ML20078N720

Affidavit of Ee Kent Re Quality of Welding in Nuclear Power Plants & Inadequate Handling of Allegations by NRC

ML20078N720
Person / Time
Site:	San Onofre, 05000000
Issue date:	06/20/1983
From:	Kent E AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED
To:
Shared Package
ML20077K923	List: ML20077K919 ML20078N720 ML20078N723 ML20078N727
References
NUDOCS 8311020162
Download: ML20078N720 (26)

Text

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l AFFIDAVIT I

MynameisE.EarlKent. I am Iraking this staterent of my cun free l

will to Michelle Varricchio, who has identified herself to me as an intern

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j of the Government Accountability Project of the Institute for Policy Studies.

I am speaking without threat or promise of material benefit. My reason for making this statement is to express my deep ccncern over both the quality of welding in nuclear pcroer plants built by Bechtel, especially at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) Units I, II, III, and to detail the inadegaate handling of my allegations by the Nuclear Regulatory Ccnmission (NBC).

I am kncwledgeable and experienced as a Senior Quality Ccntrol Engineer (Nuclear Welding). I have had seventeen years of practical experience in Engineering (welding, hality, construction); eleven years in iJelding as an instructor, inspector, and weldor; andt eleven years in Architect and Engineering Offices as job captain,and etc.

I have been emplcryed at six nuclear pcuer units under constructicn and five major corporaticms.

I was a member of the Anerican Society for Quality control, (ASCC).

I have authored three publicaticns on welding and structural steel. I hold rrore than a dozen copyrights for welding designs.

Since 1970, several of my originai welding ideas have been recorded in the Welding Encyclopedia by Mcnticello Bcoks and also in Engineer Design Data Sheets of Wa:ldi.; Sci ~_rr Magazine published worldwide.

I am ~giving this affidavit because of con rns that I have abcut the' specific prcblems at San onofre Nuclear Generating Staticn (S2GS) Units I, II, III. In additicn, I want to explain serious concerns that I have regarding 8311020162 830620 PDRADOCK05000g G

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. l welding specifications and procedures of the Bechtel Pcr*'er Corporaticn (Bechtel) bel'ng used in nuclear pcLer plant construction.

Finally, I want to recount my experience with the Nuclear Regulatory Ccrmtission (NRC) and the manner in which they mishandled the investigation of my allegations and the failure of the Southern California Edison (SCE) and Bechtel to take rettedial action regarding the infouraticn brought to their attenticn.

For approximately forty years I have had experience in welding, engineering, design, constructicn, and quality assurance. Beginnino in 1942, I welded in the Housten shipyard, and then in 1943, I served in the United States Navy during which time I was also an instructor in electric and oxyacetyline welding at a U.S. Navy Technical Training School.

I was employed at various drafting and engineering jobs in California. In the meantime, I earned a diplcma, equivalent to 1700 hours0.0197 days <br />0.472 hours <br />0.00281 weeks <br />6.4685e-4 months <br /> of study, in Structural Engineering frcm the International Correspcr.dence Schaal in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

I hold a diplcrna in Fbdern Supervision frcm the ICS which I earned in 1963.

Frcm February 1962 to August 1965 I worked as Associate Construction Engineerirg, at North American Aviaticn in Dcr*'ney, California and as a welding instructor at night at Cerritos College in Norwalk. Frcm August 1965 to Septerrber 1968, i

l I correlated archite"ctural, structural, civil and mechanical drawings for i

I accuracy, ' conflicts and suuctural integrity as Structural Drawing Checker for Daniel, Mann, Johnson, and Mendenhall in Los Angeles, California. The follcwing year I worked at stmetural steel detailing and drawing review per AWS, AISC, and URC Codes at Riverside Steel Constructicn in Santa Fe Springs, California.

Frtm 1969 to 1971, I was employed by Litton Industries (Litton) as welding engineer at Litton Advanced Marine Production in Pascagoula, Mississippi and later as Senior Welding Engineer at their Advanced Marine Technology Division' t

. in Culver City, California.1 During the folloaing seven years, I prepared desi gn and installaticn drawings for equipraent per ANS Dl.1; and, as Qaalit welding procedures and inspection instructions y Control Enginmr, wrote,

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, perfonned procure. ent source inspections and investigated prcdact quality probl Manufacturing Company.

ems for WP Division of Joy At this time I autbred and published "Falding Structural Steel" and " Structural Steels" In the fall of 1978, I worked as a Ccde Applicaticns Enginmr for Bechtel, Ios Angeles Powe r Division. I received frcm the California State University a certificate for Q li ua ty Engineering, I work as Structural Job Captain for Austin Ccmpany in Irvine

, California. I then went on to be a Field Welding Inspector for Boyle Engineering Cor poration on the Dieter Intertie Pipeline in 1979.

Then for six nonths I was a Welding Engineer at Fluo r Engineers and Constructor in Irvine, California; and in April'1980 I was a Welding T echnical Supervisor in Venezuela, South Anerica for Fluor Caribbean

, Amuay Refinery.

