ML20127F928
| ML20127F928 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Midland, 05000000 |
| Issue date: | 09/30/1982 |
| From: | Foster J NRC OFFICE OF INVESTIGATIONS (OI) |
| To: | James Keppler NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20127F538 | List: |
| References | |
| FOIA-85-213 NUDOCS 8506250296 | |
| Download: ML20127F928 (8) | |
Text
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14UCLEAh F.EgQLt, TOM C ?/l/ SSI I
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'4 confidential source cLEN ELLYN,lLLINolS 60137 september 30, 1982 MDf0RANDUM FOR: James G. Keppler, Regional Administrator, Region III FROM:
James E. Foster, Acting Director, Office of Investigations Chicago Field Office
SUBJECT:
DISCUSSION WITH MS. BILLIE GARDE REGARDING E. E. KENT On September 22, 1982, I contacted Ms. Billie Garde, of the Government Accountability Project (GAP) to obtain telephone numbers for individuals who had made allegations regarding Midland. During part of the conver-sation, the allegations of Mr. E. Earl Kent were discussed.
Ms. Garde stated she had read the NRC inspection reports which document Kent's concerns and the resultant NRC findings. She indicated GAP felt that many things had " fallen through the cracks", and Kent could provide NRC with specific examples of deficient welds.
I advised that the RIII inspectors had examined four specific welds characterized by Kent as being the most deficient, and had found them to be acceptable, and also examined a random sample of similar welds (socket welds).
Ms. Garde indicated that she felt very strongly that OI should interview the inspector that Kent (allegedly) demonstrated had been improperly utilizing a fillet weld guage.
She stated that this individual is waiting for the NRC to. contact him, will talk freely, and will have new information on welding deficiencies. He has not been contacted by or signed an affi-davit for CAP, she stated.
I advised that OI would contact this individual in the course of the Midland investigation.
Ms. Garde indicated that whatever the NRC findings were, she (on behalf of GAP) would request an independent audit of welding activities at Midland.
l ames E. Foster, Acting Director i
Office of Investigations Chicago Field Office W. Ward, OI:M W. Shafer, RIII i
W. Key, RIII
~~
K. Ward. RRIII /
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- Warnick, RIII DO NOT DISCLOSE g, 3. Davis, RIII Contains identity of confidential source 7
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Study of Welds at N
2 A-Plants Ordered 4eaa%2 WASHINGTON. D C. 20005 NBC to Look Into Charges by Fired Former Co' fot' Bechtel Engineer Who Says Work Is Faulty. to3 3nattes,. cit, 1Ives DCT 131982
. By JOHN O' DELL, Report by Utility.c.iMORNING -
1,018,490
're'
. me wuclear neruiatory Cmn-nu
- 1., m. m mission is looking into charges that substandard weids were approved Sees No Danner '
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in construction'of criucal safety uiEve";nt of Qu** ke i
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systems at two of the nauon's nu-a
> clear power plants, including San
' Onofre,The Times haslearned.
SAN FRANCISCO (UPI)-An The NRC has. launched a full-internal report conducted for Pacl-acale probe of welding practices at fic Gas & Electric Co.shows none of '
the ahdiand, Mi h. facility and has ' the 150 apparent flaws found during -
asheduled a formal inspection at a review of design problems at the Ban Onofre. Both plants were de-utilny's Diablo Canyon Nuclear d algned and built)y Bechtel Power Power Plant is serious enough to.<
Corp.
cause a failure during even.a large p' The commission's ecuans are in earthquake, PG&E reported.
