10A NCAC 15 .0525         RADIOGRAPHER CERTIFICATION

(a)  An independent certifying organization shall:

(1)           be an organization such as the American Society of Nondestructive Testing (ASNT) or other society or association, whose members participate in, or have an interest in, the field of industrial radiography;

(2)           make its membership available to the general public nationwide that is not restricted because of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin or disability;

(3)           have a certification open to nonmembers, as well as members;

(4)           be an incorporated, nationally recognized organization, such as ASNT, that is involved in setting national standards of practice within its field of expertise;

(5)           have staff, a viable system for financing its operations, and policy and decision-making review board;

(6)           have a set of written organizational by-laws and policies that provide assurance of lack of conflict of interest and a system for monitoring and enforcing those by-laws and policies;

(7)           have a committee, whose members can carry out their responsibilities impartially, to review and approve the certification guidelines and procedures, and to advise the organization's staff in implementing the certification program;

(8)           have a committee, whose members can carry out their responsibilities impartially, to review complaints against certified individuals and to determine appropriate sanctions;

(9)           have written procedures describing all aspects of its certification program, maintain records of the current status of each individual's certification and the administration of its certification program;

(10)         have procedures to ensure that certified individuals are provided due process with respect to the administration of its certification program, including the process of becoming certified and any sanctions imposed against certified individuals;

(11)         have procedures for proctoring examinations, including qualifications for proctors;

(12)         ensure that the procedures in Subparagraph (a)(11) of this Paragraph require that the individuals proctoring each examination are not employed by the same company or corporations (or a wholly-owned subsidiary of such company or corporation) as any of the examinees;

(13)         exchange information about certified individuals with the agency and other independent certifying organizations or the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and other agreement states, and allow periodic review of its certification program and related records; and

(14)         provide a description to the agency of its procedures for choosing examination sites and for providing an environment suitable for examination.

(b)  All certification programs shall:

(1)           require applicants for certification to receive training in the topics set forth in Rule .0519 of this Section and satisfactorily complete a written examination covering the topics in Rule .0519 of this Section;

(2)           require applicants for certification to provide documentation that demonstrates that the applicant has:

(A)          received training in the topics set forth in Rule .0519 of this Section; or

(B)          satisfactorily completed a minimum period of on-the-job training; and

(C)          received verification by an agreement state or a Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensee that the applicant has demonstrated the capability of independently working as a radiographer;

(3)           include procedures to ensure that all examination questions are protected for disclosure;

(4)           include procedures for denying an application, and for revoking, suspending, and reinstating a certification;

(5)           provide a certification period of not less than three years and not more than five years;

(6)           include procedures for renewing certifications and, if the procedures allow renewals without examination, require evidence of recent full-time employment and annual refresher training; and

(7)           provide a timely response to inquiries by telephone or letter, from members of the public, about an individual's certification status.

(c)  All examinations shall be:

(1)           designed to test an individual's knowledge and understanding of the topics set forth in Rule .0519 of this Section;

(2)           written in a multiple-choice format; and

(3)           have test items drawn from a question list based on the material contained in Rule .0519 of this Section.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 104E-7; 104E-10(b); 10 C.F.R. 34.43; 10 C.F.R. 34, Appendix A;

Eff. April 1, 1999;

Transferred and Recodified from 15A NCAC 11 .0525 Eff. February 1, 2015;

Pursuant to G.S. 150B-21.3A, rule is necessary without substantive public interest Eff. June 22, 2019.