ML071030311
| ML071030311 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Browns Ferry  |
| Issue date: | 04/13/2007 |
| From: | James Shea Division of Reactor Safety II |
| To: | Swafford P Tennessee Valley Authority |
| References | |
| EA-06-143 2-2005-006 | |
| Download: ML071030311 (5) | |
Text
April 13, 2007 EA-06-143 Tennessee Valley Authority ATTN: Mr. Preston D. Swafford Acting Chief Nuclear Officer and Executive Vice President 6A Lookout Place 1101 Market Street Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801
SUBJECT:
NOTICE OF VIOLATION (OFFICE OF INVESTIGATIONS REPORT NUMBER 2-2005-006)
Dear Mr. Singer:
This letter is in reference to an investigation completed by the NRC*s Office of Investigations (OI) on April 19, 2006. The purpose of the OI investigation was to determine whether a Stone and Webster Engineering Company (SWEC) foreman, employed at the Tennessee Valley Authoritys (TVA) Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, willfully allowed a prohibited activity to be performed. The activity in this case involved vacuum blasting to remove paint inside the Unit 1 torus in January and February of 2004, which resulted in another SWEC employee receiving an internal uptake of radioactive material (less than regulatory limits).
The results of the investigation, including the identification of an apparent violation involving Browns Ferry Technical Specification 5.4.1.a, together with TVA Nuclear Standard Department Procedure RCDP-3, Administration of Radiation Work Permits (RWP), Paragraph 3.6.3, Revision 2, was transmitted to you by our letter of August 3, 2006. Our letter also provided TVA an opportunity to address the apparent violation by either attending a predecisional enforcement conference or by providing a written response before we made our final enforcement decision. In a letter dated October 31, 2006, TVA provided a written response to the apparent violation in lieu of requesting a pre-decisional enforcement conference.
Based on our review of the OI investigation and TVAs written response, the NRC has determined that a violation of NRC requirements occurred. The violation is cited in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice) and the circumstances surrounding it are described in detail in our letter of August 3, 2006. In summary, the NRC concluded that the SWEC foreman engaged in deliberate misconduct in violation of 10 CFR 50.5, by permitting unauthorized vacuum blasting to be performed on non-flat surfaces in the Unit 1 torus in January and February 2004, in violation of RWP requirements and verbal directions from TVA Radcon.
Because the NRC holds its licensees accountable for the actions of its employees and contractors, the staff has concluded that TVA violated RWP requirements.
After considerable review, the Agency has concluded that, on balance, this violation should be characterized at Severity Level IV given its safety significance. This determination is based on
Tennessee Valley Authority 6 the fact that the Unit 1 torus was de-contaminated by TVA Radcon prior to the commencement of paint removal activities, radiological conditions were monitored by TVA during these activities, an immediate investigation of the internal uptake of radioactive material performed by TVA Radcon was inconclusive as to the source/cause of the uptake, and the amount of the internal uptake was relatively low and below TVAs administrative limits.
The NRC has concluded that this violation does not satisfy the non-cited violation criteria specified in Section VI.A of the NRC Enforcement Policy, because the violation was deliberate, TVA did not identify the violation, the violation involved the acts of a first line supervisor (i.e., a licensee official as defined in Section IV.A of the Enforcement Policy), and the violation was caused by a lack of management oversight as evidenced by a lack of supervision of employees.
You are required to respond to this letter and should follow the instructions specified in the enclosed Notice when preparing your response. The NRC will use your response, in part, to determine whether further enforcement action is necessary to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter and its enclosure will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).