The report was conducted by f URS John,A. Blume & Associates..,j
' response to charges madeby E Earl Kent, a former Bechtel quality con.
trol neer, who was fired by the of San Francisco and has been filed. q firmin h.
with the Nuclear Begulatory Com, -
' Flaws are Alleged Th s'tudy was conductedin addi-
' Kent told The Tunes that unless uon to anindependent review of the Bechtel corrects " thousands" of design and construction problems at i
substandard welds on pipe and elec-the plant 96 miles south of SanJose. '
trical system supports at the two The report hats 72 of the differ N 7
plants a breakdown of coohng-wa* ences as having no effect on the ter and radioscuve water pipe sys-performance of the twin unit plant *,
tems could result.
during a mWor earthquake. Thirty e l
Kent described the pipe supports six others would have "msignifi :in nuclear power plants,are "not as critical because they are used to cant"effect, the report said.
t suspend piping and electrical con-No evaluation was made on 13 i evengoodforanouthouse.
duits. If they fell, be said, the9tpes other problems studied, and no res,, Specifically, Kent accused Bech-6el of falling to follow American and condulta could seg and break.
olution was proposed on 29 othery Welding Society code requirements Such weaknesses threaten the sy'*
potentially more serious errors.
tems which cool the reactor and These will be dealt with in an inde-4 for use of a special type of reinfore-carry radmetive water in a closed pendent study now under consider.: I ing weld, called an end return. on loop within the containment build
- ation by the NRC,PG&E said.
thousands of piping and electncal ing.
' equipment support beams at San He said he was not offering a pre-Onofre. Although the welding so-diction but rather a " probability" codes and is designed to provide ' ciety's code does not apply to safety which he arrived at based on 40 substantial safety margins for related systems in nuclear plants, years of experience in weldmg,in-equipment subjectto severe stress.
Kent claims thatit should becauseit cluding 17 year $ as a welding and At' Southern California Edison la the most stringent code svallable.
quality control engtneer.
Co., crerator of San Onofre, ty He charged that American Socie-Me Defleleneles Femad assurance manager Jarlath an ty of Mechanical Engineers codes i regulating certain piping welds 7 l -
paid a review of Kent's charges Bechtel offidals denied Kent's onlle(spcket welds.have been sys.
ab ut welding work there has not.
charges. The firm maintained that temaucally violated at the Midland
,4 all welding work in nuclear power. revealed any deficiencies in Bech.
i ~
H De an official Kent claimed that weakened 'I lP,anta gt e h 8Pp bl of the American Welding Society, welds can resultin both cases.
said that some of Bechtel's rules for He also said that welders at San i
fieldinspecuon of welds onopports Flosse see A.FLANTS Page 12
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b e
+TS:. Weld Study
- Those problems, however, were char.
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A-PLAN cs,,.d..rms,,s.,.
.~Onofre and from October.1980,until Au.Ke'nt' began w'orking for Bechtel a acterized as normal faults that were
)
f*ettamed fuss First Page Dnofre unita 2 and 3 often used a pipe. gust.1981.he was a senior quality control found by Edison and Bechtel inspectors and that were repaired before the plant totung tool rather than the approved engineeratallthreeof theunits there.
was started up.
He then was transferred to the Bech.
marking device to inscribe lines on pip..tel btdit PaHandes plant in Michigan, turn up any weldirg relat The review of event reports did not ing.
. When a cutting toolis used to inscribe where he worked in the name capacity. Unit 3.
lines, Kent said, the resultmg groove can until December,1961, when he was Edison said none of the faulty welds in ee much deeper than necessary and can transferred to the Mullandplant.
. Unit I represented a safety problem, al.
damage the pipes themselves-an espe. ' Bechtelfired Kent after examiners said though all are thought to have been de.
clally critical situauon because many of he had failed two oral tests for welding ItIV',since tr stalled in the narly 1960s.
the prpes carry steam and radioacuve inspector, Kent claimed he had passed Kent s allegauona appear to stem from three similar exams earlier. He charged - his training in the regulauons of the water.
the real reason he was fired was because
~ Kent first contacted NRC invesugators American Welding Society Code, which in Chicago about two months after he b' was too crideal of weldmg work at governs structural welding but is not e
yas fired. Since then'he has been treated ~ idland.In August, Kent met with James Fos. used by the NRC as the code for the M
as o nuclear induetry *whistleblower" ter,how acting chief ofinvesugauona for welding of piping and pipe supports in
)mder a confidenuality agreement con. he NRC's Chicago region, and repeated nuclear planta.
