IR 05000277/2009009

EA-09-029, Exelon Generation Company LLC, Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station - NRC Investigation Report No. 1-2008-040, NRC Inspection Report Nos. 05000277-09-009 and 05000278-09-009 and Notice of Violation Dated July 9, 2009

ML091910002
Person / Time
Site:	Peach Bottom
Issue date:	07/09/2009
From:	David Lew Division Reactor Projects I
To:	Pardee C Exelon Generation Co
Lew D
References
1-2008-040, EA-09-029 IR-09-009
Download: ML091910002 (7)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION uly 9, 2009

SUBJECT:

NOTICE OF VIOLATION (Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station -

NRC Investigation Report No. 1-2008-040 and NRC Inspection Report Nos.

05000277/2009009 and 05000278/2009009)

Dear Mr. Pardee:

This refers to an investigation completed by the NRCs Office of Investigations (OI) on January 15, 2009, concerning Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station (Peach Bottom). The investigation was initiated on April 2, 2008, to determine if a licensed plant reactor operator (PRO) willfully violated a Technical Specification required operations procedure regarding watchstanding in the Main Control Room (MCR), at Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station (Peach Bottom). Based on evidence developed during the OI investigation, the NRC concludes that the PRO had, in fact, deliberately violated the operations watchstanding procedure by reading a novel in the MCR, in violation of NRC requirements. The violation is cited in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice) and the circumstances surrounding the violation are described in detail in this letter and the Notice.

The PRO was identified by your staff to be reading the novel on a computer while on watch in the Peach Bottom MCR on July 16, 2007. Your procedure, referenced in the Notice, states that non-job-related reading materials, including novels, are not permitted in the Operations Department areas and that the use of the computers must be limited to company-related work.

The NRC became aware of this issue during a Safety Conscious Work Environment (SCWE)

inspection conducted in March 2008, as part of the follow-up to the finding of inattentive security officers (Inspection Report 2008-405, ML081490058).

Since this finding involved deliberate misconduct by a licensee employee, it was characterized using the NRC Traditional Enforcement Process. Comparing this issue to the examples in Inspection Manual Chapter (IMC) 0612, Appendix E, Examples of Minor Issues, this violation is similar to example 2(f) in that a licensee procedural requirement was not met. In this example, the issue is minor because it represents a failure to implement a procedural requirement that had no safety impact under the given situation. Given that the PRO was able to respond to plant conditions while reading the novel, for approximately ten minutes, and was not the primary plant reactor operator (a watchstation relied upon to detect safety significant abnormal plant conditions), there was minimal safety impact due to the PROs actions. Although this violation would normally be minor, since the PROs actions were determined to be deliberate by the NRC, the Severity Level (SL) of the violation has been increased to SL IV, in accordance with Section 2.10.f, of the NRC Enforcement Manual. Further, because the violation involves deliberate actions and the PRO is considered to be a licensee official as defined in the NRC Enforcement Policy, this violation is being cited. Pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 2.201, Exelon is hereby required to submit a written statement or explanation to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Document Control Desk, Washington, DC 20555-0001 with a copy to the Regional Administrator, Region I, and a copy to the NRC Resident Inspector at Peach Bottom, within 30 days of the date of the letter transmitting this Notice. This reply should be clearly marked as a Reply to a Notice of Violation; EA-09-029 and should include for each violation: (1) the reason for the violation, or, if contested, the basis for disputing the violation or severity level, (2) the corrective steps that have been taken and the results achieved, (3) the corrective steps that will be taken to avoid further violations, and (4) the date when full compliance will be achieved. Your response may reference or include previous docketed correspondence, if the correspondence adequately addresses the required response. If an adequate reply is not received within the time specified in this Notice, an order or a Demand for Information may be issued as to why the license should not be modified, suspended, or revoked, or why such other action as may be proper should not be taken. Where good cause is shown, consideration will be given to extending the response time.

If you contest this enforcement action, you should also provide a copy of your response, with the basis for your denial, to the Director, Office of Enforcement, United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRCs Rules of Practice, a copy of this letter, its enclosures, and your response will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the NRC=s document system (ADAMS), accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. The NRC also includes significant enforcement actions on its Web site at www.nrc.gov; select What We Do, Enforcement, then Significant Enforcement Actions.

Should you have any questions concerning this letter, please contact Mr. Paul Krohn, Chief, Projects Branch 4, Division of Reactor Projects in Region I at (610) 337-5120.

