ML20044F625
| ML20044F625 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 05/12/1993 |
| From: | Selin I, The Chairman NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| To: | Defazio P HOUSE OF REP. |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9305280331 | |
| Download: ML20044F625 (2) | |
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May 12, 1993 CHAIRMAN The Honorable Peter A. DeFazio United States House of Representatives Washington, D.
C.
20515
Dear Congressman DeFazio:
Following the Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff briefing.for i
you and Congressman Lehman on April 21, 1993, the NRC Congressional Affairs staff reported to me the results of the briefing.
I was concerned when they reported that you believed the NRC staff misled you during our earlier briefing which you received in February 1992.
It is absolutely essential that this agency disclose fully all.
pertinent information regarding plant safety to members of the Congress.
Consequently, I asked NRC's Executive Director for Operations and chief management official, Mr. James Taylor, to conduct an inquiry into the facts and circumstances surrounding the information you received on the status of steam generators at the Trojan. Nuclear Power Plant.
In turn he asked his principal deputy for reactor safety matters, Mr. James Sniezek, to examine the issue.
Mr. Sniezek asked each of your briefers specific questions about their knowledge and judgements at the time they briefed you, and received detailed, documented answers.
From this review it appears that the persons who briefed you knew of but did not appreciate the importance of the differing professional opinion filed a month before the briefing which you received.
He concludes that the briefers' failure to disclose the information did not arise out of any intent on their part to be less than candid during your briefing.
I agree with this conclusion.
But a little later we missed the boat.
As was apparent to you at the recent briefing, the practice within the Commission is to encourage free expression of differing professional opinions.
The technical issues posed by the steam generator questions have proven quite challengiag to both our research and operating reactors units.
It took the agency some time to sort out the technical issues gnd to build a consensus as to the proper course of action.
Nevertheless, once it becaris clearer that there was a range of professional opinion within the staff, we clearly should have reported this new development to you.
For this I apologize and pledge.that we will seek to avoid any repetition.
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. If you desire, I will have Mr. Sniezek personally brief you on the results of his inquiry and any other matters pertaining to steam generators.
Sincerely, vb sl 4 Ivan Selin
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