IR 05000295/1980002
| ML19323F453 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Zion File:ZionSolutions icon.png |
| Issue date: | 04/14/1980 |
| From: | Norelius C, Waters J, Weil C NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19323F451 | List: |
| References | |
| 50-295-80-02, 50-295-80-2, NUDOCS 8005290040 | |
| Download: ML19323F453 (8) | |
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s U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT
REGION III
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i Report No. 50-295/80-02 Docket No. 50-295 License No. DPR-39 Licensee:
Commonwealth Edison Company P. O. Box 767 Chicago, IL 60690 Facility Name:
Zion Generating Station, Unit 1, Zion, IL Investigation Conducted:
February 6, 27 and 28, 1980 Investigation At:
Bethesda, MD and Zion, IL Invectigator:
N C. H. Weil (Date)
[ ['d Inspector:
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R. $teg
/ (D'/te)
(e[f/o Reviewed By:
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C. E. Norelius (Date)
Assistant to the Director
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W. S / Little
' 4Date)
Chief, Nuclear Support Section 1-2 Investigation Summary Investigation on February 6, 27 and 28, 1980 (Report No. 50-295/80-02)
Areas Investigated: Special, unannounced investigation into an allegation that a licensed reactor operator was under the influence of marijuana on January 17, 1980, while on duty in the control room of the Zion Generating Station, Unit 1.
The investigation involved eight investigative hours.
Results: The allegation was not substantiated.
No items of noncompliance with NRC requirements were identified during the course of the investiga-tion.
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REASON FOR INVESTICATION On February 6, 1980, an individual (Individual
'B'), who was at that time employed in the Operator Licensing Branch, Headquarters, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, stated that on January 17, 1980, while performing operator licensing evaluations in the Control Room of the Zion Generating Station, he observed Individual ' A',
a licensed reactor operator, to be under the influence of what he believed to be marijuana.
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SUMMARY OF FACTS The Region III office (RIII) was advised of an allegation concerning the possibility that on January 17, 1980, Individual
'A' had been under the influence of what Individual 'B' believed to be marijuana, while Indi-vidual 'A' was working as a reactor operator at the Zion Generating Station. Individual 'A' was interviewed and stated he has never used marijuana, narcotics, or dangerous drugs, other than prescribed medica-tions. Individual 'A' advised he has never been under the influence of either alcohol or prescribed medications, while on duty at the Zion Generating Station. Interviews of Individual ' A's supervisor and four co-workers working with Individual 'A' on January 17, 1980 disclosed that none of those five have ever observed Individual 'A' to be under the influence of marijuana, alcohol, or prescribed medication, while Individual 'A'
has been working at the Zion Generating Station, in-cluding January 17, 1980. The NRC Senior Resident Inspector was in the Control Room on January 17, 1980, observed Individual
'A', and did not consider individual 'A'
to be under the influence of marijuana, alcohol or narcotics and considered Individual ' A' fit to perform as a licensed reactor operator. Investigation by RIII did not substantiate the alle-gation, and the investigation did not disclose any items of noncompliance with NRC requirements.
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DETAILS 1.
Personnel Contacted
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Commonwealth Edison
- C, E. Schumann, Operating Assistant Superintendent L. Soth, Administrative Assistant Superintendent
- M. Miller, Attorney R. Ward, Senior Operating Engineer M. L. Carnahan, Licensed Shift Foreman R. J. Dietz, Foreman E. H. Holden, Equipmant Attendant D. J. Hubeler, Jr., Equipment Attendant R. A. Wilson, Equipment Attendant Individual 'A'
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1461
- S.
Kenesic, President AF. Moser, Vice President
- D.
Capko, Chief Steward E. H. Holden, Steward Nuclear Regulatory Consission Individual 'B'
J. E. Kohler, Senior Resident Inspector, Zion
- Denotes attendance at exit meeting.
2.
Receipt of Allegation On February 6,1980, an operator licensing examiner, (Individual
'B'),
who was at that time employed in the Operator Licensing Branch, Head-quarters, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, provided the following infor-mation:
On January 17, 1980, he was in the Control Room of the Zion Nuclear Generating Station, where he was administering a senior reactor oper-ators licensing examination. During the course of the examination, he noted the turbine controls were in a " latched" condition and the turbine trip light on the control panel was lit.
However, the tur-
bine trip light should not have been on while the turbine was in a latched condition. During the licensing examination the Control Room operators changed their shift, and Individual 'A' came on duty.
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Since Individual 'B'
had been curious as to why the turbine trip l
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light was on, he asked Individual 'A'
to trip the turbine in order to reset the light. Individual 'A' went to the control panel, and Individual 'A'
seemed to be confused as to what to do.
Individual 'A'
seemed to take an inordinate amount of time in locating the turbine trip switch.
