ML072890766
| ML072890766 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Vermont Yankee File:NorthStar Vermont Yankee icon.png |
| Issue date: | 08/27/2007 |
| From: | Neil Sheehan Office of Public Affairs |
| To: | Audette R NRC Region 1 |
| References | |
| 2.206, FOIA/PA-2007-0313 | |
| Download: ML072890766 (9) | |
Text
Neil Sheehan... Re: FW_-'Ne d
alifi6n 2.
6 Request Page f1l From:
Neil Sheehan To:
Robert Audette Date:
08/27/2007 3:20:20 PM
Subject:
Re: FW: New England Coalition 2.206 Request
- Bob, I did see the press release. I did not see any specifics in there regarding the union's safety concerns. We would want to learn more about what they consist of.
Yes, nuclear power operators are obligated to report safety issues. They can do that in a variety of ways:
Bring them to the attention of plant management or NRC inspectors; file a Condition Report in-house; use other internal plant processes to raise concerns; or submit an allegation to the NRC, which would allow them to protect their identity.
We have two Resident Inspectors at Vermont Yankee. It's vital that plant employees feel comfortable raising safety concerns to us so that there are many, many more eyes keeping watch on conditions at that and other reactor facilities.
Neil NRC Public Affairs
>>> "Robert Audette" <raudette@reformer.com> 08/27/2007 2:56 PM >>>
Did you see the press release from Jim Farrell, calling a meeting on Saturday to discuss safety issues?
They eventually cancelled the press conference.
If nuclear power plant operators are aware of safety issues are they required by law to inform you? what is the process?
From: NAS(nrc.6ov To: raudettecreformer.com
Subject:
Re: FW: New England Coalition 2.206 Request Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 14:41:22 -0400
>Thanks for passing along a copy of the petition, Bob.
>For your background purposes, when an individual or group submits a
>2.206 petition to us, we send them an acknowledgment letter. After
>receiving a request, the NRC determines whether (1) the request
>qualifiies as a 2.206 petition; (2) an investigation of potential
>wrongdoing is appropriate and (3) an informal public hearing is
>warranted. Within a reasonable period after that, a "Director's
>Decision" will be issued by the office tasked with responding to the
>petition. (The agency's goal is to issue a decision within 120 days
>from
>the date of the acknowledgment letter unless an investigation is
>involved or additional time is needed for a hearing.) The decision
>would
>either grant the requested action in whole or in part or deny it. The
>reason(s) for the decision would be spelled out. If a request is not
>accepted for review, the party or parties will be notified.
i - Re: FW,_New England Coalition ý,.,?06 Request "Page" 211
%Neil Sheehan -~e7 EW: New England Coalition 2.206 Request Page 21
>If a petition is accepted for review, the party or parties will be
>provided with updates throughout the review process.
>Neil
>NRC Public Affairs
>(610) 337-5331
>>>> "Robert Audette" <raudette(,reformer.com> 08/27/2007 2:02 PM >>>
>---- Original Message ----
>From: shadis(cDprexar.com
>To: lar@nrc, gov, secyvcnrc..ov., eli*(nrc.Qov
Subject:
FW: New England Coalition 2.206 Request
>Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 12:58:36 -0400
><html>
><body>
>New England Coalition
>on Nuclear Pollution -
>POST OFFICE BOX 545, BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT o5302
>
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>
>By U.S Mail, FAX [301-415-2700] and by e-mail[larlc~nrc.qov]
>
>August 27, 2007
>Mr. Luis A. Reyes
>Executive Director for Operations
>Mail Stop 016E15
>U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
>Washington, DC 20555
>
SUBJECT:
REQUEST FOR EXPEDITED NRC ACTION UNDER 10 CFR PART 50
>SECTION 2.206 TO ADDRESS UNREPORTED CONDITIONS LEADING TO A
>DEGRADATION
>OF PUBLIC SAFETY MARGIN AT VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER STATION (DKT.
.Neil Sheehan - Re: FW: New England Coaition 2206 Request Page 3
>50-271)
>
>Dear Mr. Reyes
>
>On August 23, 2007, unions representing the employees of Entergy
>Nuclear
>Vermont Yankee (Docket 50-271) issued a press release in which it was
>stated that workers were concerned that degrading conditions at
>Vermont
>Yankee had led to a decrease in margins of public safety. The release
>stated further that workers were meeting to discuss what mitigating
>measures should be taken the restore adequate margin in assurance of
>public health and safety. A copy of the text of the union press
>release is attached to this 10 CFR PART 50, Section 2.206
>Request.
