ML20076B579

Requests Response to Constituent JB Hurst 820810 Inquiries Re Restart Proceedings

ML20076B579
Person / Time
Site:	Crane
Issue date:	08/25/1982
From:	Specter A SENATE
To:	NRC
Shared Package
ML20076B582	List: ML20076B579
References
NUDOCS 8208010016
Download: ML20076B579 (6)

Text

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GlCnifeb States Senale 1

AliG a e 1982 1

Respectfully referred to:

Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1717 H. Street, N.W.

Washington, DC 20555 1

Because of the desire of this office to be responsive to all inq;11 ries and communications, your consideration of the attached is requested. Your findings and views, in i

duplicate form, along with return of the i

enclosure, will be appreciated by 1

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t Arlen Spact.er Form #2 i

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Acknowledge, Original to Docket.. 82-0893.

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.c 617 Briarcliff Road:

Middletown,PA 17057 August 10, 1982 i

1 Senator. Arlen Speeter 342 Russell Building

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Washington, D. C.

20510

Dear Senator Specter,

I write to you to express my concerns about the cheating which occurred on' NRC j

reactor. operator tests at Three Mile Island.

Enclosed you will' find copies of-I two newsclips which discuss this topic. The cheating' allegations surfaced in -

August 1981, and the NRC reopened the THI-l hearings to investigate the charges.

Since the Atomic Safety & Licensing Board (ASLB) which had heard the previous TMI-1 hearings was busy working on its findings, the NRC appointed a-Special Master to preside over the cheating hearings. He was Gary Milho111n, a professor.

of law at the University of Wisconsin.

Milhollin's findings and conclusion provide many disturbing facts regarding the management of General Public Utilities (operators of TMI) and the opecations l

staff at Three Mile Island.

The enclosed May 7 newsclip from Harrisburg's Evening News reveals some of these findings.- Specifically, they am:

1) Cheating did not_ end with the two shift superviscrs who were fired or permitted to resign. ~At least four other employees cheated in some way.

i-2 The company's own cheatTng investigations < did not follow up obvious leads.

3 Milho11in concluded the following about operator training at TMI:

"The. licensee's training and testing program was poorly adminis 2ered, weak in_ content, ineffective in its method of instruction, r o not an adequate response'to the. Commission's (NRC) order of 8/9/79."

It is important'to note here that the ASLB had' appointed Milhollin to conduct the;

' cheating hearings and would rely upon his findings to draw their conclusions.

e about the impact of the cheating on the restart of TMI-1. The enclosed newsclip from Harrisburg's Patriot'(7/28/82) outlines the ASLB's recommendation 3 made after-having reviewed Milhollin's findings.. The recommendations seem to completely-ignore his findings and, in addition, raise several important cuestions. They are:

1) The ASLB believes Unit-1 can be restarted and operatecLsafely after plant t

operator, GPU Nuclear, makes certain changes -in its operating procedures.

Milho11in concluded that GPU's response to the NRC's 8/9/79 QUESTION?- order was "poorly administered", " weak", " ineffective", and "not adequate".

Keeping in mind that his analysis came more than two years 'after the 1979 NRC order, what assurances are there that GPU will now make the changes in operating procedures 3

recommended by the ASLB?

2) The ASLB recommends that the company establish procedures whereby it will sample and review for indications of cheating on its own operator exams.

QUESTION?

In the enclosed May 7 newsclip, it.is reported that Milhollin found that "the. company's own cheating investigations didn't i

follow up obvious leads."

In light of this, what assurances i

are there that the company is capable of carrying out this recomendation?

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l Page 2, Hurst, 8/10/82 1

3) The ASLB recommended that the NRC study a possible need to modify or suspend the licenses of two GPU reactor operators who were suspected of cheating.

QUESTI0?!?

lhollin found that in addition to the two shift operators who left GPU, at least four other employees cheated in some way.

The ASLB is recommending suspensions for two operators.

What has happened to the other two operators who cheated?

Serious discrepancies exist between Milhollin's findings and conclusion vs. the ASLB's conclusions based on reviewing the same evidence. These should not be overlooked.

Milhollin concluded that the integrity of the operations staff and management at Till have been brought into question.

This was based on his personal observation of the witnesses who testified during the cheating hearings. Public health and safety will be jeopardized if Milhollin's findings go unheeded.

I urge you to do whatever you can to request a further investigation into this matter.

Two reports, both available from the flRC, will be very helpful in better understanding the shortcomings of the ASLB's recommendations.

They are: "Speci al Master's Report on the Reopened Proceedings of Till-l" and "ASLB Partial Initial Decision on the Reopened Proceedings of TMI-1".

The best interests of public health and safety require that the lessons of TMI have really been learned.

It is inconceivable that the NRC's ontinuing " mind-set" will be allowed to condemn us to repeat the TMI accident, either at TMI or else-where.

Thank you for your consideration and review of this matter.

Please contact me if-you require additional information.

Respectfully, 1/ v r

ames B. Hurst

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' Tile EVENING NEWS, llarrisburg, PA Ly 7,19112

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d By MICK ROOD ous leads. When the investinations_b_ez;Lqh1 year.

l Washinr; ton Burcou some employec; were " flippant" or just plain uncoo-l WAS111NGTON - At first glance,a federalinves-perative.

tigative report describing cheating among Three Mile GPUleemed to have the right attitude at the top Island nuclear plant operators reminds the reader va-about how to respond to the cheating.

guely of the detective game," Clue."