t
...But he now has de For welding in that area, the NRC re.
esahng his identity" cided to tnake his al. charges he had made earlier., Foster said that has office con legauons pubhc Kent said he was,hpot inspection at Midlands and subse. ;to apply the American Society of ed by Bechtel's denials and by the nhanicalEnginms melearcode.
toletpeoplejudge his claimsin the quently ordered a full investigauon of.
gontext of his experience as a quahty ;weldmg and other construcuon practices' John Collins, senior metallurgist with the NRC's engineering and quality as.
isontrol engineer for such farms as Bech. ; there.
week,l surance division in Maryland, described The NRC ofncial said last (el, the Fluor Corp., Boyle Engmeering however, that he had not yet referred thecodesas"verydifferent."
and Litton industries Kent's concerns about San Onofre 2 m.,,,,,gy,,,,4,,,,
?Hestraf'oe Neelear lasse NRC officials in California.
he said he believes many quesuons j
t Kent, who says he is " neutral" about A Times review of San Onofre " event" a NRC until after he had been fired be. reports filed in the past 30 months with " bout the a nuclear power, said he did not go to the would be eliminated" if the Amencan the NRC by Southern California Edison'Weldmg Society codes took precedence cause be had consistently complamed to shows that Edison inspections in Unit l over the ASME code.
tds supervisors within Bechtel about have revealed at least one cracked weld One item that NRC investigators in weldmg at Midland and even after being on a pressurised steam pipe, inad*quate Bred wanted to give them a chance to welds on several coohng water pipes in..both Cahfornia and Michigan were con.
torrect the situauoninternally.
side the reactor containment dome and ;cerned with is a Bechteldocument estab.
Dshing rules fw acceptance of visually When he decided in September to the failureof weldsonfourcoohng water in8Pected welds in suppet beams for complain about condiuons he witnessed
' di San Onofre, Kent said, he went dfrect pipe support structures.
pipes and electrical equipment in nuclear ly to Bechtel and Southern Cahforma Edison quality assurance manager plants.
Curran confirmed last week that none of Several items in the document appear EWann.
Dennis Kirsch, chief of the NRC's the welds were reinforced with the end to be at odds with prudent welding prac.
West Coast reactor inspecuon division, returns Kent claimed are neoessary to uce.NRCofficials toldTheTimes.
confarrned that Kent did not speak to him reinforce pipe and electrical equipment' But Bechtel officials in Los Angeles, about San Onofre until after Bechtel and supports against earthquake damage lincludmg chief plant design engineer Edison had prepared a report that said There also were several welding prob., Landon Brown, said that the company's his allegsuons were" unsubstantiated."
lems reported on Unit 2, where major rules are based on code interpretauons construcuon was wrapped up earlier this pubushed by the ASME.
Kirsch aald that he discounted Kent's allegauons after reading the Edison, yearand whichhasbeenplacedinopera. In addition, Brown said the welds are uon for tests priw to being run up to full all tested by tearing themhpart and sub.
'.Bechtel report last month but that after capacity in January.
jecting the metal to strees analysis before
' talking directly with Kent last week has decided to. order a specialinspecuon of they are approved for use in the field.
' welding work at San Onofre
'nanlag Met Revealed He would not reveal when the NRC inspecuon team would visit the North San D6 ego County facility.
,. Curran said Tuesday that Edison is willing to let Kent into San Onofre to I oint out welding problems if the NRC p
dapproves the idea. The NRC's Kirsch could notbe reached for comment.
. ~ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
lAJO-7E 30 TS, isc.
7 4701 W1LiARD AVENUE, CHEW CHASE. MARYLAND 20815 65 W 8 FOR NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION STATION WOVH-TV N
Lie Detector Syndicated 5
CAE February 10, 1983 7 :,10 P. f t.
C::Y Wasnington, D.C.
Earl Kent /De fective Welds at Nuclear Power Plant,
N ANNOUNCER:
This is a polygraph instrument;.in the nands technology's mosb accurate means of determining the o f an exoert, truth.