I or a detailed account of nry experience as Senior Weldi F

Navy," by E. Earl Fant.see " Unsafe on Any Sea-Landing Heliccpter As under contract to construct U.S. Navy war ships, purcha its 1cw quality, was in violaticn of the U.S data to the attention of my superiors, which included a g c, due to

. Navy specifications. I presented this brittle steel in ship building." Investigation of Welded overnment repcet, by Litton and the war ships were built, and I was firedNonethele built with this steel, suffered extensive internal failure ships that Litton ocean waves off the coast of California.

a age frcm the

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Bechtel recruited ne in October, 1981.

(See Attachrent I). I tcok a position at SIGS I, II, and III as Senior Quality Control Engineer welds on piping, piping supports, and electrical tray hangers, and do review and preparaticn of N-5 forms, which verify vendors data that his material conforms with A9IM Ccde and other applicable codes. In ccnnection with my c:gloyment at the various nuclear units, I was required to dec proficiency and to take oral and written examinations for Bechtel. I passed the required examinaticn to perform my duties on SctGS, obtaining a ce of passage with respect to bath the basic examination (Level I), as well a the internediate (Level II),

l At SONGS I found thousands of "end returns" missing or incomplet welded for electrical tray hangers, pipe supports and structural supports.

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In March,1981, I brought these problems to the attention of Nick Beshich a Martin, Supervisors in Quality Control for Bechtel, then to Bob Jchns (Quality Control Inspector at Bech' tel) and Frank Cox (Supervisor for SN and III, Bechtel). They tcok little remedial action.

In August 1981 I was transferred to Palisades Nuclear Pwer Plant, north' of St. Joseph, Michigan, for three nonths to complete work on c:rergen water piping.

In ecnnection with my transfer' and relocaticn to Palisades, based upcn my prior " performance, I was not required to take the basic examinaticn but was ai.inistered the intermediate examinaticn (Level II), and passed ti:0.::=ir.:.La.

v as to continue my work with my employers. I was then transferred to the Midland Twin Nuclear Pwer Plart in central Michigan, which was under construction.

At the Midland Plant I disecnered serious constructiqn

n i Prcb1 cms which led ne to believe that the public safety in the ce Michigan area would be in danger if these problem were not co e.

I believe that it was my duty under the Atanic Energy Act to n

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my exployer, and when little action was taken, to bring such cond i

Midland construction problans to the attention of the NBC or vernwntz and public agencies.

I began voicing my concerns regarding nany very seri deficiencies there.

Because I refuscd to remain silent and continue voice my concern despite the fact that the oawy warned me that prcblems do not and can not exist," in mid-February I was infor failed the Ievel I examination conducted in connection with my tra r to the Midland Twin Nuclear Pcwer Plant. Upcn retaking the exmination, I was again t

advised that I had failed the Level I oral portion and had no f c3ntinue my employment.

I found this hard to believe because I had rec top reconmendations fran my superiors at both plants; a letter is on f e with Bechtel's Norwalk office frcm the'O. A. Manager of Bechtel L. A. Pcwer Divisianc In addition, my parfornance level'was evaluated in written reviews as m eeting or exceeding the perfornan requirenents of Bechtel in all categories.

On March first,1982, I was terminated from my position with Bechte I

was told that I was not able to adjust to the way things were done at the Midland Plant, and was persistently bringing defects in construction and specifications to the attention of my superiors and fellcw exployees The next day I arre g ' fur a telephone interview with Robert Warnick, William i

Paton, and others in the Nuclear Regulatory Cbanission.

(Much of the infor-nation in the Midland affidavit given to the NRC in June of 1982 I pr i

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at this interview.)

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I I told them that I thought that Bechtel was not adequately investi gating the serious problems I had tried to bring to their attention.

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Later that month, I was contacted by the Government Accounta L

roject

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(GAP) with regard to my allegations of serious welding and qualit surance problems at Midlard.

I wrked with Mr. David Crw, a GAP intern, and ccrnpleted a notarized affidavit on the prcblems at Midland.

I submitted the affidavit to the NRC on June 29, 1982.

In anticipation of a visit by NRC investigators, I prepared evidence and documentation of my allegationsFor three nonths folloaing the sutmission of my claims, which were serious wnstructio t

aws, there was no effort on the part of the NRC to begin to untmgle t of i

Bechtel's inadequate welding procedures.

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j Then, after several rxnths of little NRC action, I voluntarily mad h[4.

nostly at my cwn expense, to the NRC Region III office in Glen Ellyn

, Illinois on August 12, 1982 to check on tha status of the NRC investigation into my allegations.

I wanted to ensure that they fully understood with detail and accuracy my allegaticns about Midland.

Further, I wanted to clarify that the NRC was kncwledgeable of the serious hardware prcblems at the two other p which I had worked.

I presented detailed infonration on prcblems to James Foster Kevin Ward and William Kef of the NRC. The neeting was taped. During the cne and a half hour meeting,'I detailed the inherent welding problems at Midland I explained with diagrams the extensive prcblems with fillet welds and de e

the inspection errors.

