ML19318B468

Requests Hearing on Behalf of Matagorda County,Tx Citizens Re NRC 800430 Rept Sent to Houston Lighting & Power.H Scarlett 800504 Article in Houston Post & Citizens of Matagorda County Petition Encl

ML19318B468
Person / Time
Site:	South Texas
Issue date:	05/15/1980
From:	Keen N AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED
To:	NRC COMMISSION (OCM)
Shared Package
ML19318B467	List: ML19318B468 ML19318B470 ML19318B471
References
NUDOCS 8006260198
Download: ML19318B468 (3)

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nay 15,1980 2602 cncino Bay Cityt Texas 77414 Dcar ' -

ae: Tha 200 rege report of the Nuclear heEulatory Co.uicsio-Special InvestiEation on the touth Texas Nuclear rower riant in natagorda County, Texas, in reference to thic above report cent to nouston Light and Power on April 30, 1980 by the Nuclear hegulatory comission, I respectfully re-quest your assistance in seeing that the citizens of Matagorda County and the ; tate of Texac are granted a public hearing on this governmen-tally documented report.

An reuling thic documented report, the information revealed is both shockin6 and fri 6htenin6 as to hat:ardous con:truction and 6 rocs mic-r.anacement.

I along with other citizens of l'ata6orda County feel it is ecsential that a public hearing be held in may City to the documentation of the condi-tions of the plant can be revealed to the citizens.

As a understand it, we have only until nay 30, 1960 to requent this hearing.

I along with the other citizens of natagorda County eagerly anticipate your help. Pleace let us hear from your.

i nespectfully 1 5eb o*

8006260 % .

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" [. .,I The Houston Post Q fM Sun., May 4,1980 W M

,8y HANGLD SCARIETT Post Environment Wrlier, XRC repo~ rt afdamning document NRC c%ut threats and intimidation of paction criteria," the NRC team qual':y control inspectors by construe ~~TerEFfed_. ' Turning to pl ie welding, another cru-tion. people.

One worker at the South Texas Nu- After soil studies, project engineers cial safety factor in a nuclear plant, the clear Pr: ject told federal investigators There had been similar complaints tw had decided adequate soll compaction NRC discosered other serious problems.

that management of the $2.7 billion nu- Brown & Root has said it issued a ore. The regional NRC would send in a would require eight passes with a rolling stop work order on welding last mont couple of investigators. IliAP would file machine - although othe cle:r construction. job was "all fouled up." a report that it had taken corrective 12 passes were necessary.r data indicated because of flaws in paperwork proce-measures. That was the end of it. But NRC questioning showed compac- dures. Both Browr. & Root and IllAP Similar comments came from a num- But this time it was different.

ber of other workers among the 107 ques- for operators had not been told to make said weldingthey knew of no problems with the itself.

tioned over three months by a special The NRC sent h a team of five inspec- any minimum number of passes, just to tors and one investigator - four of them roll until told to stop. Well the NRC found some for them.

I;vestigition team of the Nuclear Regu- Th'e ,Invistigators reported discoiering latory Commission. assembled from other NRC regions. They "This information was obtained a number of bad welds - including two A rSport by the NRC team on its almost lived on the site for three months. , through an interpreter," the NRC noted, in a safety injection system that "had f51Tdsyg3rQn essence that man 3a They investigated a number of individ. "since the compactor operator did not been accepted when (they) should have ment of the mammoth project was, in- and Ualtheystories of threats confirmed most ofand them.harassment, speak English and his foreman didn't beer! rejectedJ' die 3-~rlffouled up. speak Spamsh."

The investigation led last week to the But they also delved into the perform. Some weld-testing radiographers on ance of the quality control program .by procedures, When a test NRCwas set up onnoted investigators compaction the job apparently don't kriow wlGft' hey NRC the imposing Houston Lighting a $100,000

& Power Co.; andcivil a penalty on checking how well it was working in excessive passes by the roller. Challeng- are doing, the NRC said, and several key types of construction.

wirningIhat construction will be halied.. , ed on this, an HL&P tepresentative ex- phy fdms are often so poor it's impossi-ynTess things are strii3Iened out. One of these was the concrete work, a plained f*lt's only human nature" to ble to detect a bad weld anyway.

recurting ar,d highly public!1ed problem make sure they passed 'he test. Drifting around the job, the NRC team The report, totajl n on the project.

