ML20151V704

Forwards Notice of Violation & Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty in Amount of $500.Violation Based on Inattentive Behavior

ML20151V704
Person / Time
Site:	Peach Bottom, 05560360
Issue date:	08/09/1988
From:	Taylor J NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO)
To:	Baldwin J PECO ENERGY CO., (FORMERLY PHILADELPHIA ELECTRIC
Shared Package
ML20151V708	List: ML20151V704 ML20151V711
References
EA-88-081, EA-88-81, NUDOCS 8808220352
Download: ML20151V704 (4)

Text

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UNITED STATES 8

N NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON. D. C. 20555 t,

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Docket No. 55-60360 09 AUS 1988 License No. OP-10228 EA 88-81 John R. Baldwin LEIcm e cayomt HOME ADDRESS DELETED

'Cortified ELbhnh39 i

UNDER 10 CFR 2.790

SUBJECT:

NOTICE OF VIOLATION AND PROPOSED IMPOSITION OF CIVIL PENALTY In March 1987, the NRC received information that control room operators at Philadelphia Electric Company's Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station had been 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 reasonable assurance that the facility would be operated in a manner to assure

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that the health and safety of the public would be protected, and therefore, issued an Order to Philadelphia Electric Company (PECo) on March 31, 1987.

suspending operations of the Peach Bottom reactors, effective imediately.

bubsequently, 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 i

with their head back and eyes closed for an indeterminate period of time; play-ing hand held computer games or on cne of the computer display screens in the control room; and engaging in horseplay. Operators were aware of these conditions and failed to initiate action to correct them. As a reselt of these findings, the NRC conducted an enforcement conference with you on March 25, 1988 for the purpose of discussing your understanding of (1) these inattentiveness i

issues, (2) their safety significance, (3) their causes, and (4) corrective actions taken by both you and the utility to prevent recurrence. During that conference, you specifically adcitted to your personal involvement in at least some of this 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 III in accordance with the "General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions,"

10 CFR 2 Appendix C (Enforcement Policy) (1988).

The NRC recognizes that you no longer hold a license. Nonetheless, the activities described in the Notice were engaged in by you while you held a license for an extended period prior to the shutdown and were indicative of a complacent and unprofessional sttitude by you toward the privileges and responsibilities of your license, contrary to safety, and constituted sericus dereliction of duties in ca; ying out those responsibilities. You are reminded that you held a license from the United States government which conferred upon you the special trust and confidence of the American people in the safe N

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' J. R. Baldwin i operation of nuclear facihties and placed you in a position where your i

perfoiwnce was expected to be above reproach.

Consequently, I have determined that additional action should be taken to en.phasiza your individual accountabi-lity 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.

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. Since your license is not current at this time, an Order against your license is not appropriate. Nonetheless, in l

light of your involvement in this conduct, af ter 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. The viciation is classified at Severity Level 111. Although the enforcement policy does not provide a schedule for civil penalties against individual operators, the penalty is based on the schedule provided for other small material individual licensees (see Table IA, 10 CFR Part 2. Appendix C).

You are required to respond to the enclosed Notice and should follow the instruction specified therein when preparing your response.

In accordance with Section 2.790 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," Part 2, Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, a copy of this letter and its enclosures i

will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room.

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 i

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

Sincerely,

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=W s M. Tayle, Deputy Executive Director for Regi nal Operations

Enclosure:

Notice of Violation and Propos2d Imposition of Civil Penalty cc w/ encl: See next page j

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J. Ro Baldwin )

cc w/ encl:

Corbin McNeill, Executive Vice President, Nuclear i

PublicDocumentRoom(PDR)

LocalPublicDocumentRoom(LPDR)

NRC Resident Inspector Connonwealth of Pennsylvania Killian & Gephart ATTN: Smith B. Gephart, Esq i

218 Pine Street i

Post Office Box 886 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17108 l

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D DI5MIBUT10N:

bec w/ encl:

Region I Docket Room (w/ concurrences)

SECY Congressional Affairs J. Taylor, DED0 W. Russell, RI D. }!olody, RI J. Lieber1 nan, 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 l

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