ML20154C171

Responds to NRC Re Violations Noted Against License OP-10135-1.Author Admits to Violations

ML20154C171
Person / Time
Site:	Peach Bottom, 05509527
Issue date:	09/07/1988
From:	Eagles W PECO ENERGY CO., (FORMERLY PHILADELPHIA ELECTRIC
To:	NRC OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATION & RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (ARM), NRC OFFICE OF ENFORCEMENT (OE)
References
EA-88-011, EA-88-11, NUDOCS 8809140263
Download: ML20154C171 (4)

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September 7, 1988 Director, Office of Enforcement U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Attention:

Document Control Desk washington, D.C.

20555 Re:

Walter M. Eagles, III Docket No. 55-9527 License No. OP-10135-1 EA 88-11 Dear Sir

SUBJECT:

REPLY TO NOTICE OF VIOLATION I was notified by letter dated August 9, 1988, from James M. Taylor, Deputy Executive Director for Regionel Operations, that a Notice of Violation was issued to me pursuant to my actions as a reactor operator at the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station.

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I acknowledge that I was engaged in activities in vio-lation of my reactor operator license and Peach Bottom o

Administrative Procedure A-7, at various times, prior to the plant shutdown on March 31, 1987.

I was involved in activities which precluded me from adequately performing my licensed duties, such as, reading non-technical material, reclining in a resting position and participating in other activities which distracted my attention from the control panels.

Although I saw others violating the same procedure on occasion, only once did I take affirmative action to i

report the benavior.

Clearly, by my actions, I failed to meet all of the requirements of my reactor operator license.

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For months now, I have struggled to find the reasons for my behavior and the other problems which developed at Peach Bottom.

Safety was of uppermost importance in my mind when I started in the Control Room.

Somewhere along the line, however, that got pushed into the background.

Co-workers and I began to develop an unhealthy, lax attitude concerning our f.uties and obligations in the plant.

There was a lot of good technical ability amongst the operators, but it became obvious, after a while, that the mental attitudes of the men in the control Room were not what they s'

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W Director, Office of Enforcement Septenber 7, 1988 Page 2 should have been.

There came a point, in my career, when I f ailed to take affirmative action against circumstances and actions which lolatad Procedure A-7 and the provisions of my license.

I followed the lead of others in the plant, and permitted myself to become complacent and unprofessional.

I lapsed into an attitude of relying on the alarm system rather than doing independent work in trying to anticipate plant conditions and understanding changes in the plant before emergency situations arose.

I also acted as an individual, instead of a team member.

I responded and monitored my own panel and board, and felt that others' problems or concerns were not my responsibility.

There are no rational reasons for my failure to fulfill the responsibilities of my license.

My behavior was unaccep-table and inappropriate.

I have a responsibility to iny employer, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the community at large.

I have a license from tha government to run the reactor in a safe manner.

Safety should have been my prime concern at all times.

With those activities behind me now, I have promised myself that this will never happen again.

I am determined to be on top of what is happening in the plant at all times.

I am encouraged by tne fact that the attitudes of other employees in the Control Room have chenged in a similar fashion.

I am optimistic about the improved relations that I, as an operator, have with my management.

In particular, I am blessed with a capable and professional Shift Manager who is attentive to my concerns on the job.

He has made it clear that he expects us to properly operate the reactor.

In addition, he has given me a communications flow path to management.

He goes out of his way to Jeal with issu3s that I present to him, and makes sure that I am not left hanging without answers.

The PFE training course also helped me to recognize how to effectively deal with others.

It provided me with the confidence to question practices that I do not understand or find to be contrary to established procedure.

Based upon l

the PFE training course and the rejuvenated attitude throughout the plant, I feel that I am better abic to communicate with management concerning my physical capabilities on the job (in terms of my ability to accept additional shifts in a day), as well as discussing apparent weaknesses in procedures er policies.

I now have a positive role model in my Shift Manager.

I trust the man.

That, in and of itself, helps to alleviate a lot of my job anxieties.

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g Director, Office of Cnforcement September 7, 1988 Page 3 j

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I have been reprimanded by Philadelphia Electric Company, as well as the Nucleat Regt'latory Commission, for my actions.

This is a very serious matter to me.

I recognize that if I am involved in similar conduct in the t

future, I will lose my license and I will be fired.

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recognize that others will be treated in a similar manner.

That possibility, however, will not deter me from performing my duty to report if procedures are violated by others in the future.

I am prepared to act properly and with a i

renewed vigor towards my responsibilities and duties as an operator.

I want to be a reactor operator; but more importantly, I want to be known as a safe and cepable operator.

I look at my job assignment at the Peach Bottom Power Station with a new commitment and hope for the future.

We, at the plant, have a new attitude.

I now have the proper understanding of my license and what it means.

Plant safety is my individual responsjbility, as well as my responsibility as a team member.

As the holder of an NRC ljco-se, I have a personal obligation to act when I see something detrimental to the safety or the quality of plant operations.

I have a very important job as an operator; one that I now approach in a professional, responsible and respectable manner.

I intend to uphold this commitment.

Respectfully submitted,

{J) AWN $

Y Walter M. Eag es, III cc:

Regional Administrator U.S. Nuc1 car Regulatory Commission Region I 475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19406 f

AFFIDAVIT, COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

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COUNTY OF o slo-Before me, a Notary Public, personally appeared WALTER M. EAGLES, III, who being duly sworn according to law deposes and says that the statements made in his Reply to Notice of Violation are true and correct to the best of his information, knowledge and belief.

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