Including appendfxes,g nearly 200 is flat and formal pages In another test. 'ae NRC observed the saw a number of violations of proper welding procedurrs.

in tone. But undermeath concealed in its flowever, their selective irkluiries rais- compactor was ,verlapping "a full hall ed questions about other areas of con- drum width," making 16 passes instead Once, the report says, an NRCinspec-dispassionate language is a pretty damn- tor cautioned a welding crew that con.'

ing document. struction s

never before in the public of ' the spectried eight. Challenged again, in mor2 than one instance, the NRC

~~potlight. HL&P called off the test, The matter re- tamination from neathy sandblasting The investigators found " serious ques. mains unresolved. could damage the weld. The welding investigators made it ptetty plain that torch was igmting floating sand and dust they feli lifAP or Brown & Root Inc. tions" about whether backfilled soll

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foundations under and around the mas- The NRC also discovered that a borin[ in showers of spatks, the NRC said, but the]ob contractor{h'aTsiiQIy~6iedlo, test 6eaiIliiDdit TrTactor 13Eifdm -

con tFem aly_ t goiWs~on' at 'the c5nt- 'sive niiclear buildings met density fountNsfTooie~hialefialnear th71@he of "the welding personnel cou

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requirements. G stand why sparks were emitted."

stnRTFn~11Fe near Bay City, 'the .'oGrifation mat."

_Next daytthe,NRC inspector returned

" It all began last Nov. 2 when a project "At least beneath six toI (safety.related)

Category nine inches of could material ' Undue b'rialIcrucial' settimgEa'Ose pip ~ini~and of the reactor buildings and iound

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he could have saved h4 employee complained to the regional ~

Eeath Welding was enntl' nlain buildings probably does not meet com other scri,5u{ mis {hipf.7 '~

amid "hea~vhoriGinirdtlon."d~lklore ememe hemWGMM e.

r pQ VI, THE UNDILSIGNID CITIZENS OF MATAGORDA COUNIT, TIXAS, EIING RIGISTIDI:D YOTIPS IN THE STATI 0F TEXAS DO HERX3Y CALL UFCI THE NUCLIAR RIGULATORY COMv1SSION c.jth h AND DZu.AND A 70RMAL PU3LIC HIJRING WITH JULL DISCLOSUEZ RELATING TO THE NUCLEAR O RIGULATORY C0KVISSION INVISTIGATION THAT WAS PIRICRHID ON THE PRIMISIS OF THE g SOUTH TIXAS EUCLEAR PROJECT APPhJIIMTILT TIN MILES SOUTHWIST OF THE CITY 07

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PAT CITY, TIIAS U. 3. A. THX NUCLEAR RIGULATORY CONXISSION INVESTIGATICE WAS gg UlI CONDUCTID AND/er PIRFORMED P0H NOVD'3IR 10,1979 TO OR THROUGH TII?UARY 7, 1960, ON THE LOCATION SI"I 07 THI SOUTH TIXAS NUCLEAR POYIR PLANT. ECUSTON LIGHT AND POVD CO. , CINTRAL POWIR AND LIGHT, BROWN AND ROOT, SAN ANTONIO TIIAS RESIDINTS, AUSTIN, TTIAS RISIDINTS, CORPUS CHRISTI RISIDINTS.& 077ICIALS OF THE A30VI INVOLVID PAETICIPANTS RESPONSIBLI FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THIS PB0 JECT AND THE SAFE OPI*ATION OF THF. PI. ANT SHOULD EI SUPOINID TO 3I IN ATTINDANCI AT THE HEARING TO BI HILD IN PAT CITT, TIIAS.

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