ML20199E396

FOIA Request for Documents Re Allegations,Findings & Orders That Pullman Power Products Employees Intimidated & Harassed QC Inspectors at Nuclear Facilities

ML20199E396
Person / Time
Site:	Vogtle
Issue date:	01/15/1986
From:	Fowler L SPEARS, B.
To:	NRC
References
FOIA-86-42 NUDOCS 8603270198
Download: ML20199E396 (3)

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, Law Offices of BRIAN SPEARS SUITE 220-GR ANT BLDG.

ATTORNEY AT LAW 44 BROAD STREET, N.W.

BRIAN SPEARS ATLANTA GEORGIA 30303 1AURIE FOWLER (404)522 4694 January 15, 1986 Office of Freedom of FREEDOM OF INFORMATION Information Act Requests ACT REQUEST Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1717 H Street, N.W.

h M-$.g Washington, D.C. 20555 hM/g '

Re: Freedom of Information Act Request NRC Investigation of Intimidation and- Ilarrassment by Pullman Power Products, Inc.

Dear FOIA Officer:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA, 5 U.S.C.

552 as amended), the Georgia office of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) requests: copies of any and all NRC records and information, including, but not limited to: notes, letters, memoranda, drafts, minutes, diaries, logs, calendars, tapes, transcripts, summaries, interview reports, procedures, instructions, engineering analyses, drawings, files, graphs, charts, maps, photographs, agreements, handwritten notes, studies, data . sheets, notebooks, books, telephone messages, computations, interim and/or final reports, status reports, and any and all .other records relevant to and/or generated in connection with the NRC's investigation (initiated on May 19, 1983) regarding allegations, findings and orders that Pullman Power. Products employees intimidated and harrassed quality control inspectors at nuclear facilities. (See attached Atlanta Constitution article for reference.) This request includes, but is not limited to, investigations of intimidation and harrassment by Pullman employees at Plant Vogtle. This request also includes, but is not limited to, the NRC Conference of September 25, 19Es, on the investigations. (See attached NRC memo for reference.) ,

Because the ACLU is a non-profit organization established to protect the civil liberties guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, we believe it is appropriate for you to waive copying and search charges, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 522(a)(4)(a).

In this case, " furnishing the information can be considered as primarily benefitting the general public."

For any documents or portions that you deny due to a specific FOIA exemption, please provide an index itemizing and describing the documents or portions of documents withheld. The index should provide a detailed justifiration of your grounds for claiming each exemption, explaining why each exemption is 1

8603270198 860115 PDR FOIA FOWLER 86-42 PDR

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relevant to the document or portion of the document withheld.

This index is required under Vaughn v. Rosen (I)2 484 F.2d 820 (D.C. Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 415 U.S. 977 (1974).

I look forward to hearing from you within 10 days as the law stipulates.

Sincerely,

• A Laurie Fowler Cooperating Attorney, Georgia ACLU .

LF:jy cc: NRC, Region II l

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Group snyfYdstle inspectors harassed andintimidatdd By Bob Desas that forward I have,"the['d better come with it," e added. .

5:4ff n'" Grnce became regional admin- l The head of the Nuclear Regu- istrator last spring, replacing ,

latory Commission's Atlanta office James P. O'Reill," who joined ,

said Wednesday that he was em- Georgia Power as its senior vice i t,arrassed at the length of time it president to charge of nuclear op-

• l was taktag his office to reach an erations enforcement deelston concerning Grace and members of his the intimidation and harassment of staff met Wednesiay with~ officials d;.r quality control inspectors at the from the Georgia Power Co. con-s Vcgtle nuclear power plant. cerning an NRC investigation into ,

D Nelson Grace, administrator of allegations that construction su- i

!-- S the Adanta Regional Offlee of the pervaors harassed and intimidated H i3 NRC, said that the prahlems at quatity control inspectors at Vog-p lg Vogtle had been corrected, ho vev- tie, in an attempt to manipulate er, and vehemendy denied charges them.

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.: that his staff is allowing nuclear The investigatica was begua in N<

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power plants to be built in the 1983 and com leted during the Southeast withmit proper regard , summer of 198 , with NRQ iqs-

% y for safety.  ; . ..'. .(!gators reaching the conclaslyn j u hicanwhile, a Wash!nglos , that employees of Pullmaa Power H

< [- t,ased public interest organization charged Wednesday that inspectors Products Inc., which is lastalling pipes at Vogtle, were intimidating

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.a at Vogtle are continuing to be ha- and harassing sonw of their own

- rassed and inHmW The group, employees, who were responsible 4 H the Government Acrosatability for quality r.nd safety inspections ,

Project, has openedet Aug :sta of- at the plant. U '

fice to investigate il egations that Pullman transferrcd its project subcontractors are punishing worh- manager to a new assignment, and ers who repcrt constructice or in ' the NRC investigattoo indicated spection practices that could be that the action was sufficient to compromising Vogtle's safety. correct the problem. Grace said. i The nuclear plant is being But the NRC has yet to decide I. :ilt near Augusta. It's current whether to take enforcement ac-

['rojected cost is $8.4 billion. tion agilnst Gecrgia Power as a l Since last November, the Gov- result of the situation.

rrament Accountability Project "The problem's been fixed," I hr.s interviewed more than 80 Grace sai1. "{or some reason, en-workers at Plant Vogtle who have forcement acuan was delayed un.

charged that scality control l'i- til this spring. We could have fol-spectors who cite safety concerns lowed up sooner," he said. "The at the plant often end up being timelisess of our enforcement ac-fired, demoted or transferred, ac- tion is embarrassing."

cording to Billie Garde, citizen's Georgia Power officials have clinic director for the Project. denied that harassment ever took Instead of responding to the place at Vogtle, a contention com-complaints, the NRC has ignored pany officials repeated Wednesday them, she said. afs. Garde charged before the NRC.

that the NRC's Atlanta office hca his. Garde said the Govern-responded to worker complaints ment Accountability Project, about nuclear power plant con- which is to years old, has re-struction practices by ct,*tacting viewed the way in which each of ,

the ut111tles building the plats,in- the NRC's five regional offices re-stead of laitiating NRC investiga- sponds to workers' concerns about tions that inight result la punitive nuclear power plant construction. i measures being taken against the 'Ibe response from Regios II's of- 4 utilities., , , . _ . _

flee, the Atlanta nflice that admla-

"We' do not ceB the utility," isters NRC functions la the South-said Grace. "I have never done east, has been " absolutely that, and if they can fled evidence ternble," she said. l

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