After moving the trip switch, Individual 'A'
brought his hand to his face, looked at his fingers, and made a facial ex-pression, as if to say, "Did I do that?"
Individual 'B'
walked over to Individual 'A' and noticed what he (Individual 'B') thought to be the odor of marijuana coming from Individual 'A's clothing. Individual 'B'
also noticed that Indi-vidual 'A's eyes were glassy and the pupils were dilated.
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Individual 'B'
stated he first met Individual
'A' in the mid-1970's
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at the Westinghouse Training Center, Zion, IL.
Individual 'B'
re-
called Individual 'A'
as a very fast acting person, and not as the
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slow, lethargic person he (Individual 'B') observed on January 17, e
1980.
j Additionally, Individual 'B'
advised he had previously worked at the Walter Reed, U.S. Army, Medical Center Institute of Research, and had come in contact with numerous drug abuse patients.
Through his work at the Walter Reed Institute of Research he became aware of the physiological effects of marijuana use, which he described as glassy eyes, dilated pupils, and confusion.
Additionally, he became aware of the odor of burned marijuana, while working at Wniter Reed.
Individual 'B'
incorporated the above information into the form of a written statement. A typed transcript of that statement is attached (Exhibit I).
3.
Interview of Individual ' A'
On February 27, 1980, Individus1 'A' was interviewed and proviced the following information:
He has never used marijuana, narcotics or dangerous drugs, other than prescribed medications.
In his seven years of employment at the Zion Station, he has never reported to work under the influence of alcohol or prescribed medication. He has never been incapacitated, either physically or mentally, to perform his duties as a licensed reactor operator.
On January 17, 1980, he was working the 3:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m. shift.
At the beginning of the shif t, Individual 'B'
asked why the turbine latch button was lit.
Individual 'A'
stated the light was on because Unit 1 was not operating at the time and maintenance was being performed. Individual 'A'
stated ne thought the turbine latch
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button had been "jumpered-out" by the maintenance people, and this
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caused the turbine latch button to be lit.
Individual 'A' stated l-A-
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Individual 'B'
did not ask him (Individual 'A') to trip the turbine.
But later in the shift, Individual 'A' voluntarily checked the turbine switch button to satisfy himself that the turbine was in the latched mode for maintenance.
Individual 'B'
did not engage Individual 'A'
in any other conversation, or ask any other questions of Individual
'A'.
Individual 'A' advised he had met Individual 'B'
approximately three years ago at the Westinghouse Training Center, Zion.
Individual ' A'
could not offer an explanation as to the reason for the allegation made against him by Individual
'B'.
Additionally. Indivi'ual 'A' provided a written statement as follows:
"I, (name omitted), do swear that I have never been under the influence of drugs, legal or illegal, or alcohol since my employment at Commonwealth Edison since May of 1973 while performing my job, specifically January 17, 1980."
Interview of Station Supervisor On February 27-28, 1980, Charles E. Schumann, Operating Assistant Superintendent, was interviewed and provided the following infor-mation:
Commonwealth Edison Company, including the Zion Generating Station, have long standing company orders against the use of marijuana or narcotics and the consumption of alcohol; both on the company prop-erty and being under the influence when reporting for work.
Schumann stated any employee found to be under the influence of alcohol, mari-juana, or narcotics would be relieved from their job and that employee would be subjected to the appropriate disciplinary action, including the possibility of termination of employment.
The concerns of both the corporate and station management in the area of alcohol and drug usage have been repeatedly stressed to all employees, including first-line supervision, and in the past several employees have had their employment at the Zion Generating Station terminated for such usage.
Schumann stated he has known Individual ' A' for approximately seven years. Individual 'A' is currently employed as a Nuclear Station Operator.
Individual 'A'
is a Licensed Reactor Operator.
During the seven years he has known Individual ' A', he has never observed Individual ' A' to be under the influence of alcohol, marijuana or narcotics. He considered Individual 'A'
to be a reliable individual and a dependable employee without a history of adverse employment actions. Schumann stated at times Individual 'A' appeared to be slow moving. Schumann believed Individual 'A's occasional slow movement was a method Individual 'A' was using to compensate for the stresses of his (Individual 'A's) job.
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Additionally, Schumann expressed concern that the allegation of
marijuana usage against a station operator was not immediately brought to his attention, or to the attention of the on-duty su-pervisor.
5.
Interview of Shif t Foreman On February 28, 1980, Mark L. Carnahan, Licensed Shift Foreman, was interviewed and provided the following information:
He has known Individual ' A' for approximately six years.
Most of their relationship has been on the job at the Zion Generating Station; they have had some social contact.
During the time he has known Individual
'A', he has never observed Individual
'A'
to be under the influence of alcohol, marijuana or narcotics.
