control, posting, recordkeeping and contamination control. DOE proposed a $412,500 civil penalty.