ML20149K733

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Notice of Violation & Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalties in Amount of $220,000.Violation Noted:Licensee Failed to Take Action to Address Condition Until 891117,when FWCI Was Inoperable
ML20149K733
Person / Time
Site: Millstone Dominion icon.png
Issue date: 07/13/1994
From:
NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I)
To:
Shared Package
ML20149H858 List:
References
FOIA-97-223 EA-91-127, NUDOCS 9707300114
Download: ML20149K733 (3)
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ENCLOSURE NOTICE OF VIOLATION AND PROPOSqD IMPOSITION OF CIVIL PENALTIES Northeast Nuclear Energy Company Decket No. 50-245 Millstone, Unit I License No. DPR 21 Waterford, Connecticut EA 91127 During an NRC inspection conducted on January 8-12, 1990, u well as a subsequent investigation by the NRC Office of Investigation, violations of NRC requirements were identified. In accordance with the " General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions," 10 CFR Part 2, Appendix C, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission proposes to impose civil penalties pursuant to Section 234 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, u amended (Act),42 U.S.C. 2282, and 10 CFR 2.205. "Ihe particular violations and associated civil penalties are set forth below:

I. Failure to Take Promp Corrective Action 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix B, Criterion XVI, Corrective Action, requires, in part, that measures be established to assure that conditions adverse to quality such as failures, malfunctions, deficiencies and nonconformances are promptly identified and corrected.

It the case of significant conditions adverse to quality, the measures shall assure that the cause of the conditions is determined and corrective actions taken to preclude repetition.

Contrary to the above, on June 15, 1989, a condition adverse to quality wu identified at the Unit ! . mility concerning the operability of the Feedwater Coolant Injection (FWCI) System, and the licensee failed to take prompt action to address the condition '

until November 17,1989, when FWCl was declared inoperable. This is considered to be a continuing violation.

This is a Severity level II violation (Supplement I). (01012) I Civil Penalty - $120,000 l II. Violation involvirt! Discrimination Arainst an Enrineer 10 CFR 50.7, '.imployee Protection, subsection (a), prohibits discrimination by a Commission licensee against any employee for engaging in cenain protected activities.

Discritnination includes discharge and other actions that relate to compensation, terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. Protected activities include, but are not limited to, the raising of safety concerns to licensee management.

1 NUREG-0940, PART I B-61 I 9707300114 970723 PDR FOIA 97-223 PDR j

Enclosure 2 Contrary to the above, the licensee discriminated against an employee for engaging in " ^

protected activitica. During October arid November 1989, the emp$yee,triot'Abelani,

  • an engineer in the licensee's organization, was engaged in a protected activity in that he raised questions with his management concerning the operability of the Feedwater Coolant Injection System (FWCI). In April 1990, the licensee's Engineering Manager, Mr. Vogel, discriminated against Mr. Abolafia by not selecting him to fill a vacancy in the Millstone Unit 1 engineering organization in retaliation for his technical evaluation and conclusion regarding the operability of the FWCI system.

This is a Severity Level II violation (Supp!cment VU) (02012)

Civil Penalty $100,000 Pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 2.201, Northeast Nuclear Energy Company (Ucensee) is hereby required to submit a written statement or explanation to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, within 30 days of the date of this Notice of Violation and Proposcd Imposition of Civil Penalties (Notice). This reply should be clearly I marked as a

  • Reply to a Notice of Violation" and should include for each alleged violation:

(1) admission or denial of the alleged violation, (2) the reasons for the violation if admitted, and if denied, the reasons why, (3) the corrective steps that have been taken and the results achieved, (4) the corrective steps that will be talen to avoid further violations, and (5) the date when full compliance will be achieved. If an adequate reply is not received within the time specified in this Notice, an order or a demand for information may be issued as to why the license should not be modified, suspended, or revoked or wt y such other action as may be proper should not be taken. Consideration rnay be given to extending the response time for good cause shown.

Under the authority of Section 182 of the Act,42 U.S.C. 2232, this response shall be submitted under oath or affirmation.

i within the same time as provided for the response reqdred above under 10 CFR 2.201, the Ucensee may pay the civil penalties by letter addressed to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuc! car Regulatory Commission, with a check, draft, money order, or electronic transfer payable to the Treasurer of the United States in the amount of the civil penalties proposed above, or may protest imposition of the civil penalties in whole or in part, by a written answer addressed to the Director, Office of Enfortement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Should the Ucensoe fail to answer within the time specided, an order imposing the civil penalties will be issued. Shwld the Ucensee elect to file an answer in accordance with 10 CFR 2.205 protesting the civil penalties, in whole or in part, such answer should be clearly marked as an ' Answer to a F%tice of Violation

  • and may: (1) deny the violations listed in this Notice, in whols or in part, (2) demonstrate extenuating circumstances, (3) show error in this Notice, or (4) show other reasons why the penalties should not be imposed. In addition to protesting the civil penalties in whole or in part, such answer may request remission or mitigation of the penalties.