>
>l. NOTICE
>A. &
>n
>bsp;
>New England Coalition herein notifies NRC that union member employees
>have in concert publicly stated conditions at Entergy Nuclears
>Vermont
>Yankee Power Station are degrading such that serious safety issues
>have
>arisen and that margins of public safety consequently been
>diminished.
>B. &
>n
>bsp;
>Coupled with the August 21, 2007 structural collapse of a cooling
>tower
>module, the employees statements call into question the competence
>and
>efficacy of ENVY Management, In-Service Inspection, Maintenance,
>Engineering, and Quality Assurance<a href="??">[1 ]</a>
>C. &
>n
>bsp;
>The employees failure to report these degrading safety conditions
>until
>pressed by a pending wage hike strike are plainly evidence of a,
>degraded
>safety culture cornerstone as referenced in the reactor oversight
>process
>(ROP). It is further evident that the ROP did not catch either
>the
>departmental performance defects listed in B or the decline in safety
>culture listed here.
>D. &
>n
>bsp;
>Either the licensee and the employees have failed to report degrading
>safety conditions to NRC, or the NRC has thus far failed to effect
>remedial action - or both.
>E. &
j,.K61F8`h"ee'_h'a"n'_-" ke:'rWN" E-ngfihd '66alifib`h' 2.':ý 6s't Pageý NeilSheehan - R~: FW: New ~igland d~oaiiUon 2.206 Request Page4
>bsp;
>The employees statement (press release) is indicative of reporting
>requirements violations under one or more of the following sections
>of
>federal regulation (10 CFR): 50.21.21, 50.54, 50.59, 50.72
>F. &
>n
>bsp;
>Wholly inadequate performance of VY In-service Inspection,
>Maintenance,
>Engineering, and Quality Assurance leading to a cooling tower cell
>collapse coupled with the employees assertion of degrading plant
>conditions inimical to public safety are ample evidence.that Vermont
>Yankee is being operated in an analyzed condition and therefore that
>public health and safety cannot at present be assured..
><hl>ll. REQUEST FOR
>ACTION</hl >
>New England Coalition, a non-profit membership organization
>incorporated
>in the State of Vermont, now requests under provisions set forth in
>the
>Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR 50.2.206), that the U.S. Nuclear
>Regulatory Commission act immediately to restore reasonable
>assurance of adequate protection of public heath and safety that is
>now
>degraded by the failure of the licensee and its employees to report
>adverse conditions leading to a reduction in plant safety margins.
>
>Specifically, New England Coalition requests, for the above stated
>reasons and on the basis of information set forth below:
>A. NRC completion of a Diagnostic Evaluation
>Team
>examination or Independent Safety Assessment of Vermont Yankee to
>determine the extent of condition of non-conformances, reportable
>items,
>hazards to safety, and the root causes thereof.
>B. NRC completion of a safety-culture
>assessment
>to determine why worker safety concerns were not previously reported
>and
>the why assessments of safety culture under the ROP failed to capture
>the
>fact or reasons that safety concerns have gone unreported.
>C. Derate Vermont Yankee to 50% of licensed
>thermal power with a mandatory hold at 50%,until a thorough and
>detailed
>structural and performance analysis of the cooling towers, including
>the
>alternate cooling system, has been completed. by the licensee;
>reviewed
>and approved by NRC; and until the above steps A and B have been
>completed.
>D. NRC investigation and determination of
>whether
>or not similar non-conforming conditions and causes exist at other
N eil Sheehan - Re:FWV: NewEngland coal iton 2.206 Request Page b
>Entergy-run nuclear power plants.
><hl >lll. CONCLUSION</hl >
>Of primary interest, is that US NRC takes immediate and decisive
>action.
>If in your opinion, prompt action cannot be taken through the 10 CFR
>2.206 process, then New England Coalition urges that the NRC exercise
>its
>statutory discretion to halt power operation until it
>can
>be determined to what extent Vermont Yankee is being operated in an
>unanalyzed condition and until it can be determined that reduction in
>margins of public health and safety have been restored and to do so
>prior
>to screening New England Coalitions letter for acceptance into the
>2.206
>process.
>
>New England Coalition now eagerly awaits a response. Please address
>all
>correspondence on this matter to my address below.
>
>Thank you for your prompt attention,
>
>
>
>
>Raymond Shadis
>Consultant to
>New England Coalition
>Post Office Box 98
>Edgecomb, Maine 04556
>shadisoprexar.com
>
>Cc: Chairman Dale Klein, US NRC
> US Senator Patrick Leahy
> US Senator Bernie Sanders
> US Representative Peter Welch
> Governor James Douglas
>
>ATTACHMENT
>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>CONTACT: Jim Farrell, PR First, 781-681-6616,
>ifarrell(iprfirst.com
>Union contacts: George Clain at 802-864-5864, Randy Albin at
>225-721-0222, David Leonardi at 508-801-1540 or Gary Sullivan at
>617-594-5762.
