NRC cites problem at Acuren facility

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued an “action letter” to Acuren, an oil field contractor active in Alaska.

“The letter formalizes commitments company officials made to the NRC after an unannounced inspection of Acuren’s facility in Kenai on April 10,” the agency said in an April 25 press release. “Inspectors walking around the outside of the facility observed high readings on their radiation survey meters in an area where there were no boundaries or physical controls to prevent entry by the public during radiography operations. The company is licensed to use radioactive materials in devices for making images of pipe welds.”

Acuren provides non-destructive testing and inspection services at locations across North America. In Alaska, the company has offices in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Prudhoe Bay and Kenai.

The NRC said that had people been standing next to Acuren’s Kenai building during radiography operations, they could have been exposed to radiation in excess of NRC annual limits.

A follow-up inspection is planned, the NRC said.

The company agreed to certain steps, and to not resume radiography operations at the Kenai facility without NRC approval, the agency said.

—Wesley Loy