ML20151V548

Forwards Notice of Violation & Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty in Amount of $500.Violation Noted:Control Room Operators Observed Sleeping While on Duty in Control Room & Reading Matl Not Directly Job Related

ML20151V548
Person / Time
Site:	Peach Bottom, 05505912
Issue date:	08/09/1988
From:	Taylor J NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO)
To:	Stambaugh B PECO ENERGY CO., (FORMERLY PHILADELPHIA ELECTRIC
Shared Package
ML20151V552	List: ML20151V548 ML20151V555
References
EA-88-023, EA-88-23, NUDOCS 8808220317
Download: ML20151V548 (4)

Text

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l omg j94 UNITED STATES

.8 o NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION W ASHINGTON, D. C. 20555 g :p

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Docket No. 55-5912 09 m G88 License No. OP-4257-5 EA 88-23 i

Mr. Bruce A. Stambaugh omcm, HOME ADDRESS DELETED r UNDER 10 CFR 2.790 (Certified ly_bg ggj -

SUBJECT:

NOTICE OF VIOLATION AND PROPOSED IMPOSITION OF CIVIL PENALTY j In March 1987, the NRC received infonnation that control room operators at  !

Philadelphia Electric Company's Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station had been i observed sleeping while on duty in the control room, reading materials not directly job related, and being otherwise inattentive to the obligations of their license. The NRC promptly confirmed this information during the initial phase of an investigation of this matter. As a result, the NRC no longer had i reasonable assurance that the facility would be operated in a manner to assure l that the health and sdfety of the public would be protected, and therefore, issued an Order to Philadelphia Electric Company (PECo) on March 31, 1987, su:;pending operations of the Peach Bottom reactors, effective immediately.

Subsequently, the NRC found that the inattentiveness described in the Order had occurred over an extended period of time and was pervasive. Other examples of inattentive behavior not known at the time of the Order were also identified such as: control room personnel being routinely reclined in a resting position with their heads back and eyes closed for an indeterminate period of time; slay-ing hand held computer games or on one of the computer display screens in t1e control room; and engaging in horseplay. Operators were aware of these conditions and failed to initiate action to correct them. As a result of these findings, the NRC cuducted an enforcec.ent conference with you on February 18, 1988 for the p(urpose of discussing

2) their safety your(3)understanding significance, their causes, and of (1)

(4)these inattentiveness corrective actions issues, taken by both you and the utility to prevent recurrence. During that conference, you specifically admitted to your personal involvement in at least some of this l inattentive behavior. Your actions constituted a violation of your individual  !

reactor operator license. The violation is described in the enclosed Notice and is classified at Severity Level Ill in accordance with the "General i Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions," 10 CFR 2,  !

l AppendixC(EnforcementPolic/)(1988).

The NRC recognizes that you nave participated in a comprehensive rehabilitation '

program within PEco for the surpose of better understanding your individual responsibilities under your (RC license and to assure such conduct does not recur. Nonetheless, the activities described in the Notice were engaged in by you for an extended period prior to the shutdown and were indicative of a complacent and uriprofessional attitude by you toward the privileges and responsibilities of your license, ccatrary to safety, and constituted serious dereliction of duties in carrying out those responsibilities. You are reminded that you hold a license from the United States government which confers upon you the special trust and confidence of the American people in the safe 8808220317 880B09 ADOCK 050 7 2 2. y z gDR

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B. A. Stambaugh operation of nuclear facilities and places you in a position where your performance is expected to be above reproach. Consequently, I have determined that additional action should be taken to emphasize your individual accounta-bility to the NRC as a license holder, and your responsibility to remain alert and attentive at all times to ensure protection of public health and safety. l During the NRC deliberations concerning appropriate enforcement action, the NRC considered the entire spectrum of possible enforcement actions, including a Letter of Reprimand, Notice of Violation, a Civil Penalty, and Orders to Modify, Suspend or Revoke your license. In light of your completion of the rehabili-tation program and the fact that pervasive and extended riianagement failures contributed significantly to the unacceptable conditions at Peach Bottom, we have determined that an Order against your license is inappropriate. However, after consultation with the Comission, I have decided to issue to you the enclosed Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty in the amount of $500 to emphasize that you, as a license holder, are individually accountable to the NRC. The violation is classified at Severity Level III.

Although the enforcament policy does not provide a schedule for civil penalties  ;

against individual operators, the penalty is based on the schedule provided  ;

f~r o other small material individual licensees (see Table IA, 10 CFR Part 2, Appendix C). You should be aware that any recurrence of inattentive behavior l could result in revocation of your license. l You are required to respond to the enclosed Notice and should follow the instruction specified therein when preparir49 ).. ' response.

In accordance with Section 2.790 of the NRC's ' Rule. of Practice," Part 2, Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, a copy cT +'"s letter and its enclosures will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room. j l

The responses directed by this letter and the enclosed Notice are not subject to the clearance procedures of the Office of Management and Budget as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, Pub. L. No.96-511.

Sincerely, l

- //

mes M. Tay , Deputy Executive Director for Re ional Operations

Enclosure:

Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty cc w/ encl: See next page

B. A. Starbaugh cc w/ enc 1:

Corbin McNeill, Executive Vice President, Nuclear Public Document Room (PDR) .

Local Public Document Room (LPDR)

NRC Resident Inspector .

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania John C. Uhler Attorney at Law ,

15 South George Street York, PA 17401 i  :

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bec w/ encl:

Region I Docket Room (w/ concurrences)

SECY Congressional Affairs J. "aylor. OEDO W. Russell, RI D. Holody, RI J. Lieberman, OE Enforcement Directors, RII-RIII Enforcement Officers, RIV-V F. Ingram, PA E. Jordan, AE0D B. Hayes, 01 S. Connelly, OIA F. Miraglia, NRR D. Nussbaumer 0GPA OE/ES File OE/EA File EDO Rdg File DCS L. Chandler, OGC e

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