ML20205D580
| ML20205D580 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | LaSalle  |
| Issue date: | 03/29/1999 |
| From: | Dyer J NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III) |
| To: | Kingsley O COMMONWEALTH EDISON CO. |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20205D585 | List: |
| References | |
| 50-373-98-17, 50-374-98-17, EA-98-560, NUDOCS 9904020244 | |
| Download: ML20205D580 (4) | |
See also: IR 05000373/1998017
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UNITED STATES
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
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801 WARRENvlLLE ROAD
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USLE. ILUNolS C0632-4351
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March 29,-1999'
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T EA 98-560 -
Mr. Oliver D. Kingsley
President, Nuclear Generation Group
Com.monwealth Edison Company
ATTN: Regulatory Se_ vices -
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Executive Towers West ill
.1400 Opus Place, Suite 500
- Downers Grove, IL 60515
SUBJECT:
NOTICE OF VIOLATION AND EXERCISE OF ENFORCEMENT DISCRETION -
(NRC INSPECTION REPORT NOS. 50-373/98017(DRS); 50-374/98017(DRS)
- AND NRC OFFICE OF INVESTIGATIONS REPORT NO. 3-98-032)
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~ Dear Mr. Kingsley:-
This refers to the inspection and subsequent investigation by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) Office of Investigations (01) into information reported to the NRC by the
Commonwealth Edison Company (Comed) on May.18,1998, that a deliberate violation of the
- NRC-required fitness for duty (FFD) program may have occurred at the Comed LaSalle County
Station. The synopsis of the Ol report was provided to Comed by letter dated January 14,
1999.'
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Based on the information developed during the NRC inspection, the 01 investigation, Comed's
investigation,- and the information provided in Comed's letter dated February 17,1999, in
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- response to the January 14,1999, letter from the NRC, the NRC has determined that a violation
of NRC requirements occurred. The violation is cited in the enclosed Notice of Violation
- (Notice) and the circumstances surrounding it are' described in detail in the inspection report,
the investigation reports, the January 14,1999, letter from the NRC, and a Comed letter dated
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- February 17,1999.. In summary', a supervisor at the LaSalle County Station failed to follow
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' Comed FFD procedures on May 11,1998, after he detected the odor of alcohol on an -
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- employee. The supervisor.did not require the employee to submit to a "for-cause" FFD test,
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and allowed the employee to leave the station without the employee receiving the required FFD
test. The actions of this supervisor _on May 11,1998,'placed Comed in violation of.its
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' NRC-required FFD procedures. The supervisor violated 10 CFR 50.5, " Deliberate Misconduct,"
and a separete' enforcement action is being issued to the supervisor.'
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The NRC expects and demands that all employees, especially supervisors, follow all
. established procedures to ensure that the nuclear power facility is operated safely. That was
e not the case on May 11,1998, when a supervisor at the LaSalle County Station deliberately
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failed to follow Comed procedures that implement 10 CFR Part 26, " Fitness for Duty
Programs." Therefore, this violation'has been categorized in accordance with the " General
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Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions"(Enforcement Policy), .
NUREG-1600,' at Severity Level lili
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l9904020244.-990329
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.PDR-.ADOCK 05000373
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In accordance with the Enforcement Policy, a base civil penalty of $55,000 is considered for a
Severity Level 111 violation. Because the LaSalle County Station was the subject of escalated -
. enforcement actions within the two years preceding this Severity Level 111 violation,' the NRC
considered whether credit was warranted for Identification and Conective Action in accordance
with the civil penalty a'ssessment process in Section VI.B.2 of the Enforcement Policy. Credit
was given for Identification because Comed identified the violation and notified the NRC.
