ML20204E419
| ML20204E419 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Seabrook  |
| Issue date: | 03/16/1999 |
| From: | Blough A NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | Warren J AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| References | |
| EA-98-338, NUDOCS 9903250032 | |
| Download: ML20204E419 (5) | |
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,J' March 16, 1999 4
EA 98-338 Mr. J.. Warren Williams Power Company Site Manager
. PO Box 300 Seabrook, NH 03874 Mail Code: 4769
SUBJECT:
PREDECISIONAL ENFORCEMENT CONFERENCE RELATIVE TO NRC INVESTIGATION 1-98-005
Dear Mr. Warren:
The purpose of this letter is: (1) to inform you of the results of an investigation conducted at the Seabrook Nuclear Generating Station by the NRC Office of Investigations (01) Field Office, Region 1; and (2) to request you participate at a predecisional enforcement conference in the 1
NRC Office in King of Prussia, Pa. The purpose of the investigation was to determine whether certain activities authorized by North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation's license were conducted in accordance with NRC requirements.. A synopsis of the Ol investigation report is enclosed.
i Based on the findings of the investigation (1-98-005), apparent violations were identified involving Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Section 50.7 (Employee Protection),
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10 CFR Section 50.9 (Completeness and Accuracy of Information), and 10 CFR Section 50, Appendix B, Criterion XVI (Corrective Action).10 CFR 50.7 prohibits a licensee from discriminating against any employee for engaging in certain protected activities. Information' developed during the investigation revealed that a contract electrician employed by Williams Power Company at the Seabrook Station was discriminated against by a Williams Power Company supervisor for having raised a safety concern. Specifically, on January 16,1998, the
- electrician was laid off. Our investigation found that this act apparently resulted from the individual's raising a safety concern to a North Atlantic Service Corporation's Quality Assurance i
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representative on January 7,1998 (a violation of 10 CFR 50.7). The employee's safety concern I
involved Williams Power Company personnel willfully failing to follow procedures during the conduct of work'on the control panel for the control building air conditioning system. This resulted in: (1) inaccurate information on a Cable Termination Checklist (a violation of 10 CFR -
50.9); and (2) failure to properly initiate an adverse condition report to document the problem with the associated circuitry (a violation of 10 CFR 50 Appendix B).
These three apparent violations are being considered for enforcement action against North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation. Williams Power Company and the individual supervisor involved in this case may also have enforcement action taken against them resulting frcm the NRC review. The possible enforcement actions are explained in the " General Statement of Policy and Procedures for NRC Enforcement Actions" (Enforcement Policy), NUREG-1600.
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9903250032 9903 M PDR ADOCK 0S000443
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PDR 0FFICIAL RECORD COPY I
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J. Warren.
2 in accordance with NRC policy, an opportunity for a predecisional enforcement conference with the licensee and other involved parties, such as yourself, is made prior to any enforcement decision. The provision to hold an enforcement conference does not mean that the NRC has determined that enforcement action will be taken. The purpose of this conference is to discuss the apparent violations, cause(s) and safety significance, and to provide you the opportunity to j
. point out any errors in our understanding of the apparent violations. In addition, this is an 1
- opportunity for the licensee to provide any information concerning their perspectives on the
- nature of the apparent violations, aggravating or mitigating circumstances that the NRC should consider, and other information that will help the NRC determine the appropriate enforcement action. In addition to the licensee's perspectives, we have some specific questions for Williams Power _ Company. In particular, regarding the apparent act of discrimination, we want to understand all of the corrective actions you have taken to ensure that your employees at Seabrook, or any other sites feel free to raise safety concerns, and are not " chilled" by this event. In addition, regarding the inaccurate information issue, we want to understand all of the corrective actions you have taken to address the apparent, deliberate misconduct by Williams Power personnel, as well as an apparent lack of regard for use of the station adverse condition reports by contract personnel.