I stated that my affidavit to GAP was only an overview of' the problems at Midland and that I was anxious to give explicit detail Palisades and DJGS.

Ecuever, I was told that it may be nonths before I was s

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recentacted, and than only to ansmr specific question I

g I was seriously disappointed in the reception I received th ere. In fcc l

was so disturbed that I called the GAP offi l

in Washington fran probab first pay phone after I left the Regional office Follodng the mid-Au visit, GAP wrote a letter to Mr. James Keppler, Regiona

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empha I

th3ir concerns about my visit.

Initially, I was afraid to share my concerns with an outsid 9

e organi because of the "non-disclosure" contract I had signed with

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1 echtel p office upon being hired at Midland.

t This state:

0 Tent, attached as Exhibi@

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hi states that:

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'We bring to your attention the fact that the prov r

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of any secrecy agreenents which you have signed w 4

Bechtel remains in force...thus you are bound by such ag 1

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II ents aft termination."

CAP officials explained to ne that under the Atcmic Energ eorganiza Act, I was required to report information about construction'fl aws in nuc1 power plants, and that I was protected under that law.

Upon my return to California, disenchanted and dismayed I atterpted independently pursue my concerns about SCNGS.

On the seventeenth o'f Septenber, I went to the rain office o n

Posenpaa, F-lifornia.

I talked with the manager of the Nuclear Engine p

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Safety, and Licensing.

I also discussed code violations with twa Quality l

' Assurance Supervisors.

r They suggested that I go to SCNGS and discuss thes t

i prcblems with Edison's Manager of Quality Assurance.

I net with Mr. Stonec-head of Quality Assurance for Edison, at SCNGS. Nothing resulted.

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. I understand that Region V was trade aware of th SCNGS during a routine inspection at the site e allegations concerning with the Licensee, SCE.

I than raised my concerns I offered to walk through the plant with them to shoa specific examples of my concerns.

Edison representatives said they would investigate and that even though I had had a tc p security clearance, nea security rules prohibited me from going on the pre i m ses.

On Septe:rber 22, 1982, I received a letter from Edi had no validity..

son that my charges On Septemtxtr 24, 1982, I called the Orange County Alliance for Survival for help - after being turned dcm> by Bechtel

, Edison, and the NBC.

On Septestber 27th, I contacted the Alliance for Surviv l I

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with my allegations a

They, in turn, spake with John O' Dell of the los A H

ngeles Times concerning my g

allegations.

Subsequently, Mr. O' Dell arranged for me to call Re i 4,

i and that same day I spoke with Mr. Kirsch of the NBC g on V directly The jLo Angeles Times covered my allegations in the October 13th edition.

interviewed by other area media.

I subsequently was widely In the wake of the public revelation of my claims

, the' NBC finally acted.

The Region III office, in a flurry of catch-up work

, sent the June 29, 1982 affidavit to the Region V office.

Region V inspectors win had previously ignore or rerrained ignorant of ny allegations, ccntacted ne the day foli cwing the news coverage.

I ogreed Eo neet with Region V ihspectors and drove to nee em on the 15th at a hotel.

In a lengthy discussion, it was decided that a prereg e

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for any detailed contact with the NRC should be a witness i

, a prsonal j

l tapo-reco'rding, or the agreerrent by NRC insp3ction team to adh ere to the d

advice of my counsel and provide copies of the unaltered tap cript of the sane innediately following the reeting.

1 I net with three inspectors 5

frcra Region V, Mr. Philip V. Joukoff, Mr. Omn Shackleton

, Jr. (OI), and Mr.

j Dennis Kirsch.

Our meeting lasted seven hours.

On Cetcber 16th, two NRC inspectors appeared at my hcn e

a I sign a fim page sumary.

1 The smmary was prepared frcm their notes of the interview.

After revieaing the statement, I refused to sign it because had grossly misstated my factual concerns.

y Without my authorization, the NBC 4

used this doctrnent to get the scope of ny allegations.

I volunteered to point out to the NRC on the site the areas wher t.1.

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G e weldiz prcblems were nost extensive.

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Yet, I was told that nuclear kitnesses can't g

go cn the construction site to identify problems.

Finally, on Octcber 25, 1982, I was allcwed to walk through a tour of SONGS of pre-selected ar I

I was denied access to any reasuring devices, tapes, rulers eas. Hcwever,

, gages, pens, pencile paper, ladder, drawings, specs, or dccuments.

The tour arounted to a sham since it was impotent in revealing extensive evidence.

Late in Novefit>er, J. Foster of Region III indicated the possibility beginning his irvestigation of my allegations on Midland.

In mrly Docenter', an inspection report was issted about my allega ns at KNGS.

December 10th, I was notified _through the press that the NBC h i

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its inspection of my allegations.

