LYNCHBURG -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will not fine Areva NP for a violation this year when Areva shipped equipment to Tennessee carrying a radioactive "hot spot" exceeding regulatory limits.

In a June 13 letter, an official from the commission told Areva NP's site manager that he had been authorized not to propose a civil penalty, though violations like this one can carry fines starting at $32,500.

Areva's corrective actions and lack of recent serious violations played into that decision.

Susan Hess, spokeswoman for Areva, said company officials had been confident their safety record and response to the incident would work in their favor.

"We are very happy that they decided not to implement the fine," Hess said.

Also, the commission has given a vote of confidence to some of Areva's safety measures. A routine inspection of the company's Mt. Athos Road facility in April did not find violations, and the commission decided to decrease its scrutiny over the plant.

The NRC will discuss Areva's performance during the past year -- including the April inspection and the February violation -- in a July 24 meeting in Lynchburg.

The "hot spot" violation occurred in February when Areva shipped some fuel cleaning equipment from its Mt. Athos Road facility to the Watts Barr Nuclear Plant in Tennessee.

The power plant's employees discovered a spot on the equipment emitting 10 times the radiation allowed for such a shipment.

The spot later registered at a lower rating in tests by Areva.

After conducting an inspection later in February, the NRC concluded that the particle did not pose a threat to the public or the environment because of its size and position on the equipment.

The NRC held a meeting on May 28 to discuss the incident, which was then termed an "apparent violation."

Areva officials said then that they were training employees more effectively to find the particles. Also, they began using closed trailers instead of flatbeds to ship equipment.

After that meeting, the commission officially rated the violation at severity level three, according to a letter from Luis Reyes, regional administrator for the NRC. Severity level one is the most serious and level four is the least, said Ken Clark, NRC spokesman.

But Reyes' June 13 letter, available on the NRC's Web site, emphasized that the violation was still significant.

"In this case, the risk was more than minimal," the letter said. "In addition, the potential consequences could have been far greater under less favorable circumstances."

The base fine for severity level three violations is $32,500.

In his letter, Reyes said Areva's safety record was taken into consideration. The company has not been subject to "escalated enforcement" in the past two years.

However, the severity-level-three violation puts the company under escalated enforcement, meaning future violations could result in fines, the letter said.

Bryan Gentry is a staff writer at The News & Advance in Lynchburg.