A Utah County businessman has been accused of violating state rules for handling radioactive material.
The Utah Bureau of Radiation Control alleges in a Dec. 22 notice of violation that John P. Larsen contaminated his home in Orem, a former home in Provo, an office in Lindon, an Orem disposal site and a truck with radioactive materials.The radiation levels were low and presented no immediate health risk, but they reached the level at which decontamination is required, said Craig Jones, an environmental health manager for the Bureau of Radiation Control.
This is not the first time Larsen has been charged with mishandling radioactive materials. An order released last week by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission cites violations in Utah during 1979, 1982 and 1986. One of Larsen's operations in Wyoming was shut down in 1988.
"The repetition of these violations shows careless disregard" for radioactive material regulations, said the Dec. 22 notice.
Neither Larsen - who has done business as Larsen Laboratories, Orion Chemical, and Wrangler Laboratories - nor his attorney could be contacted for comment.
The NRC order said Larsen's companies use a chemical process employing depleted uranium to produce uranyl acetyl acetate, a catalyst used in the production of military munitions.
Depleted uranium is mildly radioactive. Federal laws require persons who use it to obtain a license and meet requirements for handling, disposal and decontamination.
Larsen's license to use depleted uranium in Utah expired on Dec. 31, 1988.
It allowed him to use the material in an Orem storage unit and, temporarily, at the Lindon office. Both were supposed to be cleaned up before the license expired.