I did not receive a copy of that reprt until the day following the press conference, and cnly at the request of my unsel.

l t em '

,-- - - In February, I filed suit against Bechtel Pw er Corporation for wrcngful termination.

In my suit I stated that Bechtel failed to follcw its own personnel and e ploymnt procedures relevant to termination.

In addition, I believe they failed to give prcper and reasonable notice of ter i m nation -

which was carried cut in an outragecus tranner.

My prsonal life has been irrevocably harred as I have waited pati ently for my allegations to be substantiated by the NBC that I had placed y trust in.

I have suffered mental and emotional distress for attempting to do my job correctly.

I have'been une ployed for the majority of the past year My professional reputation in the nuclear industry has been destroyed.

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After 40 years of work experience in engineering and welding, I krow a deficient weld w

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see one I knw many of these welds and other prcblems went undetected or e

y the nen responsible for inspecting them.

Frcm my personal experience with scme of Bechtel's manage: rent, "they have shown they cannot be trus of high quality necessary for a nuclear plant.

I hope that this second affidavit, and the Govern ~, ent Accountability Project's analysis of the NRC in attached to this report, will finally receive the independent inspection required to guaranted public health and safety for those who live aroun nuclear p:uer plante cce.structed by the Bechtel Pcuer Corporaticn.

I have read the above 10 page affidavit.

To the best of my knowledge, it is true, accurate, and caplete.

r

.& D E. Earl Kent

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Subscribed and sworn to before me this _ MM day of bAff

, 1983.

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did TM Notary Public Cy Cc::imistica tx;hs hne 14,1985

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we - e.eme ' 4 h

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Bechtel Power Corporation Engineers - Constructors 12400 East imperial Highway, No:waik. California 90650 F,

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Vj P o ser,f4.*60. flave44 Awtx tes wG!!t$ CaMOmvA EX40 I

f tliswo.4 p 3} sg.a 6081 October 3, 1980 21r. Elmo E. Kent j 9809 Spruce Court Cypress, California 9'0630 -

• 1 car 1:r. Kent:

Eased upon ths information contained in your employment application and favorable recer.endation of Ifr. R.L. Patterson, we are pleased to extend an n the' of employment to you as a Senior Quality Control Engineer, Grade 25 the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station construction project in S

, assigned to j,

California.

!!r. R.L. Pa tterson, and reporting to 11r. J. licCarty.In this positio

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be S2,450.00 per month.

Your starting salary,will,

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~t Please sign two copies of this letter and return th'ein to my at'tention 1.'ould you please note it:of the signed copies will signify your acceptance o Receipt the appropriate space the date upon which you expect report to work.

We have noted your start date as October 6,1980.

to Please sign the enclosed forms for verification of Employment and Education return in the envelope provided to the, Employment Department inmediately af ter and your acceptance of our offer.

current or past, eg.ployers and must be returned prior to your first D_o not submit th'fs'e forms to your current or past employers.

For your interest, brochures describing our Employee Benefits Program

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personnel policies and a copy _e.f-our cc: p:ny nagazine are anclosed.

, general these booklets with'you when you. report for your first day of employment.

Picase bring On your first dayi ve uc

'.C appreciate your reporting to ?!r. R.G. liittelsdorf promptly at 7:00 a.m.,

en c e plete the necessary documents to place you on the payroll. At that time they will also explain the various benefits available to' you.

If you have any questions, please call me or !!r. H.E. Faus at Area Code 6011 or any of the indivicuals at the San Onofre Euclear Generating Station 213/864 -

construction project at Area Code 714/498-1000.

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O L v.ilt::i i U.. u i t.v.) s. utiU.a o

" fir. Elmo E. Etnt October 3, 1980 Page Two Ke sincerely hope this offer will interest you and vill receive your favorable consideration. We look forward to having you join us herd at Eschtel.

Very truly yours, SECHTEL POWER CORPORATION' p

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Ron Mooradian E= ploy =ent Supervisor -

RM:mkj

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Inclosures 4-1 f

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Signature 6f Acceptance O

Anticipated Start Date l

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c, February 26, 1982 On the occasion of th'e termination of your empfoyment we would like to remind you of the nondisclosure and secrecy agreements which you have signed while in th

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empfoym'ent of Bechtel Group, Inc., and Bechtel Power Corporation and any aff late 'or subsidiary of Bechtel Power Corporation, and Bechtel Petroleum, Inc. and any affiliate or subsidiary of Bechtel Petrofeum, Inc., and Bechtel Civil & Miner Inc. and any affiliate or subsidiary of Bechtel Civil & Minerals, Inc.

You can obtain information concerning the contents of any such agreements to which you are a party by contacting.either the undersigned or the Legal Departme of Bechtel.

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We. bring to your attention the fact that the provisions of any secrecy agreemen which you have signed white an employee of Bechtel remains in force until th i

expire by their terms and apply whether or not you are employed by Bechtel. Thus you are bound by such agreements after termination of your employment with Bechtel to the same extent as heretofore.

