ML20117N427

Submits Response to RAI Re Commonwealth of Ma Indictment of Licensed SRO on Various Felony Charges Unrelated to His Assignments &/Or Activities at Mit

ML20117N427
Person / Time
Site:	MIT Nuclear Research Reactor
Issue date:	09/06/1996
From:	Litster J MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, CAMBRIDGE
To:	Grimes B NRC
References
NUDOCS 9609190187
Download: ML20117N427 (4)

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J. DAvlD 13TSTER CAMBRIDOE. MASSACHUSETTS 02139 VICE PRESIDENT AND _-' (687) 253-6001 DFAN FOR RESEARCH (6171253 1974 PROFESSOR OF PHYSIC 5 FAX: (617)253 8388 l

September 6,1996 Brian K. Grimes, Acting Director Division of Reactor Program Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Program Management Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 Re: Request for AdditionalInformation Dated 2 August 96, License No. 37, Docket No. 50-20

Dear Dr. Grimes:

On June 20,1996, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology notified the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission that one of its employees,' a licensed senior reactor operator, had been indicted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on various felony charges unrelated to his assignments and/or activities at MIT. On June 26,1996, a letter was provided to the NRC as an item of information in which MIT's policy on this type of problem was outlined. On July 1,1996, MIT's Director of Reactor Operations visited NRC Headquarters at NRC's suggestion to discuss this matter.

Unfortunately, most of those with whom he was scheduled to meet were unavailable. On July 16, l

1996, the NRC's Director of Nuclear Reactor Regulation met with me at MIT to discuss the matter. On August 2,1996, both MIT and the employee were sent letters in which additional information was requested. This letter is submitted in response to the letter that was addressed to MIT. The employee is replying separately to the letter that was addressed to him.

The policy that guides MIT's actions in this situation is the need to ensure the safe operation of our facility and, at the same time, to ensure that the rights of the accused are protected. Needless to say, it is difficult to satisfy these two objectives simultaneously. Our task is made easier in this instance by the fact that the charges contained in the indictment have no direct relation to the-employee's responsibilities at MIT. In particular, none of the alleged activities occurred at MIT and no MIT facilities were utilized in these alleged activities. Also, none of the alleged activities involved alcohol or substance abuse.

l To answer the specific questions contained in your letter of 2 August 1996, the following is l provided:

1. Description of Operator / Supervisor's Performance of Duties: The individual began work with the MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory in 1985 as a student reactor operator. lie has received a number of promotions and is currently the Assistant Superintendent for Reactor Operations. Ile holds a senior reactor operator's license as well as two degrees (M.S. in Nuclear Engineering and Degree of Nuclear Engineer) from MIT. IIis specific responsibilities include:

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. a) Directing.the activities of the Reactor Operations Group (15 licensed individuals) in conjunction with their performance of reactor startups and shutdowns, experiment  ;

installations, and sample irradiations, performance of tests and calibrations, conduct  !

of maintenance, etc. He also schedules the above activities.

b)' Reviewing irradiation requests.

c) . Preparing safety reviews of proposed changes to reactor operating procedures.

'd) Supervision of operator training.

e) Interacting with Reactor Radiation Protection Officer, the_ Assistant' Superintendent for Reactor Engineering, and the Reactor Relicensing Engineer as well as many of the experimenters.

In addition to the above supervisory .;uties, the individual occasionally functions as the reactor supervisor. In this capacity, he may. manipulate the reactor controls himself and/or directly supervise a reactor operator in the manipulation ~of those controls.

The position of Assistant Superintendent for Operations is parallel in the MITR's organization chart to that of Assistant Superintendent for Engineering and the Reactor Relicensing Engineer.'  !

All three report to the Superintendent and thence to the Director of Reactor Operations.

.2.' Oversight of Activities: Our primary concern here is that the individual not be subject to j excessive stress. Such stress,.were it to occur, might affect the individual'sjob performance in two 1

. ways: (i) A long-term degradation of-performance or (ii) a short-term inability to function. The l

MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory has-developed and implemented a policy to deal with both contingencies. Specific steps that have been taken are: -

1 a) Upon notification of the indictment, the employee voluntarily requested to be relieved'of all duties and his request was granted. l He remained relieved of all ,

duties until examined by both MIT Medical and. his personal: physician. Both  !

approved his return to work, b) The employee has been informed that job-related counsehng is available at no cost  !

to him through MIT, should he desire it. The services ~of MIT Medical are available 1 to the employee at no cost should he desire them, j c) The employee, at his request,' held a meeting with all members of the Nuclear .

Reactor Laboratory including both licensed personnel and experimenters. He l explained the indictment, stated his innocence of all charges, and fielded questions.

Thus, everyone with whom the employee interacts in regards to his supervision of the MIT Research Reactor is fully aware of the situation.

d) The employee has always met daily with the Director of Reactor Operations for the

-i . specific purpose 'of discussing reactor scheduling. The status of the employee's personal situation is now checked during these interactions, e) The employee will take time off should the potential exist for a high-stress situation as the result of his legal difficulties.

f) The employee is on the staff payroll and hence is entitled to sick time should he be under too much stress. Thus, there is no reason (i.e., loss of pay) for the employee j to attempt to work when under excessive stress.

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g) The MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory's Administrative Officer has been directed to -

l monitor the employee's performance and to look for trends that might indicate a l- slow degradation of performance. Quantitative measures of the employee's resiliency such as punctuality, completion of work assignments in a thorough manner, and continued attention to the problems of subordinates are monitored.

In summary, this matter is being addressed in an open manner. The employee, his co-workers,

, and his supervisors are all aware of the indictment, the potential for a problem, and are sensitive to any incipient signs. Also, MIT's supporting entities (MIT Medical and Personnel Departments) are available to provide support at no cost to the employee. Finally, should the employee either

l. feel that he is under excessive stress or should a supervisor judge that to be the case, there would be no penalty to the employee. We feel that these actions do achieve the dual objectives of ensuring the safe operation of our facility and also protecting the employee's rights. It is also my belief that l to protect the employee's rights under 10 CFR 2.790 his name as well as his address should be-redacted from documents placed in the public document room.

In addition to the two specific questions, your letter of August 2,1996 requested that MIT keep the

.NRC informed of any significant developments in the matter. We. reconfirm our previous agreement to do this. Thus far, all court activity has been limited to the exchange of evidence that is legally required under the discovery process. -Nothing of significance has occurred or is expected to occur for several more months.

l Sincerely, js _,

J.-Daviu Litster .

l Vice President for Research l Massachusetts Institute of Technology  ;

cc: J. A. . Bernard, MIT Director of Reactor Operations

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