Sincerely,

/RA/

David C. Lew, Director Division of Reactor Projects Docket Nos.: 05000277, 05000278 License Nos.: DPR-44, DPR-56 Enclosures: Notice of Violation cc w/encl:

C. Crane, President and Chief Operating Officer, Exelon Corporation M. Pacilio, Chief Operating Officer, Exelon Nuclear W. Maguire, Site Vice President, Peach Bottom J. Grimes, Acting Senior Vice President, Mid-Atlantic R. Hovey, Senior Vice President, Nuclear Oversight G. Stathes, Plant Manager, Peach Bottom J. Armstrong, Regulatory Assurance Manager, Peach Bottom J. Bardurski, Manager, Financial Control & Co-Owner Affairs R. Franssen, Director, Operations P. Cowan, Director, Licensing D. Helker, Licensing K. Jury, Vice President, Licensing and Regulatory Affairs J. Bradley Fewell, Associate General Counsel, Exelon T. Wasong, Director, Training Correspondence Control Desk D. Allard, Director, Bureau of Radiation Protection, PA Department of Environmental Protection S. Gray, Administrator, Maryland Power Plant Research Program S. Pattison, Secretary, SLO, Maryland Department of the Environment M. Griffen, Maryland Department of Environment Public Service Commission of Maryland, Engineering Division Board of Supervisors, Peach Bottom Township B. OConnor, Council Administrator of Harford County Council Mr & Mrs Dennis Hiebert, Peach Bottom Alliance E. Epstein, TMI - Alert J. Johnsrud, National Energy Committee, Sierra Club Mr. & Mrs. Kip Adams R. Fletcher, Dir, MD Environmental Program Manager, Radiological Health Program Director, Nuclear Safety Project, Union of Concerned Scientists R. Ayers, Deputy Mgr, Harford County Div of Emergency Operations E. Crist, Harford County Div of Emergency Operations S. Ayers, Emergency Planner, Harford County Div of Emergency Operations R. Brooks, Cecil County Dept of Emergency Services Pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 2.201, Exelon is hereby required to submit a written statement or explanation to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Document Control Desk, Washington, DC 20555-0001 with a copy to the Regional Administrator, Region I, and a copy to the NRC Resident Inspector at Peach Bottom, within 30 days of the date of the letter transmitting this Notice. This reply should be clearly marked as a Reply to a Notice of Violation; EA-09-029 and should include for each violation: (1) the reason for the violation, or, if contested, the basis for disputing the violation or severity level, (2) the corrective steps that have been taken and the results achieved, (3) the corrective steps that will be taken to avoid further violations, and (4) the date when full compliance will be achieved. Your response may reference or include previous docketed correspondence, if the correspondence adequately addresses the required response. If an adequate reply is not received within the time specified in this Notice, an order or a Demand for Information may be issued as to why the license should not be modified, suspended, or revoked, or why such other action as may be proper should not be taken. Where good cause is shown, consideration will be given to extending the response time.

If you contest this enforcement action, you should also provide a copy of your response, with the basis for your denial, to the Director, Office of Enforcement, United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRCs Rules of Practice, a copy of this letter, its enclosures, and your response will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the NRC=s document system (ADAMS), accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. The NRC also includes significant enforcement actions on its Web site at www.nrc.gov; select What We Do, Enforcement, then Significant Enforcement Actions.

Should you have any questions concerning this letter, please contact Mr. Paul Krohn, Chief, Projects Branch 4, Division of Reactor Projects in Region I at (610) 337-5120.

Sincerely,

/RA/

David C. Lew, Director Division of Reactor Projects Docket Nos.: 05000277, 05000278 License Nos.: DPR-44, DPR-56 Enclosures: Notice of Violation SUNSI Review Complete: pgk (Reviewer=s Initials)

DOC. NAME: G:\DRP\BRANCH4\Enforcement\PB\Harry Potter\Exelon NOV Harry Potter AED DJH.doc After declaring this document AAn Official Agency Record@ it will be released to the Public. ML091910002 OFFICE RI/DRP RI/DRP RI/DRS RI/OI RI/RC NAME ARosebrook/aar* PKrohn/pjk* DRoberts/kgh for* EWilson/ew* KFarrar/klf*

DATE 06/10/09 06/11/09 06/11/09 06/12/09 06/16/09 OFFICE RI/ORA HQ/OGC HQ/OE RI/DRP NAME DHolody/aed for* CMarco (NLO)* GBowman* DLew/dcl DATE 06/15/09 07/06/09 07/06/09 07/09/09