Your secrecy commitments form the basis for similar agreements which Bechtelha given to certain of its va'ued clients; hence your full cooperation in complying strictly with the terrr.s of your commitments is of extreme importance and nece p '

and will be assumed s n-: appreciated by Bechtel.

Yours very truly, Y,

J.)@.

ey !?ancy Miller Office Assistant Titi. _

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6 Employee 7,,,,3 Parl T. Kent ORIGINAL - Master Personne! File q

YELLOW - Employee Copy lit malted, attach certificate of Mailing'* here.)

SEE PERSONNEL PRoCEcuRES MANUAL FOR INSTRUCTIONS.

3022 (1/81)

ON

EXHIBIT'i I

• • r-f AFFIDAVIT s

My.iiaine is E. Earl Kent.

I am making this statement of my own free will' to.Mr. David Crow, who has identified himself to me as an investigator' for the Government

. Accountability r'oj ect.

I am speaking without threat

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or promise of material benefit.

My reason for making this statement is to express my deep concern over the HJ N UCL ?d n. W 0tzK quality of constructionjat the Midland,2(rfd6MW fN

/HhWOPINhM M nuclear plant.,

wherejl was term,inated in March of,.1982 for persistently,

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bringing defects in construction and specifications s

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to the attention of my superiors 4N Fcuc#hd/&P6/&* [M

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I'have worked for seventeen years in engineering,

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}/Gw VS j most recently at six. nuclear plants.

I d x S::a t h e t i t i o of henior Quality Control Engineer for nuclear welding.

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I have been a member of the American Society for

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Quality Control, and have published several books I

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On welding and structural steels.

Befofe coming to Bechter, I worked as an engineer 4 or Litton Industries,AND $wic I

f asafieldNalding[nspect.orfor'Boyle.Encineering f/4 C

Corporation, ans as #<Velding 3upervisorffor Fluor'niIUzw

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I have also worked as a koality $ssurance WA E~N andhualityhentrolkngineerforJoyManufacturing.

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I have attended more than half a dozen professional education courses on engineering and quality control.

Prior to moving to the Midland plarit, I had' worked l

for Bechtel at two of its other nuclear units, Pal.isades

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Paga Two,,

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c mo %w. EA and San Onofre Plants One<and Twoj y

In both of these earlier i

IservledasSeniorQualityControl N

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Engineer., I received top recommendations from my 4

supervisors at both hese plants.

There is a letter on WdlX VS file with Bechtel's sont M office, from the Vice President of Bechtel's Los A'geles Power Divisio[1, n

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Based on

$NG/AWB/NG AND fo,$myworkthere.

my years ofgexperience in nuclear plants, it it my pro ssional opinion that the Midlana plant is the worst nuclear facility I have'..ever 'seen."

This affiday,Lt will detail instances where Bechtel Corporation has systematically downgraded standar s for safety-related N

equipment, to the point where I doanot-believe that much I

i o,f the construction will not withstand the stresses it l

should be built to take.

Bechtel has hired engineers and OC inspectors who are not adequately qualified or trained

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for the complicated work in a modern nuclear plant I

have seen Bechtel personnel, both QC inspe'e/

l tors and engineers

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with QC responsibilities, rout.inely acce,pt substandard l

, work.

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I will also give examples of the unhealthy degree of reliance that certain NRC inspectors'have placed in the i

Bechtel personnel whom they are supposed to monitor I

NRC

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field inspec ors showed a surprising willingness to let I

the Bechtel personnel do all the dirty work involved i

ca in supposedly independent investigations.

t Because NRC inspectors often didn't themselves try to take the 1

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Paga Thr00 l

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measurements, or climb into less accessible areas. the inspec-tio[n reports that were supposed to represen separate check on Becht'el performance often wound up basin i

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their approval on Becht l's evaluations of its own work l

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My expertise is in welding inspection.

Whe{n /4-j I first t

- came t6~ Midland, in December 1981, I reviewed Bechtel's i

specifications and procedures.

I was astonished to see that f

i in numerous places, Bechtel had established standards which

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' fell below those of the ASME Code.

f The ASME Code reflects the best judgment of the national society of professionals in this R

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It is the result of many years of testing.RMM24/4NP 3C/4 area.

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1)espite 8

this Bechtel in some cases made the decision, based on their

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/d own engineers'jshort-term [ testing in San Francisco

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,' these standards.

h h-wo f Becht.el had made these changes only to take account I

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-of particular needs at Midland, tha't would be one thing.

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in the area of welding, where:I was qualified 'to judge, i

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'new specifications were inadequate 'o the needs of a nuclear 1

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' facility.

There is an inter office niem8,c/

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dated 24 April 1981, HAD f$

which I A me 16'my files.

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t is between the project OC head, l

Smith, and a main office materials 'and quality services E.

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official, D. Hackney.

The subject is socket weld engagement 4

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length'.

Hackney states that as long as the pipe is not with-d[ awn from the fitting it will be approved.

