ML20052C058
| ML20052C058 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Crane  |
| Issue date: | 04/29/1982 |
| From: | Cunningham G NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE LEGAL DIRECTOR (OELD) |
| To: | Harold Denton Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8205040314 | |
| Download: ML20052C058 (3) | |
Text
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93 April 29, 1982 RECEIVEQ 3
2 MAY3 1982m. r Note to: Harold R. Denton, Director
{"Q8 gM Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation s ac.
From:
Guy H. Cunningham, III f
Executive Legal Director N
Subject:
TMI-1:
SPECIAL MASTER'S REPORT ON OPERATOR CHEATING Yesterday the Special Master issued his Report of the Special Master (April 28, 1982) on operator cheating and related issues. The lengthy report (196 pages) contains explicit findings of fact on the extent of cheating, Licensee management's response to cheating, Licensee's training and testing program, Licensee's system for certifying candidates, the NRC's examination, and the NRC Staff's response to the cheating. The Report also contains conclusions and recommendations concerning individcal operators, the Licensee, and the NRC Staff.
With respect to individual operators, the Special Master found that the following operators were involved in cheating on NRC or Licensee examinations: 0 and W (the two individuals who admitted cheating to the I&E investigators); G and H; GG, W and MM; Mr. Chipman; Mr. Husted; U; and VV. There findings are generally consistent with the Staff's position on operators 0, W, VV and Shipman, but inconsistent with our position on the other operators.
With respect to Licensee managements involvement, the Special Master found that there was no evidence that " upper" management encourages, condoned, participated in, or knew of the cheating by the above-identified operators. This is consistent with the Staff's position.
However, the Special Master also found that Mr. Ross, the TMI-1 Manager of Operations, intentionally kept an NRC proctor out of the exam room in order to aid the exam candidates and also, along with other believers, improperly caused the answer key to the NRC's April,1981 exam to be broadened. This is inconsistent with Staff's position. The Special Master also found that if one refers only to the TMI-1 " operations staff," then management was involved in cheating because Messrs. O, W, V, Husted, Shipman, VV, and GG were a part of the middle and upper ranks of the operations staff, with Messrs. Ross and VV functioning as the link between upper management and the operations staff.
The Special Master also faulted Licensee's response to the cheating, including its constraints on NRC's investigation, its inadequate investigation of some of the cheating incidents, and its deliberate failure to disclose the 1979 cheating incident by VV to the NRC in connection with VV's license renewal.
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p o-s The Special Master found that the Licensee's training program was poor ly administered, weak in content, ineffective in method of instruction, cnd not responsive to the Commissinn's Order of August 9, 1979. He also found that although the Licensee's certification process appears to have been adequate in most respects, it was unreliable at the time of the April,1981 NRC examination due to inadequate proctoring and grading of weekly quizzes and the ATTS mock examination.
The NRC Staff was also faulted by the Special Master. He concluded that the Staff's proctoring, grading, and general administration of the April,1981 exam was lax and its procedures were inadequate. He also criticized the Staff for extensively relying on the Licensee's reviewers of exam answer keys for determining the correct answers to exam questions and for preparing exams whose answers were readily susceptible to memorization. The Special Master also stated that the staffing levels of the Operator Licensing Branch are inadequate and opined that NRC examinations "may not in fact measure [ operators'] ability to operate the reactor safely."
There were a number of significant findings concerning the Staff's response to the cheatirJ.
The Special Master found the Staff's investigation of cheating by 0 and W to be thorough and effective and the Staff's investigation of the telephone call to KK also to be thorough. The Special Master also found, however, that the Staff should not have allowed Licensee's management to be present during the interviews of the Staff's first investigation and that the Staff did not pursue certain leads and evidence.
In addition, the Special Master was very critical of the Staff for not including the unsuccessful solicitation of P by Mr. Husted in Staff's Report of Investigation and for not further investigating this incident.
The Special Master's Report contains a number of significant conclusions and recomendations.
First, the Special Master concludes that 0 and W appear to have violated two sections of the United States Criminal Code:
18 U.S.C. @ 1001 (knowingly falsifying or concealing a material fact, or making false statements or representation of a material fact upon any matter within the jurisdiction of a department or agency of the United States) and 18 U.S.C. 0 371 (conspiracy to defraud or commit an offense against the United States).
Based on this conclusion, the Special Master suggests that the Commission recommend criminal prosecution of 0 and W.
Secondly, the Special Master recommends that Licensee be prohibited from using certain operators at TMI-1 and that other lesser sanctions might be appropriate for other operators.
With respect to the Licensee, the Special Master concludes that its attitude toward the NRC examination is not acceptable, the overall level of integrity of its operating staff is inadequa+e, it permitted its operators to develop an attitude toward NRC exams which caused them to cheat, and it inadequately investigated the cheating incidents.
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v "5 With respdct to the NPC Staff, the Special Master cencluded that the i
proctoring and grading of the April,1981 examination was lex and inadequate, but that the Staff's new procedures should prevent chtating on future NRC examinations. He also concluded that the content of the April, 1981 exam was inadequate and recommended that the Commission take steps to assure itself that the NRC examinations in fact test the type of knowledge which reactor operators should have.
Finally, the'Specia' Master concluded that the Staff's investigation was adequate in some respects and inadequat.e in others.
The Special Master offerev no conclusion on the brcad issue of the competence and integrity of Licensee's managemer.t and operations staff to safely operate TMI-1.
Rather, he stated that such determination j,
rests with the Licensing Boara, recognizing that some of hb conclusions "have a great potential >or determining the. ultimate fssues
't before the Ligensing Board."
The Special Master's overall conclusions concerning the NRC Staff are at Report 1342 (p.1pS) and those concerning the Licensee are at Report 1 338 (p. 192)'
Specif f t. significant citations to the Report are as follows:
(1) Criminal prosecution of 0 and W: 11 305-310 (pp. 174-176)
(2)
Inadequate level of integrity of Licensee's operations staff:
95 323-325 (pp. 183-185)
(3) Licensee's responsibility for operator cheating: 11 326-331
{
(pp. 185-189)
(4) Licensee's inadequate training and testing program: 1 251, (pp. 141-142)
(5) Staff's inadequate proctoring and grading: 11 266-267 (pp.
148-149)
(6)
Inadequate content of April 1981 NRC exam: 1 340 (pp. 193-194)
(7) Staff's response to the cheating: 1 341 (p. 194)
The parties have until May 13 to file written comments to the Licensing Board on the Special itaster's Report and 5 days thereafter (until May 18) to file reply comments. To the~ extent that the Special Master's findings, conclusions, or recommendations are inconsistent with the Staff's position and the record, Staff should comment thereon.
DISTRIBUTION Original signed by JGoldberg (2)
Guy H.Qmningtum, lll JGray Guy H. Cunningham, III ESC File Executive Legal Director OELD Reading File NRC Central File cc:
W. Dircks GHC/JPM/ ESC t
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