ML20064E840

Expresses Outrage Over Suffolk County Transcript Remarks Re Author Lack of Interest in Quality of Plant Const.Author Never Took Actions Detrimental to Plant Quality

ML20064E840
Person / Time
Site:	Shoreham File:Long Island Lighting Company icon.png
Issue date:	12/22/1982
From:	Museler W LONG ISLAND LIGHTING CO.
To:	Brenner L, Carpenter, Morris Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel
Shared Package
ML20064E825	List: ML20064E818 ML20064E840
References
NUDOCS 8301060149
Download: ML20064E840 (4)

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- Mr. William J. Museler 105 Scraggy Hill Road

-5 M0.45 Port Jefferson, New York 11777 December-22, 1982

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9. t.C H Administrative Judges:

Judge Brenner, Esq.

Dr. Morris

- Dr. Chrpenter _-

Atomic Safety & Licensing Panel U.S. Nuclear Eagulatory Commission 4350 East / West Drive Bethesda, Maryland 20814 bear Administrative Judges:

I was extremely distressed (outraged might be a more accurate term) to read the testimony of Mr. Hubbard of Suffolk County on pages 15338 and 15339 of the transcript. My understanding of the ASLB Proceedings is that they are designed to present the facts regcrding Shoreham's application for an operating license and not to provide a forum for opponents of the plant to denigrate those of us who are responsible for building and operating the p3 ant. Mr. Hubbard's remarks to the effect that I personally am not interested in quality at Shoreham consti-tute an affront to me personally and are also a challenge to my professional ethics. I have certainly not stated my own personal views of Mr. Hubbard's motivations and qualifications in this proceeding, nor do I believe that it would be proper for me to do so. I cannot however allow Mr. Hubbard's remarks to remain unanswered and I would therefore like to state the following:

1. To the charge that I am vitally interested in getting this plant on line as soon as possible, I plead guilty. I am also vitally interested "

in insuring that the plant'is built properly and that it will operate safely and reliably throughout its entire life. To suggest,that, because I am aggressively trying to meet our Construction schedule I am sacrificing quality in the plant is sophomoric and indicates a lack of understanding of the overall Engineering and Construction process with regard to how quality is built into this or any other plant.

On the Construction site at Shoreham, (the real "

world if you will) the quality of the plant is addressed in a very meaningful way every hour of every day by the personnel who are ultimately responsible for the quality of the plant, the Engineers and Craftsmen who have designed and gt%0goh D G

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built it. The two (2) terms, Construction and -

Quality, are really part of the same process and, since I am responsible for building _the plant, I am also responsible for building it in the' proper manner; and I have never sacrificed the quality

" of this plant to'any schedule milestone.

2. It is certainly true that Construction personnel, myself included, are~sometimes frustrated by the time required to perform the necessary quality inspections just as it is frustrating to the

. Quality Assurance personnel to find less than perfect conditions while performing some of their -

inspections, but this is precisely what the inte-grated Construction / Quality Assurance Program is designed to do. The process is designed to insure that the final product meets the necessary require-ments, and the system acknowledges that everything will not be perfect all the time (or else why are inspections needed), and also requires that we take the necessary time to perform these inspections.

The fact that human beings occasionally become irritated by a system that may appear at times to be overly rigorous cannot be construed to imply either that the system is improper or that the system is not being adhered to. At Shoreham, I believe that we have imposed this system more rigor-l ously than at any other power plant in the Country and, as I have said several times, there are few if any, Nuclear Plants which would " pass muster" if subjected to the " magnifying glass" type of examina-tions shoreham is being continuously exposed to'.

Shoreham, in my judgement, will " pass muster".

3. The relationship of our Con'struction Organization -

to the various Quality Assurance Organizations on the Shoreham site, and my personal relationships with the various Quality Assurance and Quality Con-trol Managers on the jobsite is, and always has been, a cooperative and constructive one. I do not operate in an adversarial role with Quality Assurance and I think this is borne out by the fact that Quality Assurance personnel feel free to inform me not only of specific quality problems encountered in the field, but also of various observations made by themselves and their personnel relating to areas outside of their individual Quality Disciplines. They also feel free to suggest improvements in our Construction practices which would help not only the quality of the finished product, but which might also improve the schedule. Quality Assurance personnel at Shoreham e _

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3. (Continued) ,

e are also interested in completing the plant and in achieving schedule milestones. Most personnel, especially in the Power Generation Industry, tend to be goal oriented and the suggestion that dedi-cation to meeting a schedule somehow makes us lose site of our responsibilities in the quality area ,

has no basis at Shoreham.

4. I have personally rn'itiated a number of extra studies and investigations over the past seven (7) years which were not required by Quality Assurance require-monts, but which I believe were prudent in order to satisfy myself and Project Management that certain issues were adequately addressed and/or that certain components in the plant met their design or material requirements. A number of LILCO Construction per-sonnel at Shoreham have, on their own initiative, also looked into matters not requiring examination or evaluation per Quality Assurance requirements, but which had a bearing on the adequacy of the plant. In my view, the " insider" in the Construction process has the best understanding of what is really important to the safety of the plant. What I am trying to say is that those of use at LILCO who have been engaged in the construction process have taken a personal interest in insuring that the plant is built properly and, in addition to insuring that the established Quality Assurance requirements are met.

In summary, I have been involved in the Shoreham Project since 1973 and have been directly involved in many of the major Engineering and Construction decisions over the life of the Project. Not once have I even suggested, much less taken, any actions which would even remotely been construed as detrimental to the quality of the plant, nor to my knowledge have an'y such actions been taken by any other LILCO or UNICO individual. The ractices at Shoreham are Construction and Quality Assurance p'nd are treated that way bp part of one (1) integrated process a Construction and Quality Assurance personnel on the site. This arrangement is, in my judgement, by far preferabl,e to one in which the Quality Assurance personnel take on purely the role f

of " policemen" and therefore the process becomes one of games-r manship between Construction and Quality Assurance. Building this plant is no game and I have always treated it as the very serious responsibility it really is. Finally, if those forces, Suffolk County included, who are continually attempting to find fault where no fault exists, or to inflate minor findings into cosmic generic defects, were truly interested in the safety of Shoreham and the welfare of the residents of this County, a 1

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' . 4 blind man in which to could channelsee that their there are energies farthe than more constructive avenues they are avenues currently pursuing. -

j I regret adding my own contribution to the already mountainous ,

volume of paperwork generated in this case; however, I could l not let Mr. Hubbard's statements go unanswered. t Sincerely, l

W.[J.Museler Manager of Construction and Engineering

, - -- Shoreham Nuclear Power Station .

WJM/mm bcc: M. S. Pollock W. T. Reveley/A. Earley/T. Ellis B. R. McCaffrey E. J. Brabazon .

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