1 This means hat a, gap of neariy any length will be tolerated bet, ween the end of W4 1

W-the pipe and t$e bottom of the socket. (These cans ucahen.

c ths joint, and raake it susceptible to vibr'at, ion.f))l LUM 2//55/)/Ll'PWl/tM &ff The ASME Code i

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has, for this reason, established a iEuch more rigorous t

specificatibn.

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- Thi,s is only one example of the systematic downgrac 3

of welding -standards I saw at Midland.

g The Hackney memo

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. one of many shoct-memos placed in the specifications boo)

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Equally a,s. serious as the problem of downgraded sp cations were the problems c'reated by the incompetence and ignorance of QC.

Even something basic like knowing how &

the fillet gauges correctly to measure the size of welds 1 1

c beyond the ability of some of the Bechtel inspector i

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d In early February, I was working with one of these N

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Bechtel QC inspectors, John Kunski.

}d@i John was' about to app L

a fil,1.et weld When I saw that it hO not been fully welded c

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Fillet welds have to be full across;l the blade, not just t y

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l ing one edge of the blade.. I drew J' ohn a diagram tio show l

I this.

L, When John looked at the diagram, he saw that I was j

But the welder refused to put' any more we' d on -- he said 1 l

been doing it that way for two years, and his boss had alwa y

approved it.

.We finally had to call his boss in, and expla COV) P W M

d ti it to him, be' fore.

we wl,1 get the weld bcr-dre redone.

Paul fMG/NEAR S A '

p j

d Schulz, another QC.Jespector, was also there to hear the.

e explanation, and he admitted after I showed him the diagram i

'that he'd b'een approving bad welds himself, Af/pfMI##DM 3

. /A/ADfdtJ/175 F//-lM/t/f4DJ Af FG/N/I dDGl?:

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e MTfa WY Undersized and improperly done welds were serious pro) n but at least they didn't affect the integrity of the piping fcMM/Mf} Ms itself.-

High-pressure piping, which centr. ins up to 1500 p6t y

per square inch, is very vulnerable mn!.erial.

CAM fA Itj react)( lii W<

=

.D

Paga Fivo a balloon ~to a pinprick.

A weakness'in any part of the pipin.

[

.bsnGango.itotheentirele$29h.

t Because of this, I weg very concerned to discover that many welds in the piping had boo %m;t%

impropei-ly ground down, grinding down the pipe wall thickness along' with it.

~

'This was not only a vio1'ation in itself.

It was part of a larger problem having to -do'with inspections of the parent netal for the pipijn s stems.

In small bore piping, the only 17/citovGIILY &a way toginspect the inside of the piping for corr losion is toEttJua/] N THICM//dff CE- "Q/d j

of CK C4

- take what is called a thickness sans materials (TM) reading.-

~

This isj a tine-co,Af,Y. PU'd,IT H Q, y LCCrfprUS CN a M1'litret,VA//p $ /%

nsuming process if donejcorrectly.

To the

, best*of my knowledge, the Bechtel QC inspectors rarely took the time necessary to do this typej of verification.

They usually relied on visual inspection]: only.

Visual inspection I

can detect corrosion only on the outside of the piping v5Ud/4$

j When I performed a thorough (inspection myself of theWh-

~

piping, using TM readings for the ins'ide of the pipe wall, I discovered extensive corrosion.

Although th'e OC reports appear

.6 to assure that the piping is of safetyjgrade quality, these reports fail to reflect the problems oh the piping systems i

I

~

which I discovered.

To allow sevei ely corroded piping to be approved tor saf ety-related systems is%n my opinion'A i

inexcusable, f.

s and certainly very dangerous to the successful operation of /fA/V

,[

ym plant.

o8 j

Another piping problem with which I was 6ersonally LGw0lVDBCGBH f/S

' familiar developed because Bechtel alloved electrodes-used in-.

//cr DVGA/S FR.

g welding to be taken 6ut of theirg ermetically'-scaled containers h

h5

~m

. n. se.- e __.u.-Y~7, C " 5 5-

-Z

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i pags Six

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ve ro

//c f

orj oight hours before use.

The American Welding Society (AW *)

MMMWM y'

standard aIlows only four hoursjin the,open/k;ir.

a When the

' clectrodes are left ot t, the chemicals in their coating attract ambient. humidity.

Whep this moisture is absorbed, it will

.a j

beco'mp steam under the heat applied during the welding proce a

~

i1.5cef f/tQ Each speck of moisture will expand toj750 times its initial

• volume, and results in substantial porosity, or simply erpty I

jspace, within the completed weld.

l The weld will appear strong,

. - but' be weakened from within.

l.

The AWS standard is ased for ordinary bridges and office buildings, but apparently Bechtel thought that twice as lenient a standard was appropriate for

'a nuclear plant.

i.s 1,

1

.,X-ray inspections of weldin i.

a

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i 2 performed under these conditions has revea' led porosity.

j "N The welds have had to be

• Ov 7*

r 5

P corn out and redone, not just once but many times, of ten within the same joint.

This is one more example of Bechtel's not

. doing it right the first time l.