He has never observed Individual 'A'
to be incapacitated in any way to perform his (Individual 'A's) job.
On January 17, 1980, he was Individual 'A's immediate supervisor.
At the beginning of the shift he held a meeting with all of the nuclear station operators, including Individual ' A'.
During that meeting, or at any time during the shift, he did not consider In-dividual 'A'
to be incapacitated in any way or under the influence of alcohol, marijuana or narcotics. On January 17, 1980, he con-sidered Individual 'A'
to be fit for work, and did not observe anything peculiar about Individual
'A'.
Carnahan stated that had he observed anyone, including Individual 'A',
under the influence of marijuana, narcotics or alcohol, he would have immediately relieved that person from duty and called in a replace-ment. He advised the procedure of immediately relieving the employee from duty is a long-standing company policy.
Carnahan could not recall Individual 'B'
being present in the Con-trol Room on January 17, 1980.
Carnahan stated he would have ex-pected anyone making an allegation of drug usage against one of the station operators to have immediately brought that allegation to the attention of the on-duty supervisor.
6.
Interviews of Co-Workers On February 27-28, 1980, four employees of the Zion Generating Station, working on the afternoon shift of January 17, 1980, were interviewed. The four employees have known Individual 'A'
for periods of one to seven years. Each have seen Individual
'A' on a daily basis at the Zion Generating Station, and several have been j
associated socially with Individual ' A'.
None of the four have l
ever (and specifically on January 17, 1980) observed Individual
'A'
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to be under the influence of marijuana, narcotics or alcohol. None l
have ever (and specifically on January 17, 1980) observed Indivi-l dual 'A'
to be incapacitated to perform his duties as a nuclear i
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a station operator. Each described Individual ' A' to be a professional
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reactor operator and to be in complete control of himself.
They de-scribed Individual 'A' to be quick to react, and described what would appear to be a slowness by Individual 'A'
as actually his method of visually scanning the control panel.
I One of the four recalled a conversation between Individual 'B'
and Individual
'A', and felt any directions given directly to Indivi-
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daal ' A' by individual 'B' were inappropriate and should have been directed to the shift foreman.
7.
Interview of NRC Resident Inspector On February 27, 1980, Joel E. Kohler, NRC Senior Resident Inspector, Zion Generating Station, advised he has never observed Individual 'A'
to be under the influence of alcohol, marijuana or narcotics, or to be incapacitated to perform his duties as a licensed reactor operator.
Kohler stated that he was in the Control Room on January 17, 1980.
Kohler stated that in his opinion Individual 'A' was not under the
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influence of alcohol, marijuana or narcotics, and Individual ' A' was fit to perform his functions as a licensed reactor operator on January 17, 1980.
8.
Discussion with Zion Generating Station Management On February 28, 1980, the allegation and the results of this investi-gation were discussed with Mr. Charles E. Schumann, Assistant Super-intendent, in the absence of the Plant Manager.
Attachment: Exhibit I, Copy of typed transcript of statement by Individual
'B'.
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e Bethesda, MD (Location)
i February 6, 1980 (Date)
I, (Individual
'B'), hereby make the following voluntary statement to Charles H. Weil, who has identified himself to me as an investigator with the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
I make this statement freely with no threats or promises of reward having been made to me.
On 17 January 80, while administering an SRO oral exam to an indivi-dual, at the Zion Nuclear Station, I noticed the licensed RO on shif t, I believe his name is (Individual ' A'), to be acting in a very slow
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almost lethargic manner. I also noticed his eyes to be very glassy and pupils very (PPB) constricted.
I spoke with (Individual 'A') a couple of times and his speech pattern was not slurred, but it was as if he were talking in " slow time."
I asked (Individual 'A') to perform a very simple operational task, to trip the turbine, and he acted as if he wasn't quite sure of how to carry out the manipulation.
After depressing the trip buttons with nothing happening he looked at
his fingera as if saying to himself "Did I do that" he then tried again unsuccessfully and I had to ask him to check out the problem.
I have prior experience working in an environment at Walter Reed Hos-pital and the Institute of Research to be around people "high" on drugs or " grass." As well as attending military classes and having discussions with doctors as to how to recognize and attempt to help habitual users. This background probably makes me more aware of people who use drugs as well as the distinct smell of " grass." This is what called my attention to (Individual ' A') as I thought I de-tected this odor when being close to (Individual 'A').
I have read the foregoing statement consisting of 1 page.
I have made any necessary corrections and have initialed them.
I have signed my name in the margin of each page.
This statement is the truth to the beat of my knowledge and belief.
(Signed) Individual
'B'
Witness:
Charles H. Weil Investigative Specialist NRC, Region III, Glen Ellyn, Illinois (
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