I NUREG-0940, PART I B-62 i

l Enclosure 3 1

In requesung midgation of the proposed penalties, the factors addressed in Section VI.B.2. of

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.+ ~ - - 40 CFR N 2, kpp;r. dix C (1%ij, shottro*be iddrt'ssed. Anf"w.Ihen answer l'n'acc0rdance l with 10 CFR 2.205 should be set forth separately from the statement or explanation in reply pursuant to 10 CFR 2.201, but may incorporate parts of the 10 CFR 2.201 reply by specific i reference (e.g., citing page and pangraph numbers) to avoid repetition. The attention of the (

Licensee is directed to the other provisions of 10 CFR 2.205, regarding the procedure for )

imposing civil penalties.

Upon failure to pay any civil penalties due which subsequently have been determined in accordance with the applicable provisions of 10 CFR 2.205, this matter may be refemd to the Attomey General, and the penalties, un! css compromised, remitted, or mitigated, may be collected by civil action pursuant to Section 234c of the Act,42 U.S.C. 2282(c).

The response noted above (Reply to Notice of Violation, letter with payment of civil penalties, and Answer to a Nodce of Violation) should be addressed to: Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Document Control Desk, Washington, D.C.

20555 with a copy to the Regional Administrator, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region I,475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406 and a copy to the Senior Resident Inspector, Millstone Station.

Dated at King of Prussia, Pennsylvania l this tJ# day of July 1994 I I

NUREG-0940, PART I B-63

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FEB l 8 GG4 Docket No. 50 302

License No. OPR 72 -

EA 93 226 Florida Power Corporation ,

Mr. P. M. Beard, Jr. (NA21)

Senior Vice President 2,

Nuclear Operations --

ATIN: Manager, Nuclear Licensing

15760 West Power Line Street
Crystal River, Florida 34428 6708 Centlemen

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SUBJECT:

NOTICE Of V!OLATION i (U.S. Department of Labor Case No. 88-ERA-29) l l This letter refers to the results of an administrative proceeding conducted by 1 3

the U.S. Department of Labor (00L) which involved a complaint of employee i discrimination filed by a former employee of fluor Constructors International, j Inc. (Fluor), at Florida Power Corporation's Crystal River 3 Nuclear Plant _

J under the provisions of Section 210 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended (ERA) (recently changed to Section 211 by the Energy Policy Act of 1992). The 00L proceedings consisted of an investigation, an administrative

! hearing conducted by a 00L Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) and a final order l 1ssued by the Secretary of Labor finding that discrimination occurred in the case. As a result of the 00L proceedings and findings, the Nuclear RegJlatory Commission (NRC or Commission) has concluded that a violation of Section 210 and of NRC regulations occurred, specifically a violation of 10 CFR 50.7, which prohibit discrimination against an employee for engaging in activity protected by Section 210/211 of the Energy Reorganization Act (ERA). This violation, including its cause and corrective actions to preclude recurrence, was discussed with you, members of your staff and representatives of Fluor during an enforcement conference held in the Region II Office on November 22, 1993.

i The violation described in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice) concerns the finding of discrimination in 00L Case No. 88 ERA-29, captioned Doualas A.

Tritt v. Fluor Constructors. Inq. In this case, Mr. Tritt (Complainant) filed a complaint with 00L on December 17, 1987, alleging that he was laid off from his job as an electrician on December 3, 1987 because he had raised safety concerns which reiated to health physics requirements for work being performed in the reactor butiding during an outage (Refuel Cycle IV). The 00L District Olrector issued an initial determination in the case on May 17, 1985 finding that the Complainant was laid off because of a lack of work and that l

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NUREG-0940, PART I C-12

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F florida Power Corporation 2- p g l g lggg discrimination was not a f actor in the layoff decision. The District ' ' ' ' ' '

0'irector's

  • initial chtsrmination was appealed'by fhe c'6h@lainaht on May 22, 1988 and an administrative hearing was conducted by 00L. On January 12, 1989, an AtJ issued a "Recornmended Decision and Order * ';nding tt,:.t there was no evidence to support a finding that retallation was a factor in the actions taken against the Complainant. Finding that the Complainant was not laid off for raising safety concerns, the ALJ recommended the complaint be dismissed.