Now, in this room, two people will come face-to-face with that truth.
He found defective welds at a nuclear power,.
Earl Kent.
plcnt and was fired from his job.
He claims he was unjustly arrested and Steven Charney.
jailed for burglary and assault upon the wife of his ex-boss.
These people have agreed to put their stories, and in
~
many cases their very lives, on the line.
Together with noted polygraph expert Ed C e l b,. past renowned defense attorney F. Lee pr,osident of the APA,.our host, that gets Bailey, will pull no punches on Lie Detector, the show to the truth.
F. LEE BAILEY:
The people you will meet on Lie Detector
- aro not actors and they're not being paid.
They are here They want their stories told, and they're very-voluntarily.
hcpeful that the polygraph will support those stories.
A lie detector is not infallible, and it certainly is Nonetheless, it remains science's controversy.
not free from tool to distinguish between those who are trying cost efrective and those who are trying to tell the truth.
to be deceptive ANNOUNCER:
Three Mile Island, symbol of our country's sobering confrontation with the possibility of nuclear disaster, potentially far worse Accordin'g to this man, Earl Kent, a
- CHCAGo e CEMOT * #C otMR PmPCPR CmES omCEs n WAswctoN O C.
-m.,u e.,.
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u.sm.m
~
2 accident could occur at a nuclear power plant in Michigan.
During a routine inspection there, he found a series of defective wolds.
When he brought this to the attention of his superiors, his professional reliability was severely questioned.
Ultimately, he lost his job.
8AILEY:
Mr. Kent, you worked in a nucl' ear plant.
EARL KENT:
Yes, sir.
5 BAIL You wees a welder.
K E'i f :
Nc, str.
[ iss sentor qualtty control e ng inea r,
sir.
SAILEY:
All e Lg h t.
Wh<en I say welder I mean you were comoetent to decide whether or not the welding that was done was dono properly, and it was your joo to inspect it.
KENT:
Yes, sir.
I was formerly a we,lder f o r,many yoors, and a welding instructor for years.
BAILEY:
All right.
AbotIt a year ago, you made a discovery which u p s'e t you, in view of the tremendous dangers in every nuclear plant.
Tell us what it was.
KENT:
There was documentation of undersized fillet wolds in nuclear applications that were undersized and should have been, rather, full-sized, and were being documented as being full-sized when they were not.
BAILEY:
All right.
So we have tw'o pieces of metal and wo lay a weld along the joint to bind them together.
Is that correct?
KENT:
Or in socket welds you have a socket and you have a pipe that goes within the socket.
And the junction [unintelli-l,
gible) all the way around that junction.
BAILEY:
Binding the pipe together.
1 i
KENT:
Yes.
BAILEY:
And some of these p ipe s could carry fluids l
which, if they leaked, I suppose,.might be dangerous.
KENT:
Could be very dangerous.
BAILEY:
Now, you say undersized ft}.let welds.
\\.
- KENT:
Yes.
er I
_,_,-..,,r
_ _ _ _,,.... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _. _ _, _. _. _ _,. _ - - _ _. _ _ _ _ _ _ _. _. _ _ _, _.. _ _ _. _ _ ~. _.. - _. _ _. _ - _ - -. _ _ _. -.. _ _ _ ~ _ -. - -.
r 4
1 3
SAILEY:
Does that mean, in your judgment, that the wrid might not take the design stress, and therefore might break unoxpected1y.
KENT:
It could very well take a lot less than the enticipated stress and strain.
SAILEY:
All right.
Did you have some rather tight docign specifications that were supposed to be met?
KENT:
[ Unintelligible].
5AILEY:
And in your judgment, tney were not?
KENT - Tney were not met in this appiteat ion.
BAILEY:
What did you do about it?
XENT:
I brought this first to the attention of the was working on the job for this major contractor.
inspector that And amazed that he was not measuring them correctly.
And he was 16 came to light that he had not been measuring them correctly for at least two years.
And the other inspectors had been doing the same as he was doing.
