ML20195F229

Refers to Info Provided to NRC on 980513,by Personnel at Zion NPP Re Contractor Employee Who Did Not Wait for Assistance After Receiving Two Contamination Alarms. Concluded That Employee Deliberately Failed to Wait

ML20195F229
Person / Time
Site:	Zion  File:ZionSolutions icon.png
Issue date:	11/13/1998
From:	Caldwell J NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III)
To:	Kingsley O COMMONWEALTH EDISON CO.
References
RTR-REGGD-01.033, RTR-REGGD-1.033 3-98-027, 3-98-27, EA-98-426, NUDOCS 9811190217
Download: ML20195F229 (5)

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uNITEo STATES

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L NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION l 8- g REGloN lli

$ e 801 WARRENVILLE ROAD

! LISLE, ILLINolS 60532-4351 4 l

k*****/ November 13, 1998.

l l EA 98-426 -

! l l Mr. Oliver D. Kingsley

[ President Nuclear Generation Group l ATTN: Regulatory Services Executive Towers West lil

1400 Opus Place, Suite 500 Downers Grove, IL 60515 l L

SUBJECT:

NRC OFFICE OF INVESTIGATIONS REPORT NO. 3-98-027 l 1

Dear Mr. Kingsley:

l .-

This refers to information provided to the NRC on May 13,1998, by personnel at the

, Commonwealth Edison Company's (Comed) Zion Nuclear Station (Zion). Allegedly, earlier that

moming a contractor employee exited the Zion Station after receiving two consecutive contamination alarms from two portal monitors located in the Zion Station gatehouse and did not wait for assistance from the Radiation Protection Department. Zion Administrative

Procedure (ZAP) 620-07, " Proper Operation and Response to Contamination Monitors," i requires that after an individual receives two consecutive alarms from the same portal monitor I at the gatehouse, the individual must contact the Radiation Protection Department for .j assistance prior to exiting the plant. In this case the individual attempted to contact the  ;

l Radiation Protection Department, but the individual did not wait for their assistance. 1 The NRC Office of Investigations (01) conducted an investigation into the circumstances

!. surrounding this issue and concluded that, based on the individual's training and experience, l the individual deliberately failed to wait for assistance from the Radiation Protection Department

! and left the Zion Station after he received two consecutive contamination alarms. A copy of the L Ol report synopsis is enclosed.

Zion Technical Specification 6.2.1, through Regulatory Guide 1.33, requires that Comed prepare, implement and maintain radiation protection procedures. ZAP 620-07 is a procedure implemented by Comed for radiation protection. The NRC staff reviewed the 01 report and ZAP 620-07.- Paragraphs F.1, G.1.d and G.1.e of ZAP 620-07, along with the sign posted at the guardhouse portal monitors, require an individual to contact the Radiation Protection Department for assistance after receiving two consecutive contamination alarms from the SAME' portal monitor at the Zion gatehouse. In this case, the individual received two consecutive alarms, but from different portal monitors. The individual first used Portal Monitor No. 4 and received a contamination signal. The individual then used Portal Monitor No. 3 to

, recheck himself and received a contamination alarm. After attempting to contact the Radiation l Protection Department, the individual resurveyed himself using Portal Monitor No. 3 and he did

not receive a contamination signal. As a result of the sequence of portal monitor use (Monitor

\

' Reflects the same emphasis as shown in ZAP 620-07. }

9811190217 981113 PDR ADOCK 05000295 ,

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O. Kingsley No. 4, then Monitor No. 3, and finally Monitor No. 3) the individual did not receive consecutive contamination signals from the SAME portal monitor. Therefore, the individual was not required

• to obtain assistance from the Radiation Protection Department and could leave the Zion Station without delay. Hence, the NRC staff concluded that this specific instance did not constitute a violation of NRC requirements ar,d this enforcement action (EA) is closed.

Additionally, the follow-up investigation by Comed determined that the individual did not spread contamination from the Zion Station and his assigned duties on the night of May 12-13,1998, did not require his presence in a radiologically controlled area (RCA).

However, the individual failed to use the SAME portal monitor to resurvey himself, as he used Portal Monitor No. 4 and then Portal Monitor No. 3, in that sequence. His failure to use the SAME portal monitor to resurvey himself caused Comed to be in violation of ZAP 620.07.

Sections F.1, G.1.d and G.1.e. of ZAP 620.07 require an individual use the SAME portal l monitor for resurvey following a portal monitor signal for the presence of contamination. This failure constitutes a violation of minor significance and is not subject to formal enforcement action.

The NRC recognizes that Comed promptly identified, reported, investigated, and corrected

, these issues. Comed is commended for these prompt actions. 1 Please contact Mr. Bruce Jorgensen of my staff at telephone number (630) 829-9615 if there are any questions or comments.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's " Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter and the enclosure will be placed in the NRC's Public Document Room.

, ~ Sincerely,

/

s M k-James L. Caldwell, Acting Regional Administrator Docket Nos. 50-295; 50-304

License Nos. DPR-39; DPR-38

Enclosure:

Synopsis of Of Report l

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,. . . - . . . -- .- . -- . . - = . - . . . . . _ - . - . . .

s O. Kingsley ,

cc w/ encl: D. Helwig, Senior Vice President H. Stanley, PWR Vice President C. Crane, BWR Vice President R. Krich, Regulatory Services Manager D. Greene, Licensing Director DCD - Licensing ,

R. Starkey, Plant General Managere R. Godley, Regulatory Assurance Supervisor

. R. Hubbard >

M. Aguilar, Assistant Attomey General K. Nollenberger, County Administrator Mayor, City of Zion State Liaison Officer, Illinois State Liaison Officer, Wisconsin Chairman, Illinois Commerce Commission I

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O. Kingsley l l

DISTRIBU'flON w/enci . {

4 .,/ d' 1 PUBLIC IE-01 -

b Rill PRR - l'/.

Docket File.

SECY CA WTravers, EDO

! HThompson, DEDR LChandler, OGC JGoldberg, OGC S. Weiss, NRR w/ enc!

i M. Masnik, NRR w/ encl SAR, NRR (e-mail)

LPM, NRR w/ enc!

J. L. Caldwell, Rlli w/enci '

C. D. Pederson, Rill w/ enc!

R. J. Caniano, Rill w/ enc! I Enforcement Coordinators Rl, Ril, Rlli and RIV '

' JGilliland, OPA -

HBell, OlG GCaputo, Ol TMartin, AEOD OE:ES OE:EA (2)

RAO: Rill SLO: Rill' PAO: Rill DNMS:Rlli (3)

TSS: Rill IEO (e-mail)

DOCDESK (E-Mail)

Greens w/o enci RPaul, OI:Rlli Rill Allegation Coordinator l

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SYN 0PSIS This investigation was initiated on June 22, 1998, by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Office of Investigations (0I), Region III (RIII),

to determine if a contract employee had willfully violated Zion Nuclear Generating Station (ZNGS) radiation protection procedure (s).

Based on the evidence developed during this investigation, it is concluded that the contract employee deliberately violated ZNGS radiation protection procedure No. ZAP 620 07, in that he failed to receive the required assistance / clearance from radiation protection department personnel after receiving two consecutive portal monitor counts of contamination.

l l

t l Case No. 3-1998-027 1 i

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