On August 25, 1993, the Secretary of Labor issued a decision in which he disagreed with the ALJ and found that Complainant was discriminated against because he had engaged in protected activity and that fluor violated the ERA by laying off Complainant on December 3, 1987 without doing an adequate investigation of the concerns raised by Mr. Tritt.

The NRC adopts the final decision of the Secretary of Labor in this case and '

finds that a violation of 10 CFR 50.7 occurred when the Complainant raised safety concerns and was subsequently laid off as a result of raising those concerns. Under 10 CFR 50.7, discrimination by a Commission licensee or a contractor of a Commission licensee against an employee for engaging in protected activities is prohibited, in accordance with the " General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions " (Enforcement Policy) 10  ;

CFR Part 2 Appendix C, the violation has been categorized as a Severity Level i

!!! violation because the discriminatory action taken against the Complainant was initiated by Fluor personnel who were at or above first-line supervisory positions.

l The NRC recognites that the discrimination involved in this case occurred in 1987 and that in the intervening years florida Power Corporation has implemented many improvements in its programs to address employee concerns and to ensure that employees feel free to raise safety concerns without fear of discrimination. Some of these improvements include an active and aggressive employee concerns program, high visibility of corporate values and philosophy regarding open and candid communications as expressed by senior management's attitude that legitimate concerns must be welcomed and not just tolerated, administrative controls on contractors.that include contractual incorporation of requirements for handling employee concerns, and training for employees, supervisors and managers. Notwithstanding these Corrective actions and the time that has passed since the violation occurred, enforcement is warranted to provide a clear message that discrimination is not acceptable and that licensees are responsible for assuring that their contractors do not discriminate.

A civil penalty normally is considered for violations categorized at Severity l Level !!! or higher. The base civil penalty for a Severity Level !!! l violation is 550,000. However, no civil penalty is being proposed in this  ;

case due to Statute of Limitations considerations. Therefore, I have been 1 authortzed, af ter consultation with the Director, Of fice of Enforcement, the Deputy Executive Director for Nuclear Reactor Regulation, Regional Operations and Research, and the Commission, to issue the enclosed Notice of Violation with a Severity level !!! violation to emphasize the importance of ensuring i

NUREG-0940, PART I C-13

Florida Power Corporation 3- F G I 6 L994

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freely identify safety concerns without fear of retaliation or discrimination. l You are required to respond to this letter and should follow the instructions l specified in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice) when preparing your l response. In your response, you should document the specific actions taken l and any additional actions you plan to prevent recurrence. After reviewing i your response to this Notice, including any additional corrective actions and the results of future inspections, the NPC will determine whether further NRC i enforcement action is necessary to ensure corpitance with NRC regulatory requirements.

I In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's ' Rules of Practice " a copy of this letter and its enclosure will be placed in the NRC Public Document Roots. l The responses directed by this letter and the enclosed Notice are not subject 1 l

to the clearance procedures of the Office of Nanagement and Budget as required '

by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, Pub. L. No.96-511.

Should you have any questions concerning this letter, please contact us.

$1ncerely.

s.

Stewart D. Ebne e Regional Admints rator  ;

Enclosure:

Notice of Violation cc w/ enc 1:

Gary L. Boldt Vice President Nuclear Production Florida Power Corporation 15760 West Power Line Street Crystal River, FL 34428 6708

8. J. Hickle. Director Nuclear Plant Operations Florida Power Corporation 15760 West Power Line Street Crystal River FL 34428 6708 cc w/enci (cont'd): See next page NUREG-0940, PART I C-14

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- e Florida Power Corporetton -4 FEIL I 6 E234 s

s- ....Cf.w/.tncL (cont'd}: . ., ,, . . . . . , , . . . ,,, , , , 3 # .. . . .

R. C. Widell, Director Nuclear Operations Site Support Florida Power Corporatton ,

l 15760 West Power Line Street '

Crystal Alver, FL 34428 6708 Cerald A. Williams Corporate Counsel l Florida Power Corporation MAC ASA P. O. Box 14042 St. Petersburg, FL 33733 Ric Carter, Senior Director l Labor Relations fluor Constructors International, Inc.

150 Executive Center Drive Greenville, SC 29615 George S. Renshaw, Project Manger Fluor Constructors international, Inc.

15760 West Power Line Street Crystal River, FL 34428 6708 James R. Wiley, Esq.

Carlton, Fields, Ward, Emmanuel, Smith and Cutler, P.A.