>
>Vermont Yankee strike possible Saturday; IBEW Local 300 & Local
>2286,
>UWUA 369 and otherunions nationally meet in Vermont Saturday in-
>effort
>to ensure safety
>
>Entergy Nuclear Unions meet as Vermont Yankee strike appears
>imminent;
>representatives of 1800 workers call situation critical
i"N__lSheehan - Re-. FW: NewEn land Coalition 2.206 Request Page 6
>
>BRAINTREE, MA AND BRATTLEBORO, VT, ISSUED AUGUST 23, 2007
>Representatives of Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) Local 369
>from
>Braintree will join utility union workers from across the nation at
>an
>emergency meeting Saturday, August 25, to discuss the pending strike
>at
>the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant in Brattleboro, VT..
>
>Vermont Yankee is owned and operated by Entergy Corporation, which
>also
>owns the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth, MA. The unionized
>workers of IBEW Local 300 of Brattleboro, representing the 170
>unionized
>employees who may strike, have notified Entergy of the possible job'
>action which could take place as early as 3 p.m. on Saturday.
>
>The situation in this dispute is critical enough that IBEW Local 300
>Business Manager George Clain has requested an emergency meeting of
>the
>Alliance of Entergy Nuclear Unions from across the country. This
>meeting
>will convene at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25 at the Holiday Inn
>Express
>in Brattleboro, 100 Chickering Drive. A press conference will follow
>at
>2:30ýp.m.
>
>Gary Sullivan, President of! UWUA Local 369 who will be present at
>this
>meeting, said, "This nuclear industry relies heavily on having
>each
>plant do the right thing and not cut corners. There are serious
>issues of
>public safety surrounding the Vermont Yankee dispute. We cannot allow
>one
>bad corporate apple and corporate greed to create a global
>risk."
.
>
>His comments were echoed by Randy Albin, Business Manager of
>International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 2286 of
>Beaumont, TX, who said, "George Clain is a level headed leader.
>When
>he calls me across the country and says that he is concerned about
>the
>steps that Entergy has taken, I am on a jet across the
>country."
>
>Those who will attend the meeting include representatives from the
>International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO (IBEW) and
>Utility Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO (UWUA) representing
>approximately 1800 unionized nuclear workers from 6 Northern and 5
>Southern nuclear units. The group will discuss the adequacy of steps
>taken by Entergy to ensure the health and safety of the public at
>Vermont
~Y~ei Sheehan -Re. FW: New England Coalition 226RqetPag
>Yankee and what steps they need take as a result of Entergy<s
>actions.
>Additionally, the group will discuss actions required to mitigate the
>degrading conditions at Entergy's Vermont Yankee, and steps to
>shorten
>the labor dispute and restore the margin of safety to the surrounding
>area.
>
>Local 300 represents 170 operators and maintenance workers at the
>Vermont
>Yankee facility. Entergy owns and/or operates 12 Nuclear power plants
>in
>New York (Indian Point Energy Center and FitzPatrick), Massachusetts
>(Pilgrim), Vermont (Vermont Yankee), Michigan (Palisades Nuclear
>Station), Arkansas (Arkansas Nuclear One Unit's 1 & 2), Louisiana
>(River Bend and Waterford), and Mississippi (Grand Gulf). Entergy
>Nuclear
>also provides support services for the Cooper Nuclear Station, in
>Nebraska. Entergy is the second largest nuclear power generator in
>the
>United States after Exelon Corporation.
>
> .For additional information, contact George Clain at
>802-864-5864,
>or Randy Albin at 225-721-0222 or David Leonardi at 508-801-1540 or
>Gary
>Sullivan at 617-594-5762.
>
>
>
> Jim Farrell
>
> PR First
>
> 2048 Washington Street Suite 1
>
> Hanover, MA 02339
>
> 781-681-6616
>
> cellular 617-429-7990
>
>
><a name="_ftnl"></a>[1] Vermont Yankee, by NRC granted exception and
>like
>all other Entergy plants, does not have a stand alone QA program, as
>required under 10 CFR 50, Appendix B and referenced in 10 CFR
>50.54.
><x-sigsep>
</x-sigsep>
>Raymond
>Shadis
>Consultant to
>New England Coalition
>Post Office Box 98
>Edgecomb, Maine 04556
>207-882-7801
NeIi il Sheehan -Re: "F Nerw_.ng England Coalition 2.206 Request P ag ii* l
>shad is(c-) rexar. com </body>
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