ML20198P512
| ML20198P512 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Zion File:ZionSolutions icon.png |
| Issue date: | 01/15/1998 |
| From: | Beach A NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III) |
| To: | Brons J COMMONWEALTH EDISON CO. |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20198P516 | List: |
| References | |
| 50-295-97-17, 50-304-97-17, EA-97-249, NUDOCS 9801220140 | |
| Download: ML20198P512 (5) | |
See also: IR 05000295/1997017
Text
.
.
__. -
_ ._
___
_
.-
i
./** rg%
UNITED STATES
NUCLEAR RE00LATORY COMMISSKHi
$
S
ntoonn
-5
f
soiwARREWILif ROAD
l
(*****f
j
usut, wNols 80M2-461
January 15, 1998
i
EA 97 249
Mr. J. Brons
Sito Vice President
1
Zion Station
Commonwealth Edison Company
101 Shiloh Boulevard
Zion,IL 60099
.
SUBJECT:
NOTICE OF VIOLATION AND PROPOSED IMPOSITION OF civil PENALTIES -
- $110,000 (NRC Special Inspection Report 50 295(304)/97017))
,
Dear Mr. Brons:
This refers to the special inspection conducted between June 19 a.4d September 22,1997, at
the Zion Station Nuclect Facility. The inspection reviewed the circumstaness surrounding
reports that Zion station personnel failed to imple:nent the fitness-for-duty (FFD) program and
conduct for-cause testing when the odor of alcohol was detected on personnel working within
the protected area. Due to the seriousness of these issues, a predecisional enforcement
conference was held in the Region lli office on December 1,1997.
Basec on the information developed during the inspection and the information provided during
the predecisienal enforcement conference, the NRC has determined that four violations of NRC
requirements occurred. Tnese violations are cited in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice)
and Proposed imposition of Civil Penalty. The circumstances surrounding each violation are
described in detall in the subject inspection report.
The four violations contained in the Notice reflect a lack of management commitment to
l
Implement the Zion station FFD policy and procedures. The first violation occurred because
two supewisors failed to require for-cause testing when they detected the odor of alcohol on a
third supervisor in the protected area. Instaad, they permitted the individual to leave the site
>
-
without ar adequate evaluation and for-cause test. The next two violations occurred because
two supervisors both failed to implement the FFD program when one was called back to work
outside of normal working hours. The calling supervisor failed to ask if the subordinate
supervisor had consumed alcohol during the abstinence period. The subordinate supervisor
failed to inform the caller that alcohol had, in fact, been consumed during the abstinence period.
The last violation occurred because a member of the technical staff failed to notify supewisors
when the odor of alcohol was detected on co-workers, so that an adequate evaluation and
'
for-cause testing could be implemented. The violations are significant because they involved
b b5
I
A
mnnm
-
-
-
Ln u
,
..
h.lY S{f hii}V
i
I
-
_
.
Mr. J. Brons
2
multiple failures of fully trained and qualified supervisors and technical staff to implement FFD
procedures, that are intended to assure a substance-free work environment. Collectively, the
four violctions represent a programmatic breakdown in the implementation of the FFD program.
Therefore, these violations are classified in the aggregate in accordance with the NUREG 1600.
" General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions"(Enforcement
Policy), as a Severity Level lli problem.
One of the root causes of the violations was poor judgement by individuals, which included both
supervisors and mimbers of the technical staff. This appeared to be aggravated because the
Zion station management team failed to reinforce expectations regarding FFD program
implementation and ensure effective implementation of the FFD progmm by all personnel
working at the Zion station. The violations are significant because the Zion station FFD
piogram must provide reasonable assurance that nuclear power plant personnel will perform
their tasks in a reliable and trustworthy manner, free from the influence of a substance which
may affect their ability to safely and cornpetently perform their duties. Fortuitously, the safety
and risk significance of these specific violations was low because the individuals had not or
were not performing safety related activities at the time the smell of alcohol was detected.
However, the regulatory and potential safety significance was high because failure to implement
FFD procedures allowed Individuals who may have been unfit for duty to enter and remain in
the protected area without an adequate evaluation and without mandatory for-cause testing
being accomplished,
in accordance with the Enforcement Policy, a base civil penalty in the amount of $55,000 is
considered for a Severity Level lil problem. Because your facility has been the subject of
escalated enforcement actions within the last 2 years', the NRC considered whether credit was
warranted for Identification and Conective Action in accordance with the civil penalty
assessment process in Section VI.B.2 of the Enforcement Policy. Identification credit was not
warranted because these issues were identified as the result of an allegation and the
programmatic nature of th!s problem was identified by the NRC. In addition, the Zion staff failed
to resolve repeated (April 1996, January 1997, and February 1997) precursors to these
violations that were identified through the audit process. That audit effort clearly identified that
the requirements for unscheduled worker call outs were not met. Conective Action credit was
not warranted because the corrective actions discussed at the enforcement cenference were
inadequate to address the programmatic brr'akdown of the FFD program. The majorly of the
corrective actions addressed only the failures of Individuals a",d included initial access
suspertsion, re-training cf specific individuals, some disciplinary action, and counseling of the
involved individuals. These actions were necessary to correct the proximate and identified
problems only. We do acknowledge that other, more general actions involving non-mandatory
messeres (such as newsletters, routine FFD commercials on the in plant communication
network, and tallgate sessions) were taken. However, the corrective actions failed to address
the findings of Zion station's self-assessments and the clear indications that the multiple
individual FFD violations demonstrated, in fact, one of those self assessments documented in
EA 97 222 issued a Severity Level til Problem with a $330,000 civil penalty to emphasize the
importance of effective management oversight of plant operations and the importance of timely,
effective and lasting corrective actions for known plant and industry prot;tems.