One Harbour Place Post Office Box 3239 Tampa, FL 33601 Associate Solicitor for Fair Labor Standards U.S. Department of Labor Roon N 2716 -

200 Constitution Ave., N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20210 Regional Ofrector U.S. Department of Labor

. Employment Standards Administration Wage and Hour Olvision 1371 Peachtree Street, N.E.

. Atlanta, Georgia 30367 cc w/ enc 1 (cont'd): See next page NUREC-0940, PART I C-15

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Florida Power Corporation 5-FEB 1 6 094 J, . CC */'",CI,(cont'd):,

Olstrict Ofrector Wage and Hour Division U.S. Department of Labor /ESA Suite 300 4905 West Laurel St.

Tampa, Florida 33607 Attorney General Department of Legal Affairs The Capitol Tallahassee. FL 32304 8111 Passetti Office of Radiation Control Department of iiealth and Rehabilitative Services 1317 Winewood Boulevard Tallahassee, FL 32399 0700 Joe Myers. Of rector Olvision of Emergency Preparedness '

Department of Community Affairs 2740 Centerview Ortve Tallahassee, FL 32399 2100 (horman Board of County Commissioners Citrus County 110 N. Apopka Avenue Inverness FL 36250 Robert B. Borsum B&W Nuclear Technologies 1700 Rockville Pike, Suite 525 Rockville, MD 20852 1631 l

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l NUREG-0940, PART 1 C-16 i

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NOTICE Of VIOLATION florida Power Corporation Docket No. 50 302 l Crystal River Nuclear F? ant License No. OPR-72

o. yn,it3 , , , , ,. EA 93-226 .o . . . . ,

l Based on the results of an investigation and administrative hearings conducted I by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) related to 00L Case No. 88-ERA 29 that l involved employee discrimination, and the resulting Order of the Secretary of i Labor dated August 25, 1993, the NRC has determined that a violation of its  ;

regulations occurred. In accordance with the " General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions," 10 CFR Part 2, Appenoix C, the violation is listed below:

Section 210 (now 211) of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended, and 10 CFR 50.7 prohibit discrimination by a Comission j licensee, permittee, an applicant for a Comission license or permit, or a contractor or subcontractor of a Comission licensee, permittee, or l applicant against an employee for engaging in certain protected i activities. Olscrimination includes discharge or other actions relating l to the compensation, terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.

The at.ttvities which are protected include, but are not limited to, the reporting of safety concerns by an employee to his employer or to the NRC.

Contrary tu the above, as determined by the Secretary of Labor in a decision issued on August 25, 1993, Douglas A. Tritt, a former employee of the fluor Constructors International, Inc., a contractor of the florida Power Corporation, who was employed as an electrician at the Crystal River 3 Nuclear Plant during the 1987 outage, was discharged from l 4

his employment on December 3, !987, by the fluor Constructors International, Inc., for engaging in protected activities (88 ERA 29).

These protected activities included reporting safety concerns to the I union representative and Mr. Tritt's supervisors related to health l physics requirements for work being performed in the reactor building during the outage. (01013)

This is a Severity Level !!! violation (Supplement VI!).

Pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 2.201, Florida Power Corporation is hereby required to submit a written statement or explanation to the U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Comission, ATIN: Document Control Desk Washington, DC 20555, with a copy to 'he Regional Administrator, Region 11, and a copy to the MC Resident inspector at the Crystal River 3 Nuclear Plant, within 30 days of the date of the letter transmitting this Notice of Violation (Notice). This reply should be clearly marked as a

  • Reply to a Notice of Violation" and should include for each violation: (1) the reason for the violation or, if contested, the basis for disputing the violation, (2) the corrective steps that have been taken and the results achieved (3) the corrective steps that will be taken to avoid further violations, and (4) the date when full compilance will be achieved. If an adequate reply is not received within the time specified in this Notice, an order or a Demand for Information may be issued to show cause why the Itcense should not be modified, suspended, or revoked, or why such other action as may be proper should not be taken. Where NUREG-0940, PART I C-17

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Notice of Violation 2 l

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!. ga.,0,'1 c.auJe.,is st m , con.514eration..wi,1,1 be gjven,to extending 'he response ' > *** ' '

', time. Under the authority of Section 182 o'f the Act, 42 Uh C:'/b2;'Lnh' l response shall be submitted under oath or affirmation.

i Dated at Atlanta, Georgia this /f1/iday of February 1994 4 i l

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