ML050120077
| ML050120077 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Browns Ferry, Watts Bar, Sequoyah  |
| Issue date: | 01/12/2005 |
| From: | Congel F NRC/OE |
| To: | Singer K Tennessee Valley Authority |
| Starkey D | |
| References | |
| Download: ML050120077 (8) | |
Text
January 12, 2005 Mr. Karl W. Singer Chief Nuclear Officer and Executive Vice President Tennessee Valley Authority 6A Lookout Place 1101 Market Street Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801
SUBJECT:
SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY AND THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION - REVIEW OF SAFETY CONSCIOUS WORK ENVIRONMENT TRAINING
Dear Mr. Singer:
On February 7, 2000, a Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty for a Severity Level II violation of 10 CFR 50.7, Employee protection, was issued to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and two Severity Level II violations of 10 CFR 50.5, Deliberate misconduct, were issued to the TVA managers involved in employment discrimination. TVA disagreed with the violations and appealed the case to the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB). On June 26, 2003, the ASLB upheld the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staffs finding that TVA discriminated against its former employee. TVA appealed the ASLB decision to the Commission. On August 18, 2004, the Commission affirmed in part and reversed in part the ASLB decision and remanded the case back to ASLB. During October 2004, the NRC staff held discussions with TVA in an effort to resolve the case. On October 29, 2004, a Settlement Agreement was signed by TVA and the NRC staff. The Settlement Agreement was subsequently approved by the ASLB on November 10, 2004. The Commission has declined review of this decision. Accordingly, the ASLB decision became final agency action on December 20, 2004.
On November 30, 2004, the NRC Office of Enforcement conducted a review at the TVA Nuclear (TVAN) offices in Chattanooga, Tennessee and at the Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant (SQN). The purpose of the review was to verify TVAs corrective actions relative to the Settlement Agreement. Specifically, the review team attended a safety conscious work environment (SCWE) training session given to TVAN Corporate managers and SQN managers and interviewed several TVAN managers who have recently received SCWE training.
2 The NRC review team concluded that TVAN has provided an appropriate SCWE training program for its supervisory managers and, based on comments provided during interviews, TVAN senior management appears to actively support a SCWE. Details of the review are contained in the attached report.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Frank J. Congel, Director Office of Enforcement Docket Nos. 50-390, 50-327, 50-328, 50-259, 50-260, 50-296 License Nos. NPF-90, DPR-77, DPR-79, DPR-33, DPR-52, DPR-68
Attachment:
As stated cc w/attachment: See next page
cc w/attachment:
Ashok S. Bhatnagar Senior Vice President Nuclear Operations Tennessee Valley Authority Electronic Mail Distribution Michael J. Lorek, General Manager Engineering and Technical Services Tennessee Valley Authority Electronic Mail Distribution General Counsel Tennessee Valley Authority ET 10H 400 West Summit Hill Drive Knoxville, TN 37902 Electronic Mail Distribution John C. Fornicola, Manager Nuclear Assurance and Licensing Tennessee Valley Authority Electronic Mail Distribution Lawrence E. Nanney, Director TN Dept. of Environment & Conservation Division of Radiological Health Electronic Mail Distribution County Mayor Hamilton County Courthouse Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801
Distribution:
J. Dyer, NRR R. Borchardt, NRR F. Congel, OE J. Luehman, OE R. Arrighi, OE D. Starkey, OE S. McAndrew, OGC W. Travers, RII V. McCree, RII C. Evans, RII S. Sparks, RII S. Cahill, RII S. Freeman, RII OE Day File Document name: E:\\Filenet\\ML050120077.wpd OFFICE OE OE OE:DD OE:DD NAME D. Starkey R. Arrighi J. Luehman F. Congel DATE 1/11/05 1/11/05 1/11/05 1/12/05 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF ENFORCEMENT Docket Nos:
50-390, 50-327, 50-328, 50-259, 50-260, 50-296 License Nos:
NPF-90, DPR-77, DPR-79, DPR-33, DPR-52, DPR-68 Licensee:
TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY (TVA)
Facilities:
TVA Nuclear Corporate Office, Chattanooga, Tennessee and Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant Date:
November 30, 2004 Reviewers:
Russell Arrighi, Senior Enforcement Specialist Doug Starkey, Enforcement Specialist Attachment
2 REVIEW OF SAFETY CONSCIOUS WORK ENVIRONMENT TRAINING The purpose of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) review was to verify the quality of safety conscious work environment (SCWE) training given to Tennessee Valley Authoritys nuclear organization (TVAN) supervisory managers. Members of the NRC staff from the Office of Enforcement conducted the review on November 30, 2004, at the TVA Corporate offices in Chattanooga, Tennessee and at the Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant (SQN). The review team attended a SCWE training session given by TVAN to TVAN Corporate managers and Sequoyah managers and interviewed eight TVA managers who have recently received SCWE training.
Prior to the on-site review, NRC staff reviewed, as noted in the Settlement Agreement, the TVA Office of Inspector General Audit Report: Concerns Resolution Program-TVA Nuclear 2004, dated August 16, 2004, and found that it was consistent with the NRC Staffs data which reflected that no discrimination complaints were filed with the NRC staff about TVAN within the last two years; reviewed TVAs revised job selection process and observed that it is intended to promote objectivity in the selection process; and reviewed materials used by TVA in training its managers on SCWE and found them to be appropriate.
The details of the on-site review are provided below.
SCWE training.
The review team attend a November 30, 2004, SCWE training session at SQN for supervisory managers. The attendees included managers from TVAN corporate and SQN. The presenters of the course material where knowledgeable of the training material and presented the material in an interesting and informative manner. The regulatory background of the NRCs employee protection regulation 10 CFR 50.7 and the elements of what constitutes a 50.7 violation were discussed. Important terms such as, chilling effect, safety culture, and SCWE were defined.
Case studies were presented, including the case which resulted in the settlement agreement.
Work scenarios and enforcement case law were also discussed. The review team concluded that the SCWE training was well presented, appropriate in content, and, in general, provided an adequate overview of employee protection requirements and the elements of a good SCWE.
TVAN indicated that they are considering evaluating whether to conduct periodic SCWE refresher training and whether to expand the training to include non-supervisory personnel.
The review team reviewed class attendance records and determined that TVAN conducted SCWE training sessions at TVAN corporate, Sequoyah, Browns Ferry, and Watts Bar Nuclear Plants during the period of June-November, 2004. As of November 30, 2004, approximately, 175 TVAN supervisory managers and 255 contractors (Browns Ferry, Unit 1) have attended the SCWE training. TVAN indicated that those managers who have received the training represent the majority of TVANs managers who have supervisory responsibilities.
3 Interviews of TVAN supervisory managers who recently received SCWE training.
The purpose of the interviews was to evaluate the effectiveness of the SCWE training given to supervisory managers, to gain a perspective of the SCWE at TVAN corporate and Sequoyah, and to determine the degree of management support and understanding for a SCWE. The review team interviewed five managers at TVAN corporate offices and three managers at Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant who had recently received SCWE training.
The interview questions ranged from specific questions about the SCWE training to more general questions regarding the perceptions about and implementation of a SCWE at TVAN.
Based on the consistency of the responses provided during the interviews, the review team concluded that those managers who received the SCWE training believe that the training was informative and of good quality and that TVAN senior management actively supports and promotes a SCWE. The interviews also revealed that the interviewees had a good understanding of the elements of a SCWE.