One employee quoted Robert C. Arnold, president One title in the report read.s,"Mr. Shipman at the of GpU Nuclear, as saying this when the operators coffee machine."

were called together in August 1931 to discuss the You keep waiting to see " Col. Mustard, in the situation:

conser.atory, with the candlestick."

..we live constantly in the public eye and that if Forgetting for the raoment the gravity of the you cannot stand being watched, then maybe you are rather astour. ding evidence gatnered, the report also in the wrong business, that he (Arnold) in no way brings back memories of grcde school. You conjure up would toleratacheating. "

recollections of seventh graders conniving to get a passing grade.

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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing f

.imnii now trymg to ecclue whEher General Public Utilities Nuclear Corp. of ficials should be n!! owed to

O m) o ed>n run Unit I again, aprointed Special Master Gary Mil-hollin to take a special look into cheating incidents N

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ghing back three years. The 155ard probably vtanted a bhmt and thorough probe, and it got one from Mr.

Milhollin said,in effect, that some of GpU actions Nilhollin.

simply didn't get close to that mark.

All of his conclusions, based on testimony from Despite all the new equipment, bet fed-up staff and qpO_e.n'plovees, may not be on the mark but the talk of good morale at TMI, the cheating episodes overall picture is obvious. There are accusations -

bring'5iind-set"~ih iTliecame so lypularfdurinx teceral back the haunting terms of " lessons Teirrned" c e'd some of them well, backed up - of crib sheets, whisgrina absent prectors and even open discuss:on iny.cstigatiop.s of the TMl accident. 'Ihe lessons may of the tests taken b.taveen thoseyd:'o hTd just taken vet be unlearned and the mindsllon't seem to be set.

tlldurut_those wfio weie~aisut to.

Miihollin seemedlo sense thatwtost of thedreating

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Unfortunately, the setting wasn't a grade schcol,it instances weren't taken seriously _by some of the oper-was TMI.

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agons staff members.

/most scrutinized utility in the world with all the moti-The report is astounding in that, here, you have the.'

not ignore fXilhoil2s blunt conclusions. In August The licensing board and, ultimately, the NRC, can-i vation (or at least pressure) to shape up in the world.

19/?. the NRC ordered GpU to improve its trainIEg

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In that setting, some middle and upper management'

.of ficials were scurrying around cheating.

I PID3 ram &uidelines Isihe order were generally welI~

understood.

It dida't end with the two shift supervisors who

_Ji.pt two_am1_on hally. ear.shter, here's what Mil-were fired or, in the case of one them, allowed to[

hollin concluded about operater training at TMI:

resign. Scecial Master Milhollin said at least four other "The licensee's training and testing program was employees cheated in. some way. Worsede atmos-poorly administered, weak in centent, ineffective in its \\

phere, as Milhollin tried to describe it based on lengthy, method of instruction, and not an adequate response to ti slimony, was haTdlyEncouragmg.

the (Nuclear Regulatory) Commission's order of Aug-TMl operato s werPdepress d and angry"at hav-ust 9,1979."

T ing to retake license examinations because of the Unit Unless Milhollin is way, way off base, it will be 2 accident. Management did not make sufficient ef fort extremely hard for the licensing board and the NRC to to improve morale, according to Mlhollin.lhacompas decide GpU is ready to start running a nuclear power ny's own cheating investi.;ation didn't follow up obvi-plant again.

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he Atomic Safety and tJcens-ready bces lastituted, ladividual operators were eligibile ; by the Nuclev Regulatory Com, mended that the NRCatady a poss6-la by somebody else se Au::w L4 tag Enar The company hopes to have to take NRC man mission, according to a GPU ble need to modify or sayiced the 1979.

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- GPU Nuclear' straining pro-lag. but whom GPU beneves inno-Ing susp6 cions about the tuoepm N

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ACE pany I nitig I a s eeks'suspeasloe without pay.

the company has not1et ArbI.4 e At me same Mme.howm.M ' ally resume power production at

_ A%f 31 said it beheves Unit I can be Unit 1.It must awalt a restart dect. raised as to their validity.We hats.. trainmg and exam pmcehm M f.

(Doth of the operators remain acourseof actica mthemittrr.

i The A513 reroit will be las be mae by cues et **aW, on.GPU Nuclear's payrotL Two. warded to the NRC commenonr1

. restaned and narr><rd sarerv aner sion by the Nuclear Regulatory taken aggresavt action both to ywith De restart of U21.

a. p t operstor,,GPU Nuclear Corp. Costrussion, which has been of*

tighten up our proctdures and to

.-.no company establish m' ore ?

Dother operators charted with for conddaauon. aWg wn sw es certain channes in its opera-dered by a federal court to assess improve our maff's uncerstanding

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two" vlous [' dentssurroundingTML of our seclear facilities."

place stsu

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But.he said."Extremelyinten -

- De company require Its J NRC staff to levestigate GPU Nu-le a plaat accident en 1*srch 2 pS as i 2Yr ehsible to sou-a 4.ainfa: tory Y.ialsr mi,.i

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