ML19322A674
| ML19322A674 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Oconee  |
| Issue date: | 09/08/1972 |
| From: | Willie Lee DUKE POWER CO. |
| To: | Jennifer Davis NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION II) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19322A673 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 7911210728 | |
| Download: ML19322A674 (5) | |
Text
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n, DuxE POWEn GOMPANY f
Powan Burturno. Box 2178. Grruu.orrn.N. G. sanot
- '2,
.a September 8, 1972 m
Mr John G Davis U S Atomic Energy Commission Directorate of Regulatory Operations Region ll, Suite 818 230 Peachtree Street. Northwest Atlanta, Georgia 30303 Re:
RO:ll:CEM 50-269/72-1 50-270/72-1 50-287/72-1
Dear Mr Davis:
This is in reply to your letter of August 24, 1972, in the matter of alteration of radiographs at Oconee, sent to the attention of Mr Thies.
Our comments to the t
2e deficiencies cited in the attachment to your letter follow below. We have attempted to be perfectly straightforward in diese answers, and as one reads them, the very fast sequence of events that occurred during the month of June with respect to investigating these alterations should be borne in mind.
l 1.
The supervisor who altered radiographs denied.epeatedly that he had per-l formed the alteration until he was being given the polygraph test.
During the entire interrogation conducted by the Vice President, Construction, he continued to lie and re*used to disclose the extent of his fraudulent actions.
Duke Power is convinced that the Individual lacks integrity and that no statement made by him can be trusted, including the statement to the USAEC attributed to him that pressure from his supervisor was his motive for fraud.
This is further confirmed by the fact that the alterations occurred over a long period of time during which time the radiographers' work load ranged from light to heavy. We can find no correlation in the records between work load and number of film altered. Additionally, the other radiographers volunteered during interview that the Principal Field Engineer had given them specific instructions at the time of emplopaent that Duke Power expected quali ty, not quanti ty, from its quality assurance people.
Duke Power considers the incident extremely serious and committed top level managerial time and talent to investigate the incident, the quality assurance organization and remedial measures. Frankly, we are appalled that the USAEC would cite Duke Power with a deficiency notice using as a basis the statement of an individual whose lack of integrity has been clearly established by both N polygraph test and signed confession, in neither of which did he make mention of pressure.
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Mr John G Davis Pepas2 Sep.aber 8, 1972 On behalf of the Company's management, the Senior Vice President, Engineering and Construction wrote a letter to all persons associated with quality assurance activities to reiterate the Company's commitment to quality in its design and construction program. A copy of his letter is attached.
The Vice President, Construction met with the Project Manager, the Principal Fleid Engineer and all Field Engineers at which time he reminded them of the Canpany's and his dedication to quality, not quanti ty.
The Project Manager has personally discussed the fraud with the radiographers and all other quality assurance engineers at which time he reiterated the Compa ny's demand for quali ty, not quanti ty.
In conclusion, it is our Judgement that lack of integrity, not lack of Independence, was responsible for the alteration of radiographs. We will make every effort to assure that quality assurance people are honest and possess a high degree of personal integrity. Through personal interviews during audits we will encourage QA personnel to discuss in confidence their independence and related subjects.
2., ~ 'uring the two-year period that radiograohs were altered, various experts
.ncluding the USAEC, insurance in:pector, several independent outside consultants and various Duke personnel did not detect the markings. This happened because of the difficulty of detecting the very subtle marking.
We are now experienced in detecting alterations. We will include this type of examination as part of our regular rev.es in accordance with revised procedures as well as during audits.
3.
The development of a new procedure usually requires several iterations before a practical, workable document is produced, in order to expedite the qualification of altered radiograph examiners, the site personnel let the testing and qualificatien of personnel get ahead of the paperwork.
This is a violation of our quality assurance program requirements. All quality assurance personnel have been reinstructed in the importance of proper documentation of activities affecting quality. This violation was the result of our haste in getting started on the investigation. We were concerned that the scope of the alterations be defined quickly.
In addition, a contributory cause of pressure and lack of our independence of action with respect to schedule was what we consider to be the premature visit of the USAEC investigating team searching for answers and information that we could not yet provide in spite of our, pleadings that the visit be further deferred so that our investigation could begin in a more deliberate fashion.
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.s Mr John G Davis Pg 3 Sep.cmber 8, 1972 The individual who tested and certified others for reviewing radiographs stated that the data sheets bore his initials at the time of your inspection, but not his full signature as required by our procedures.
Both Duke's Senior Vice President and its Vice President reviewed representative sheets having those in!tials later on the same day as the AEC Inspectors' review.
This individual is no longer in our employ, and we have not interviewed him further regarding this matter. We demand that our QA personnel follow program requirements and will continue to closely monitor the program for l
any weaknesses in this area.
To strengthen the program in this area, the Vlec President, Construction will add to his staff an individual who will spend full time on surveillance of quality assurance activities.
1 Yours very truly, W S Lee
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WSL/s Atta cc Mr A C Thies Mr W H Owen l
Mr R L Dick Mr E D Powell e
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July 27, 1972 TO:
EMPLOYEES PERFORMING QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND DESIGN ENGlHEERING DEPARTMENTS Thi s letter is for your personal Information and should not be discussed, except with your supervisor if you have special questions.
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Unfortunately, one of our co-workers whose duties included important quality assurance functions intentionally f alsified quality assurance records to save himself work. He has been discharged. The quality of the items covered by those records appears satisf actory, but because some x-ray film were marked with intent to deceive, steps are being taken to verify that the proper quality was, in fact, achieved.
This incident was detected by other Company personnel in the performance of one of our audits of quality assurance results. The Company retained professional 4
investigators to assi st in our full investigation of the matter. As required l
I y regulations, the AEC was notified and made an Independent investigation of their own.
I am sure that you recognize that each of us engaged in design and construction work, in all its aspects including quality, must apply the highest standards of personal integrity and an uncompromising co witment to quality to our ef forts.
Not only must we be honest in our wor.k, but our quality Assurance Program specifically directs any individual to report conditions not meeting quality standards to higher authority. This direction is found in quality Assurance Plans "R" for the Construction Department and "PL-1" for the Design Engineer ing Department.
Bob Dick, Warren Owen and I have full confidence that each of you will personally dedicate your efforts to these principles.
Very sincerely, m
V S Lee Senior Vice President Engineering & Construction
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Ler to Duke Power Company from J. G. Davis dtd 10/24/72 Ltr to J. G. Davis from W. S. Lee, DPC, dtd 9/8/72 DISTRIBUTION:
J. B. Henderson, R0 J. G. Keppler, R0 RO Office of Operations Evaluation R0 Asst. Dir. for Procedures RO Asst. Dir. for Inspection & Enforcement L, DD for Reactor Projects RO Files DR Central Files PDR Local PDR NSIC DTIE i
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