.
,
,
Mr. J. Brons
3-
1
March 1997, that: (1) people were not sensitized to the gravity of the FFD program, (2) most
people interviewei found the FFD program awkward and unpleasant, (3) apathy was perceived
to be the prevailing sentir, ent toward the FFD program, and (4) there was a lack of overall
commitment and restetant inconsistent implementation of the FFD program. The invostigation
report stated that the *. . . Importance, implementation, adherence to, and enforcement of the
FFD Program has not oeun successfully !nstilled in Station personnei, because management
has not been aggressive enough in its oversight of this program other than what is being
communicated during NGET and the Random Testing being performed through Security, not
much more is belr.g dono to ensure that people are complying with the requirements. . ." It is
clear that significant programmatic weaknesses exist, and corrective actionc presented at the
enforcement conference were not sufficiently comprehensive to address them. Since the NRC
has determined that identification and Correctivs Action credit was not warranted, the base civil
penalty has been escalated by 100% (for a total of $110,000)in accordance with the civil
penalty assessment process in Section VI.B.2 of the Enforcement Policy.
Therefore, to emphasize the importance of management's commitment for effective FFD
program implementation at the Zion station, I have been authorized, after consultation with the
Director, Office of Enforcement, to issue the enclosed Notice of Violation and Proposed
imposition of Civil Penalty (Notice) in the amount of $110,000 (a base civil penalty escalated by
100%).
You are required to respond to this letter and should follow the instructions specified in the
enclosed Notice when preparing your response. The NRC will use your response, in part, to
determine wheth6' further enforcement action is necessary to ensure compliance with
regulatory requirements.
Even though we expressed the escalated nature of this issue and the t'eed for a predecisional
enforcement emferenca during multiple exit meetings, numerous calls to several
Commonwealth Edison managers, and in our letter transmitting the subject inspection report,
the predecisional enforcement conference was unnecessarily del:;yed when we experienced
significant difficulty and conflicting responses when attempting to schedule this conference.
Because of the lack of appreciation for the significance of this issue, the NRC expects that the
Commonwealth Edison Company will ensure that the lessons leamed from this enforcement
action will be communicated to and acted upon (as necessary) by the other Commonwealth
Edison nuclear power stations and corporate office staff.
'
i
1
.
Mr. J. Brons
-4-
,
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.700 of the NRC's * Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter,its
enclosure, and your response will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room (PDRt
Sincerely,
W
. Bill Beach
Regional Administrator
Docket Nos. 50 295; 50 304
Enclosure: Notice of Violation and Proposed
imposition of Civil Penalty
cc w/ encl:
O. Kingsley, Nuclear Generation Group
President and Chief Nuclear Officer
M. Wallace, Senior Vice
President, Corporate Services
H. G. Stanley, Vice President
PWR Operations
Liaison Officer, NOC-BOD
D. A. Sager, Vice President,
Generation Support
D. Farrar. Nuclear Regulatory
Services Manager
1. Johnson, Licensing
Operations Manaper
Document Control Desk Licensing
R. Starkey, Plant General Manager
R. Godley, Regulatory Assurance
Supervisor
Richard Hubbard
Nathan Schloss, Economist
Office of the Attomey General
Mayor, City of Zion
State Liaison Officer
State Liaison Officer, Wisconsin
Chairman, Illinois Commerce
Commission
.
_
._- .._. .
.
_._ .
_ .... ...
.
_
_ .. . . _ _ _ .
._
,
.. ,
j
s -
.. .
l
J; smns
5-
J
'
.
!
. !
DISTRIBUTION:
PUBLIC IE 01
'
'
SECY
,
'
CA
'
JCallani EDO
AThadani, DEDE '
LChandler,000
JGoldberg, OGC
SCollins, NRR
. ,'
RZimmerman, NRR
Enforcement Coordinators
Rl, Ril and RIVf
Resident inspector, Zion
RCapra, NRR
'
. CShiraki, NRR
JGilliland, OPA
'
HBell, OlG
i
GCaputo,01
';
LTromper OC
OE:ES
OE:EA (2)
RAO;Rlli
'
SLO:Rlll
PAO: Rill
OCFO/LFARB w/o e ncl.
Docket Fils
i
t
0
-
.
b
y
$
,.c
.-
,
o -
g
--
,
__
,
.
..