ML18107A265
| ML18107A265 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Salem  |
| Issue date: | 04/30/1999 |
| From: | Miller H NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | Branham D Public Service Enterprise Group |
| Shared Package | |
| ML18107A268 | List: |
| References | |
| IA-99-016, IA-99-16, NUDOCS 9905100125 | |
| Download: ML18107A265 (3) | |
Text
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REGION I IA 99-016 Mr. David Branham HOME ADDRESS DELETED UNDER 2.790 475 ALLENDALE ROAD KING OF PRUSSIA, PENNSYLVANIA 19406-1415 April 30, 1999
SUBJECT:
NOTICE OF VIOLATION (NRC 01 Investigation 1-98-011)
Dear Mr. Branham:
This refers to an investigation conducted by the NRC Office of Investigations (01) to evaluate information reported to the NRC by your former employer, Public Service Electric & Gas Company (PSE&G).
Specifically, PSE&G reported that while you were employed at its Salem facility, you made a change to a procedure without proper review, and you signed a record which indicated that all required independent verifications had been performed of a calculation. for an intended release from the Chemical Volume Control System Monitor Tank, when not all of the required independent verifications had been done. Based on its investigation, 01 concluded that you deliberately falsified sections of the procedure by indicating that two independent verifications of the Radioactive Liquid Release Rate calculation had been done, when you knew that they had not been completed. A copy of the synopsis of the 01 investigation is enclosed.
During your interview by 01 on May 14, 1998, you contended that three independent verifications were actually performed by a Chemistry Technician, yourself, and a Control Room Supervisor.
Notwithstanding your contention, the NRC maintains that the only verification done was by the technician. Your review did not constitute an independent verification because it only involved your multiplication of the calculated release rate by a factor of four. It did not include using the radiochemical and chemical sample analysis results obtained from tank samples in the appropriate equadtions todverify t~fie c~lculaftiohn. Fu 1
rth 1
er, the Control Room Supervisor denied that he performed y,
1
.i an in epen ent ven 1cat1on o t e ca cu ations.
By falsifying the record of the release rate calculation verifications, you deliberately caused PSE&G to be in violation of NRC requirements. As such, you personally violated 10 CFR 50.5(a) which specifies that any employee of a licensee may not engage in deliberate misconduct that causes, or but for detection, would have caused, a licensee to be in violation of any rule, regulation, or order issu~d by t~e Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
j £ !J '*f The NRC recognizes that the actual safety consequences of the record you falsified were low because (1) the intended release from the eves Monitor Tank was not actually made, and (2) if the intended release had actually occurred, the concentration of radioactive materials would have been significantly below the regulatory limits specified in 10 CFR Part 20 and PSE&G Technical Specifications. But, this was not the first time that you revised the effluent release rate calculations to remove the conservatism factor used to account for non-gamma emitting radio nuclides, when removal of the conservatism factor was contrary to the requirements of PSE&G's Technical 9905100125 990430 PDR ADOCK 05000272 G
I,,
Mr. David Branham 2
Specifications (TS) and Offsite Dose Calculation Manual (ODCM). PSE&G identified that you made similar revisions to effluent release permits used to support two radiological effluent releases on January 3, 1998. Because you were a supervisor and deliberately failed to comply with regulatory requirements, the NRC considers your falsifying the record of the release rate calculation verifications to be a significant violation, and has classified the violation at Severity Level Ill in accordance with the "General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions,"
(Enforcement Policy), NUREG-1600.
You should be aware that NRC regulations allow the issuance of civil sanctions, such as a Notice of Violation, directly against unlicensed persons who engage in deliberate misconduct. Deliberate
- misconduct includes the deliberate creation of a licensee record that the person creating the record knows to be incomplete or inaccurate in some respect material to the NRC. An Order may also be issued to an individual to prevent his or her engaging in licensed activities at all NRC licensed facilities. The NRC considered issuing you an Order in this case. However, after consultation with the Director, Office of Enforcement, I have decided to issue the enclosed Notice of Violation, and refrain from issuing you an Order.* My decision to issue you a Notice of Violation rather than an Order was based, in part, on the facts that (1) the actual safety consequences of your actions were low, and (2) the licensee took significant disciplinary action against you by terminating your employment. Nonetheless, you should be aware that should you be involved in NRC licensed activities in the future, engagement in any similar wrongdoing could result in more significant enforcement action.
You are not required to respond to this letter, however, if you choose to respond you should follow the.instructions specified in the enclosed Notice of Violation when preparing your reply. If you intend to submit a reply, you should provide us with your reply within 30 days from the date of this letter.
in accordance with 10 CFOR 2.790 of the NRC's" Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter, with your
- home address redacted, its enclosures, and your reply, if you choose to submit one, will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room (PDR).
If you have any questions or comments, please contact Mr. Glenn Meyer at (610) 337-5211.
Sincerely, VJ. /JI I*~
Hu J. Miller Regional Administrator
Enclosures:
- 1.
- 2.
Synopsis of 01 Investigation ccw/encls:
Harold W. Keiser, President and Chief Nuclear Officer, PSE&G
' I\\
Mr. David Branham DISTRIBUTION:
SECY
.CA PUBLIC Wfravers, EDO MKnapp, DEDE Jlieberman, OE HMiller, RI SCollins, NRR BSheron, NRR WKane, NRR DDambly, OGC Enforcement Coordinators RI, Rll, Riii, RIV BBeecher, OPA HBell, OIG Plohaus, OSP GCaputo, 01 OE:EA OE:Chron NU DOCS Nuclear Safety Information Center (NSIC)
NRC Resident Inspector-Salem DScrenci, PAO-RI NSheehan, PAO-RI