ML20196H855

Notice of Violation & Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty in Amount of $55,000.Violation Noted:Corp Failed to Classify as Alert,Emergency Situation Which Could Have Led to Release of Radioactive Matl or Have Direct Effect on Personnel

ML20196H855
Person / Time
Site:	Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant
Issue date:	06/29/1999
From:	NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III)
To:
Shared Package
ML20196H845	List: ML20196H842 ML20196H855
References
EA-99-080, EA-99-80, NUDOCS 9907070025
Download: ML20196H855 (3)

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NOTICE OF VIOLATION AND PROPOSED IMPOSITION OF civil PENALTY United States Enrichment Corporation Docket No. 70-7002 Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant Certificate No. GDP-2 Piketon, Ohio EA 99-080 During an NRC inspection conducted Msrch 22 through 26,1999, a violation of NRC requirements was identified. In accordance with the " General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions," (Enforcement Policy), NUREG-1600, the NRC proposes to impose a civil penalty pursuant to Section 234 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (ACT),42 U.S.C. 2282, and 10 CFR 2.205. The violation and associated civil penalty is set forth below:

10 CFR 76.91 requires, in part, that the Corporation shall establish, maintain, and be prepared to follow a written emergency plan.

Section 3 of the Emergency Plan, Revision 26, dated November 6,1998, states, in part, that significant emergencies are classified as either Alerts or Site Area Emergencies.

Section 3 of the Plan further defined an Alert, in part, as an emergency situation that has led or could lead to a release to the environment of radioactive or other hazardous material, or could have a direct effect on the health and safety of plant personnel.

Contrary to the above, on the moming of December 9,1998, the Corporation failed to classify, as an Alert, an emergency situation which could have led to a release to the environment of radioactive or hazardous material, or could have had a direct effect on the health and safety of plant personnel. Specifically, on that date, the corporation failed to classify, as an Alert, a substantial ongoing fire in Building X-326, which: (1) involved i the process gas cascade; (2) had the potential to release uranium hexafluoride or other hazardous materials to the environment; and (3) could have had a direct effect on the health and safety of plant personnel. (01013)

This is a Severity Leveilll violation (Supplement Vill).

Civil Penalty $55,000 Pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 76.70, the United States Enrichment Corporation (Certificatee) 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 Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty (Notice). This reply should be clearly 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 taken to avoid further violations; and (5) the date when full compliance will be achieved. If an adequate reply is not received within the l

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Notice of Violation and Imposition of Civil Penalty -

time specified in this Notice, an order or a Demand for information may be issued as to why the Certificate of Compliance should not be modified, suspended, or revoked or why such other action as may be proper should not be taken. Consideration may 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.

Within the same time as provided for the response required above under 10 CFR 76.70, the Certificatee may pay the civil penalty by letter addressed to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear 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 penalty proposed above, or the cumulative amount of the civil penalties if more than one civil penalty is proposed, or may l protest imposition of the civil penalty in whole or in part, by a written answer addressed to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Should the Certificatee fail to answer within the time specified, an order imposing the civil penalty will be issued.

Should the Certificatee elect to file an answer in accordance with 10 CFR 2.205 protesting the civil penalty, in whole or in part, such answer should be clearly marked as an " Answer to a Notice of Violation" and may: (1) deny the violation listed in this Notice, in whole or in part; j (2) demonstrate extenuating circumstances; (3) show error in this Notice; or (4) show other '

reasons why the penalty should not be imposed. In addition to protesting the civil penalty in whole or in part, such answer may request remission or mitigation of the penalty, in requesting mitigation of the proposed penalty, the factors addressed in Section VI.B.2 of the Enforcement Policy should be addressed. Any written answer in accordance with 10 CFR 2.205 should be set forth separately from the statement or explanation in reply pursuant to 10 CFR 76.70, but may incorporate parts of the 10 CFR 76.70 reply by specific reference (e.g., citing page and paragraph numbers) to avoid repetition. The attention of the i Certificatee is directed to the other provisions of 10 CFR 2.205, regarding the procedure for imposing a civil penalty.

Upon failure to pay any civil penalty due which subsequently has been determined in accordance with the applicable provisions of 10 CFR 2.205, this matter may be referred to the Attorney General, and the penalty, unless compromised, remitted, or mitigated, may be collected by civil action pursuant to Section 234c of the Act,42 U.S.C. 2282c.

The response noted above (Reply to Notice of Violation, letter with payment of civil penalty, and Answer to a Notice of Violation) should be addressed to: James Lieberman, Director, Office of l Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, One White Flint North,11555 Rockville l Pike, Rockville, MD 20852-2738, with a copy to the Regional Administrator, U.S. Nuclear l

Regulatory Commission, Region lil,801 Warrenville Road, Lisle, Illinois 60532 and a copy to the NRC Resident inspector at the facility that is the subject of this Notice.

Because your response will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room (PDR), to the extent possible, it should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or safeguards information so that it can be placed in the PDR without redaction. If personal privacy or proprietary information is necessary to provide an acceptable response, then please povide a bracketed copy of your i

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Notice of Violation and Imposition of Civil Penalty response that identifies the information that should be protected and a redacted copy of your response that deletes such information. If you request withholding of such material, you my_si s specifically identify the portions of your response that you seek to have withheld and provide in detail the bases for your claim of withholding (e.g., explain why the disclosure of information will create an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy or provide the information required by 10 CFR 2.790(b) to support a request for withholding confidential commercial or financial information). If safeguards information is necessary to provide an acceptable response, please provide the level of protection described in 10 CFR 73.21.

Dated at Lisle, Illinois this 29th day of June 1999 I