We request that Williams Power Company management participate in this conference. We have not yet determined the date and time of the conference. The arrangements for that meeting will be made by Mr. Clifford Anderson of this office and Mr. T. C. Feigenbaum, Executive Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer of North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation. We will notify you separately of the date and time of the conference. This conference will be closed to public observation and will be transcribed. We request that you arrange with the Williams Power Company supervisor, who apparently created the inaccurate work record and discriminated against your employee, to attend this conference so that he may provide any additional information to the NRC concerning his involvement in this matter. For your information, we have offered this individual the options to either attend this conference, an individual conference that would be arranged separately, or to not attend a conference at all. In this last case, any NRC individual enforcement determination could be based solely on the
-investigation results. Additionally, you are welcome to bring any other Williams Power
- personnel to the conference. Please contact Mr. Clifford Anderson of this office at 1-800-432-1156, Extension 5227, to confirm your attendance at the predecisional enforcement conference.
We have offered the contract electrician who was terminated, the opportunity to observe the closed enforcement conference with your organization. We have informed him that, if he so chooses, we will arrange for him to interact with the NRC staff at the end of the conference without licensee or contractor presence in order to preclude any perception of duress, and that he may be accompanied by legal counsel or representation, Following the conference, you will be advised by separate correspondence of the results of our deliberations on these matters. No response regarding these issues is required at this time.
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J. Warren 3
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's " Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter and the enclosures will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room (PDR).
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l Sincerely Original Signed byY A. Randolph Blough, Director Division of Reactor Projects
Enclosure:
Investigation Case No.1-1998-005 (Synopsis) cc w/enci:
T. Feigenbaum, Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer i
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i vw,
J. Warren 4
Distribution w/ encl:
Region i Docket Room (with concurrences)
PUBLIC Nuclear Safety Information Center (NSIC)
NRC Resident inspector RI-98-A-0012 H. Miller, RA J. Wiggins, DRA W. Lanning, DRS B. Letts, Ol W. Davis, 01 D. Screnci, OPA
' D. Vito, RI C. Anderson, DRP
. R. Summers, DRP R. Junod, DRP Distribution w/encls (VIA E-MAIL):
M. Tschiltz, OEDO R. Zimmerman, NRR J. Goldberg, OGC E. Adensam, NRR J. Harrison, NRR J. Lieberman, OE (OEMAIL)
D. Holody, OE, RI T. Walker, ORA L. Manning, ORA B. Fewell, ORA M. Campion, ORA DOCDESK l
l DOCUMENT NAME: G:\\ branch 5\\3-sb\\98338r2.wpd To receive a copy of this document, indicate in the box: "C" = Copy without attachment / enclosure "E" = Copy with attachment / enclosure
'N' = No copy m
OFFICE Rl/DRP Rl/ORAgp' Rl/OI Rl/DRP \\J n
NAME CAnderson (Y DHolodyk BLetts tM RBlough
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03/ C/99 DATE 03/1199 03/ V/99 03/jr/99 t
OFFICIAL RECORD COPY ft Y
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O SYN 0PSIS This investigation was initiated by the Office of Investigations (01),
Region I (RI), on January 29, 1998, to determine if an electrician working at North Atlantic Energy Service Corporation's (NAESCO) Seabrook Station (SS),
Seabrook, New Hampshire, was discriminated against by Williams Power Company (WPC) management, a NAESCO contractor, for raising safety issues regarding electrical wiring in the control panel for the Control Building's Air Conditioning (CBA) Sub System. Once initiated, the investigation was expanded to determine if the electrician and his supervisor provided incomplete and/or inaccurate information on a cable Termination Checklist for work performed on January 7, 1998.
Based on the evidence developed during this investigation 01 concludes that the electrician was discriminated against by a WPC supervisor for raising a safet concern.' In addition, the same supervisor deliberately chose not to comp with SS procedures, requiring compliance with design documents, and deli rately caused an inaccurate document to be created with regards to the I
work performed on January 7, 1998.
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NOT FOR PlBLIC DISCLDSLRE WITHOUT 111E APPROVAL OF' FIELD OFFICE DIRECIDR, OFFICE OF INVESTIGATIONS, REGION I Case No.l1 1998 005
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