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Oak Ridge company didn't test radioactive shipments as required by feds

An Oak Ridge company has admitted it did not test devices shipped from Tennessee to two other states to meet federal requirements for radioactive containers, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday.

The company also misrepresented the manufacturing location of the devices, according to the plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

Berthold Technologies USA, which makes measurement instruments and systems, pleaded guilty to claiming the devices had been tested to meet U.S. Department of Transportation standards for radioactive containers.

"Berthold Techonologies USA, LLC accepts full responsibility and apologizes for misrepresentations that were made by former employees with regard to the origin and testing requirements for one of our devices," Berthold General Manager Jon Buchanan wrote in a statement.

"From the outset of this investigation, Berthold Technologies USA, LLC has worked to make sure that its products are safe and high quality," Buchanan wrote. "We believe that this agreement is fair and will allow our new management team to move forward and to meet those safety and quality goals."

The devices

The devices, called LB8010 Heavy Duty Source Shields, are used to measure fluid density in natural gas fracking operations.

According to the plea agreement, the source shield devices used a gamma particle emitter that contained the radioactive isotope Cesium-137. The isotope is formed of a fission product of uranium-235 and other isotopes.

Because the isotope was inside the devices, Berthold was required to treat and test them like containers. That meant Berthold had to prove the devices could withstand water spray, stacking, penetration and free drop before sending them off.

Berthold did not test the devices before they were shipped from Oak Ridge to Midland, Texas, and to El Reno, Oklahoma, in 2014.

The company also affixed a label to the devices that said they were manufactured in Germany, where the parent company, Berthold Technologies, GmBH & Co., is located. They were actually manufactured in Oak Ridge, according to the plea agreement.

Radiation risk

External exposure to large amounts of the Cesium-137 isotope can cause burns, acute radiation sickness or death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cesium-137 reacts with water.

If the isotope is ingested, it is quickly distributed throughout the body and tends to collect in soft tissue like muscles, according to the CDC. The isotope's biological half-life is about 70 days, but exposure can increase cancer risk.

The isotope is the principal source of radiation in the Chernobyl exclusion zone and is the major health and environmental concern at Fukushima, both sites of nuclear disasters that occurred in the past 31 years.

Cesium-137 and Cesium-134 believed to be from Fukushima turned up in ocean water samples off the Oregon coast last year, according to the USA TODAY Network's Statesman Journal in Salem.

The amount of Cesium-137 in the shipped devices was certainly far less than the amount exposed in either nuclear disaster, though the plea agreement does not specify an exact measurement.

The punishment

The plea agreement recommends Berthold be ordered to pay a fine of up to $500,000 at sentencing, on top of $50,000 when the company’s guilty plea is entered into federal court.

Berthold will be sentenced 18 months after the plea is entered. 

During that time, the company will work with the Transportation Department's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to address potential safety problems of the devices that have already been shipped, according to the release.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, costs associated with fixing any identified problems with the devices will reduce the ultimate fine to be paid by Berthold at the time of sentencing.