Every time they had to.tcar

. the welds out and do them again, it add,ed t'c' their costs and 5

7 s

t,o. thei~r profits.

I

\\.

Bechtel 'has a cost-plus contract, and had routinely 1

. wasted large amoun.

ts of money because they have little incen-tive to do the "crh right the first time.

.j Each time further cxpenditurbs are required to redo work, it adds to theirl..

'e fee.

I have seen work ripped out because of shoddy installatio; n C9 4 redone,andthenrippedoutandredoneagainbecauseit"still e

rs wasn' t right.

One OC engineer, who has been at Midland.wi--d' FCf?- MA N Y YSd%$,

f.K I-s

,m-m w. m e w m-

-= = :r ' ' = --' +

= ~ "T W M * '

Page Sevcn ff

///II/S WIN.ffW 4he:-beginning, told me thatgver 90 percent of the piping in r

the entire plant has hadL to be cut out and replaced at cge point or.other.

In my mind, this raises serious questions orkv 96 safety, liut it also Inakes me vonder who,is going to wind u.p

. paying the bill for Midland.

~

~

Bechtel's indifference to quality will cost the ratepayers a bundle,.if they are allowed to pass on their costs to the 'public.

The defects I have described are generic to the MidlandJY plant.

They have 6)!GhVf!ES pened because Bechtel has' hired inexperi-enced welders,an(d inspectors.

g There were few formal require-ments to become a welder, or even..

'l an inspector.

If this was

~

supposed to be corrected through a thorough training program k

5(

it didn't happen.

The training pei-lods were only a couple of weeks, and based on my experience inl working with the welde y

j-i l

j 4

and the inspectors, I can state that they were not properly A N o S M G/ M & t:,7 / f / f JA trained.

I When inspectorsjdon't know how to use a fillet gauge to measure welds, you know.

that the overall program stand,ards.

cannot be yery hi

' #D A Co41MS7S/HYM.f764T/DM/$ JVd/2)?d 6,

y NRC inspections often failed to' correct problems.

?. '

In the area of the inside wall corrosion in shall-bore piping NRb A

thejinsp[ectors seemed too willing to trust '

.this was because c.

the Bechtel inspectors when they made thei-tours.

It was generally the oc 1 people who actually climbed around on t$e piping and' called out.their measurements, which the NRC

. in,spectors would then write down.

As a result *, raany of I-he inspection reports do not reflect anything more than Bechtcil'd' own essertions.

~

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Pitge Eight-

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i Even when the NRC inspectors did show a willin.

I c'arry cut a real inspection, OFTB)/ 6 $<

gness to they vould be h,wdicapped by their practice of not coming in unannounced A

q

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To the best %,

my kno91 edge, there were no NRC inspections that weren't pre Ws Ye ceded by, te.L.-edtT. EaMayngit preparation directed b y Bechtelo during which pro.blems would be repaired and so hfCD metimes cono/F/B o, ate As a result, the inspectors.l.ncvoz saw the plant as GLpoAf C f.

operated on an overy-day basis.

/

My alarmine i

e I

$NS/NSCCS A*/D eriences with the field welding and the-.

OC inspectors led me to speak to my boss, Mr s

y

. William Creel',

numerous times in December and Ja'n.uary, sdne. response:

Bill generally had the n

he said that all his men had passed 'the Bechte p

E tests and were fully qualified, and he was willi il ng to take their' word for it if they said construction was

. p.

safe ANp4Dg/7d l

j My real problem began when I tried to talk to the'h t

ead of Project OC, Mr. Eugene Smith.

11e told me what Bill Creel

• was saying, that everybody was qualified and so there could n't be problems like the ones I was telling him existed t

On Friday, February 26, Eugene Sm th called me i t n o his' office and to,l'd me I was to be terminated.

t i

Bill Creel was also there, and the two of them told m!

l e 'tha't I hadn ' t been able to adjust to the way things were done at Nidland

, and so

,they would'have to let me go.

They asked me if I had any V.titten comments to make on the termination n ti

/

o ce.

I wrote

.down;

,I do not agree with any of the' above l

and ask for a complete investigation of this and all othe-r main proble:ns by the San Francisco home office, and especially Mr

. S. Bechtel.

G e -

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C E m-f A

Pago Nino

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I Never in my life have I ever seen so inan[ criti

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1 cal we 1

p

.4ttp 7tifN freHo THC accepted in nuclear workJ, If this.many /f 70 G5 LMMCC i

[

errors are all i

exist, the results could be catastrophic."

o l

l

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g i

l Af ter 'I wrote this down, Mr. Smith Taust have c l

i j

i

. Arbor Headquarters, because h'e told me to go se i

1 5

I Daniels on Monday.

Mr. Daniels inet me at the Holiday Midland, and I tried to explain to him the pr bl I

3 i

o ems I Di in the field and with QC.

a

}

I drew him the same diagrama 4

bq

)

drawn for John Kunski, about the welding standard 1

2MS/NdS&f s.