And they didn't really know how to read something as simple as fillet weld gauges.
BAILEY:
What is the right remedy?
What should have bocn done?
KENT:
They should have had adequate instruction initially to make sure that they knew.
l BAILEY:
No, but they didn't.
What could have bee,n done
(
to remedy the situation?
What did you want done?
I Additional welding wherever it's necessary.
KENT:
BAILEY:
In other
- words, to bring them up to specification so they could be guaranteed to take the stress Oxpected of them.
Even the codes-KENT:
Well, they never really guaranty.
j to not' guaranty that nothing will happen, even if you bring them up to the specs.
BAILEY:
Well, let's say more likely...
KENT:
Hare likely.
Yes.
BAILEY:
Okay.
What did they do to you?'
I i
~
/0 i
i KENT:
Well, eventually they fired me.
BAILEY:
Did they use any device to do that, any' excuse?
it was very simple.
The excuse, Evidently, KENT:
I couldn't pass an oral examination relative ovidently, was that to celding.
And here I have, at that point in time, 40 years, to the year, in welding.
BAILEY:
'Do you think ynu could pass any fair exsmination today?
KENT:
Oh, a b so lu t e l y.'. I'd put my expectise uo against theirs any day.
fair?
SAILEY:
Do you think the test you were given was KENT:
1 think it's like a license to drive.
[f the tester is not going to give you a license, they will find a reason to flunk you.
BAILEY:
We have to determine an issue that we can use on the polygraph.
And it seems to me that we're almost dealing whether he really believes that the with a question of sincerity, deficiency is in these welds is significant, in view of the fact that a nuclear plant can't afford any deficiencies at all.
ED CELS:
What we're concerned with here is were those colds substandard, were they belgw code?'
KENT:
Yes, they were below code and substandard.,
GELS:
And you feel that you're telling the trut,h when the code.
you're saying they were no in conformance with i
I i
KENT:
Yes.
Yes.
That I think we should be sole to get at.
BAILEY:
i Lot's give it a whirl.
/
A N N O U N C s.rt :
Our polygraph machine measures channes in t
I the suvject's breathing, blood
- pressure, pulse, and skin' l
I roflexes.
These physical and emotional responses are th&n recorded on a special polygraph chart.
?
CELS:
Okay, Earl.
The test is about to begin.
Do you intend to lie to me regarding whether or not you actually,saw undersized fillet welds at the [ censored] facility.
KENT:
No.
I I
//
5 f'illet welds at socket-to-pipe CEL8:
Did you see junctions to be undersized at the (censored] nuclear facilty?
KENT:
Yes.
BAILEY:
Here's the first relevant question, the subject of his concern.
GEL 8:
Ouring early 1982, did you see fillet welds at the (censored] nuclear facility that did not meet (unintelli-gible] specifications?
X E'? T :
Yas.
BAILEY:
And that is o'ur final relevant quest ion.
CELB:
This test is over, Earl.
Remain sttil for ten seconds, please.
BAILEY:
Earl Kent has g iv en us some chilling news, defects in an atomic plant.
Nbw the polygraph is going to tell us whether or not he belleves that these are substandarc welds in what could be critical areas.
Ed, charts like that just take one [ unintelligible}.
CELS:
There's no discussion here in relation to the charts.
These are the kinds of charts that they use in polygraph cchgols to teach students on...
(Confusion of voices]
CELB:
... truth from deception.
It's so clear, Earl, thore's no sense even playing games with which is which.
BAILEY:
That's good news for you, Earl.
It's not very good news for us.
KENT:
No, it's not.
It's not good news for the nuclear industry in the United States,,because the nuclear plants could be a lot safer than they are, from what I have seen.
I've seen acny, many things I have not even had time to bring to the NRC, and the other people involved, some of a metallurgical natury, s me of a (unintelligible] nature.
As I told them on the phone, I could talk to them for days if they were willing to listen.
BAILEY:
Well, I think we need people like you to be watching out for them.
I want to thank you for being on our program.
KENT:
I want to thank both of you, sir.
_