• See prior concurrence OFFICIAL RECORD COPY Distribution w/encl:

SECY CA OEMAIL OEWEB W. Borchart, EDO B. Mallett, DEDR C. Carpenter, OE S. Magruder, OE T. Bloomer, OEDO C. Marco, OGC E. Leeds, NRR B. Boger, NRR R. Zimmerman, NSIR W. Dean, NSIR R. Correia, NSIR D. Furst, NSIR Enforcement Coordinators RII, RIII, RIV E. Hayden, OPA H. Bell, OIG G. Caputo, OI S. Titherington-Buda, OCFO M. Williams, OCFO S. Collins, RA M. Dapas, DRA D. Lew, DRP J. Clifford, DRP P. Krohn, DRP R. Fuhrmeister, DRP A. Rosebrook, DRP E. Torres, DRP J. Bream, DRP F. Bower, DRP, SRI M. Brown, DRP, RI S. Schmitt, DRP, OA H. Chernoff, NRR R. Nelson, NRR J. Hughey, PM NRR P. Bamford, Backup NRR ROPreports@nrc.gov Region I Docket Room (with concurrences)

NOTICE OF VIOLATION Exelon Generation Company, LLC Docket No. 50-277, 50-278 Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station License No. DPR-44, DPR-56 EA-09-029 As a result of an NRC Office of Investigations (OI) investigation completed on January 15, 2009, a violation of NRC requirements was identified. In accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, the violation is listed below:

Technical Specification 5.4.1.a requires that written procedures shall be established, implemented, and maintained covering the applicable procedures recommended in Regulatory Guide 1.33, Appendix A, dated November 1972. Regulatory Guide 1.33, requires, in part, procedures that specify authorities and responsibilities for safe operation.

Exelon procedure, OP-AA-103-102, Revision 6, Watchstanding Practices, is one of the procedures which meets this requirement. Specifically, Steps 4.1.2 and 4.1.3 specify that non-job-related reading materials (including novels) are not permitted in the Operations Department areas and that the use of computers must be limited to company-related work.

Contrary to the above, on July 16, 2007, a licensed plant reactor operator (PRO) brought non-job-related material (a novel) into the main control room, an Operations Department area, and used a control room computer to read the novel for approximately 10 minutes.

This is a Severity Level IV violation (Supplement I, Example D.3).

Pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 2.201, Exelon is hereby required to submit a written statement or explanation to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Document Control Desk, Washington, DC 20555-0001 with a copy to the Regional Administrator, Region I, and a copy to the NRC Resident Inspector at the facility that is the subject of this Notice, within 30 days of the date of the letter transmitting this Notice of Violation (Notice). This reply should be clearly marked as a "Reply to a Notice of Violation; EA-09-029" and should include for each violation:

(1) the reason for the violation, or, if contested, the basis for disputing the violation or severity level, (2) the corrective steps that have been taken and the results achieved, (3) the corrective steps that will be taken to avoid further violations, and (4) the date when full compliance will be achieved. Your response may reference or include previous docketed correspondence, if the correspondence adequately addresses the required response. If an adequate reply is not received within the time specified in this Notice, an order or a Demand for Information may be issued as to why the license should not be modified, suspended, or revoked, or why such other action as may be proper should not be taken. Where good cause is shown, consideration will be given to extending the response time.

If you contest this enforcement action, you should also provide a copy of your response, with the basis for your denial, to the Director, Office of Enforcement, United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

Because your response will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the NRC=s document system (ADAMS), accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, to the extent possible, it should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or safeguards information so that it can be made available to the public without redaction. If personal privacy or proprietary information is necessary to provide an acceptable response, then please provide a bracketed copy of your response that identifies the information that should be protected and a redacted copy of your Enclosure 1

NOTICE OF VIOLATION 2 response that deletes such information. If you request withholding of such material, you must specifically identify the portions of your response that you seek to have withheld and provide in detail the bases for your claim of withholding (e.g., explain why the disclosure of information will create an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy or provide the information required by 10 CFR 2.390(b) to support a request for withholding confidential commercial or financial information). If safeguards information is necessary to provide an acceptable response, please provide the level of protection described in 10 CFR 73.21.

In accordance with 10 CFR 19.11, you may be required to post this Notice within two working days.

Dated this 9th day of July 2009.

Enclosure 1