Al-

[

said to this was that all thejuelders,an[d inspectors f4 l

t

.l n

i j

ff The feciing I got was that even' if I proved qualified.

et p

4

j

$l I was saying,

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Daniels wouldn't do anything about it H2

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couldn't believe what I was telling him -- he believed 6V)pdNNY j

papers 'that told him the Midland personnel were i

4 3

4 p,

l h

Before Daniels finally told me that I would have tj Y

g g

fired, he made anothar phone call.

0 I.believe it wds to 7

Smith and Bill Creel.

Creel was the one.who most wanted to go JN biY C/'JN/0bf* f$

h y

l/ '

{

I was also told that in addition to' t

i my bad adjustm@

to Midlarid, I 'was being termina ted.because~ I had fa l

e tt

.. pass ' the Bechtel te'sts for Level I QC engineer.

^'

Now as I; stated earlier, I have seventeen years of experience (in gpgjg622IMC g

and welding. ;At other Bechtel installations, Palisades

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t at San Ono fre, I hel'd both Level I and Level II e$r certificate i

. Midl an was not that different from these other. Dechtel op

~

tions.

I cannot beb.i. eve that I hadn' t passed the Lev at Midland.

I was never given a copy of 'the written part t h

s. 7 Pago Ten -

~ ~ ~ - ~ ~ "

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f e

/

1 the test.

I can only believe that 'I'was fired for insisting

[

that there were serious problems at Midland uhicn my superior l

refused to schnowledge JNo BGMCC. A,2FI/ Spa 70 RSPd/Kr h,/

~.

gGh >

Debause of the wa[y 'I had been terminated by Bech and because I felt thst my observations had not received cutr4pE k

~

attention from the internal hierarchy, I decided that I should speak to the NRC.

On March 2, 1982, 'I arranged 'for a telephone interview with Roger Warnick, William Paton and Don Danielson i

GCA!GRALLY In that interview I told them what I hav&

of URC.

g e

etailed here in this affidavit.

I' told them I felt that Bechtel was not adequately investigating the 'sbrious problems I had tried 7

.to bring to their attention, and Ehat I felt I had 'been fired

j 1

'for trying to do 'his.

t

.~

3 ll -

After I spoke to the NRC, they sent out an inspector [ 3(jf(

o look into my allegations.

His report indicates that he spent three days on-site.

i don't think that a full investi-gation c'ould be conducted in,such a short period of time, by only one inspector.

However, I do feel that the report con-firmed my charges, based on what happened when the inspec' tor met with the top men from Consumers, Fe. Marguglio and Mr. Bird.

The inspector 'found them to be extremely hostile to any sug-l g,estion that thete were serious deficiencies with welding and E

with QC procedures and qualifications.

The inspection report I

' found that further investigation was warranted in this area A'lthough the report noted the need for,further otersicht, I

it seemed to feel that voluntary nunitoring of bcchtel by -

Consumers would clear up the problem.

T'he problems are too e

..l Pago.Elevan.

g,-

be, rious arjd wirlespread t.o bc icf t, to bc correct j

gen.

people who created them.

I believe that only an independenG

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and comp.

AND f/Zc rehensive investigation, by the NRC oc by outside experts, chn provide the assurance that Midland e*cgprope

• WH.L B6 built'.,

.j. :

f.K -

i 5

I am sure that Consumers and Bechtel will respond W*

to my charges the. SAM 6

.sg way they responded to the NRC in-

/

'spection.

They will deny the pr,oble/g;ms and pro (mise vo JN MYl('M'/rM f A.

ra4 offorts to cure them.

They will try to ruin my credibility, by saying that I was incompetent,' that I couldn't pass the basic tests.

~

Nevertheless, I, stand by my statement.

Af te'-

j nearly twenty years of work as an e.

ANp 45LD.'Nti A ur//pK, ngineerj I know a defi-y) i.,

cient weld when I see one, and I know w

?

\\

many of these 5

CK j-

' elds and other problems went undetected or ignored by the men responsible for inspecting them., Bechtel has shown by its attitude that it cannot b.e trusted to perform work of the high quality necessary in a nuclear plaht.

I feel that

.V a full investigation into its managemen't and construction practices will show that much work will have to be redone

, b,efore Midland can go into' operation.

The cost will be enormous, if it

~n h

done at all.

Despite the cost, -

I cannot stand by and watch the p1' nt go on-line~ in its a

presentsta\\

te of safety.

To do so would be to betray my resp 6nsib'ilities as a professional, as an engineer, and g

4 e

r Page Twelva

• 4 f,

as a citizen.

,...m..

I have read the above twelve-(12) page aff.idavit.

To the best of my knowledge'. it is true, accurate and complete

~

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.;f E~. 23-OP V EARI,

.NT 4

's*

SUBSCRIBED AND Sh'ORN TO before me this kday of.[_ M/-

1982.

f Ae C

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Notary p~ul31.1c

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N 8Cl^t seat of.rp'.; notter,,v3,,eECls'ths c. htun!

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