Should you have any questions concerning this letter, please contact Mr. Brian Bonser, Chief, Plant Support Branch, Division of Reactor Safety at (404) 562-4653.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Joseph W. Shea, Director Division of Reactor Safety Docket Nos. 50-259, 50-260, 50-296 License Nos. DPR-33, DPR-52, DPR-68
Enclosure:
Notice of Violation
Tennessee Valley Authority 6 cc w/encl: Beth A. Wetzel, Manager Ashok S. Bhatnagar Corporate Nuclear Licensing and Senior Vice President Industry Affairs Nuclear Operations Tennessee Valley Authority Tennessee Valley Authority 4X Blue Ridge Electronic Mail Distribution 1101 Market Street Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801 Larry S. Bryant, Vice President Nuclear Engineering & State Health Officer Technical Services Alabama Dept. of Public Health Tennessee Valley Authority RSA Tower - Administration Electronic Mail Distribution Suite 1552 P. O. Box 303017 Brian O'Grady Montgomery, AL 36130-3017 Site Vice President Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Chairman Tennessee Valley Authority Limestone County Commission Electronic Mail Distribution 310 West Washington Street Athens, AL 35611 Preston D. Swafford Senior Vice President Masoud Bajestani, Vice President Nuclear Support Browns Ferry Unit 1 Restart Tennessee Valley Authority Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Electronic Mail Distribution Tennessee Valley Authority P. O. Box 2000 General Counsel Decatur, AL 35609 Tennessee Valley Authority Electronic Mail Distribution Robert G. Jones, General Manager Browns Ferry Site Operations John C. Fornicola, General Manager Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Nuclear Assurance Tennessee Valley Authority Tennessee Valley Authority P. O. Box 2000 Electronic Mail Distribution Decatur, AL 35609 Robert G. Jones, Acting Plant Manager Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Tennessee Valley Authority Electronic Mail Distribution Robert H. Bryan, Jr., General Manager Licensing & Industry Affairs Tennessee Valley Authority Electronic Mail Distribution William D. Crouch, Manager Licensing and Industry Affairs Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Tennessee Valley Authority Electronic Mail Distribution
Tennessee Valley Authority 6 NOTICE OF VIOLATION Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant Docket No. 50-259 Unit 1 License No. DPR-33 EA-06-143 During an NRC Office of Investigations investigation completed on April 19, 2006, 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 written procedures be established, implemented, and maintained covering the applicable procedures recommended in Regulatory Guide 1.33. Appendix A, Paragraph 7.e. of Regulatory Guide 1.33 requires radiation protection procedures addressing access control to radiation areas including a radiation work permit system.
Paragraph 3.6.3 to TVAN Standard Department Procedure RCDP-3, Administration of Radiation Work Permits, Revision 2, states that an individual must receive an RWP briefing from RadCon before use [of the RWP] and that the worker must agree to comply with the RWP requirements as well as verbal instructions given by RadCon.
RWP Number (No.) 04-1021, Worker Instructions No. 13, states that RadCon permission is required prior to welding, grinding, buffing or other surface disturbing activities. Pursuant to this RWP, the verbal instructions provided by Radcon to painters and their supervision during pre-job briefings specified that, due to radiation contamination hazards, the anti-contamination clothing specified in the RWP, including dust mask covers, was appropriate during vacuum blasting. Open blasting and vacuum blasting on non-flat surfaces was expressly prohibited by Radcon.
Contrary to the above, on or about February 24, 2004, a Stone and Webster Engineering Company Lead Foreman deliberately directed or allowed vacuum blasting to be performed on non flat areas inside the Unit 1 torus in apparent violation of the requirements of RWP 04112101 and the verbal instructions provided by Radcon.
This is a Severity Level IV violation (Supplement I, IV).
Pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 2.201, Tennessee Valley Authority is hereby required to submit a written statement or explanation to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Document Control Desk, Washington, D.C. 20555 with a copy to the Regional Administrator, Region II, and a copy to the NRC Senior 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-06-143" and should include for the 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 Enclosure 1
Tennessee Valley Authority 6 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 to the Director, Office of Enforcement, United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001.
Because your response will be made publicly available, to the extent possible, it should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or safeguards information so that it can be made publically available 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 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 basis 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 13th day of April, 2007 Enclosure 1