. Credit was also given for Corrective Action because of the immediate and long term measures
teken by Comed. The corrective actions are. described in Section 1.1.b of the inspection report,
and include, but are not limited to: (1) retraining foremen and supervisors on their duties and
responsibilities under the Comed FFD program; (2) interviewing supervisors subsequent to the -
- training to' determine their understanding of the actions required by the Comed FFD program;
- (3) expanding the investigation to' determine if similar problems existed in other contractor
organizations at the LaSalle County Station; and (4) taking disciplinary action against the
employees involved with the violation;
Therefore, to encourage prompt identification and comprehensive correction of violations,
I have been authorized, after consultation with the Director, NRC Office of Enforcement, not to
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proposes a civil penalty for this Severity Level lli violation. However, significant violations in the
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~ future could result in a civil penalty.
The investigations disclosed a second act of apparent deliberate misconduct by the supervisor.
On May 19,1998, Comed reported to the NRC that the supervisor provided false information
on May 18 1998, during the Comed investigation into_the FFD testing issue. He originally
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stated to Comed investigators that he had not detected the odor of alcohol on the employee.
However, at his first opportunity he voluntarily recanted that information and stated that he had
actually detected the odor of alcohol. The NRC recognizes that tne FFD testing issue may
have gone unresolved without the voluntary recantation of incomplete or inaccurate information
1that he previously provided about this FFD issue. Therefore, the NRC is exercising the
enforcement discretion authorized.by Section Vll.B.6 of the NRC Enforcement Policy, and the
NRC is not issuing a violation to the supervisor for violation of 10 CFR 50.5(a)(2) for the
incomplete or inaccurate.information he provided.
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The NRC has concluded that information regarding the reason for the enclosed violation, the
corrective ' actions taken and planned to correct the violation and prevent recurrence and the
dates w% full compliance was achieved is adequately address on the dockat in NRC
Inspection Report Nos'.- 50-373/98017(DRS); 50-374/98017(DRS) and in a February 17,1999,
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letter from ComCd. Therefore, you are not required to respond to this letter unless the
~ description therein does not accurately reflect your corrective actions or your position. Should
you choose to respond in writing, your response should be clearly marked as a " Response to
Apparent Violation EA 98-560," and should include for the apparent violation: (1) the reason for
. the apparent violation, or, if contested, the basis for dispcting the apparent violation; (2) the
corrective steps that have been taken and the results achieved; (3) the corrective steps that will
' EA 96-325 was issued on January 24,1997, for a Severity Level 11 problem ($600,000
)
civil penalty) and a Severity Level 111 problem ($50,000 civil penalty) for the lack of control of
work associated with the service water system during 1996.
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O. Kingsley
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be taken to avoid further violations; and (4) the date when full compliance will be achieved.
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Your response should be submitted under oath or affirmation and may reference or include
pruvious docketed correspondence, if the correspondence adequately addresses the required
response. The response should be addressed to the NRC Document Control Desk,
Washington, DC 20555, with copies to the Director, NRC Office of Enforcement, Washington,
DC 20555, the Regional Administrator and Enforcement Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
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Commission,801 Warrenville Road, Lisle, IL 60532-4351, and the NRC Resident Inspector at
the LaSalle County Station.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's " Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter, its
enclosure, and your response (if you choose to provide one) will be placed in the NRC Public
Document Roorn (PDR). To the extent possible, your response should not include any personal
privacy, proprietary, or safeguards information so that it can be placed in the PDR without
redaction.
Sincerely,
hifV
James E. Dyer
Regional Administrator
Docket Nos. 50-373; 50-374
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Enclosure: Notice of Violation
cc w/ encl:
D. Helwig, Senior Vice President
H. Stanley, PWR Vice President
C. Crane, BWR Vice President
R. Krich, Vice President, Regulatory Services
. DCD - Licensing ~
J. Benjamin, Site Vice President
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T. O'Connor, Station Manager
P. Bames, Regulatory Assurance Supervisor
M. Aguilar, Assistant Attorney General
State Liaison Officer
Chairman, Illinois Commerce Commission
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O. Kingsley
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DISTRIBUTION:
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PUBLICTTE46
SECY-
CA
WTravers, EDO .
MKnapp, DEDE
LChandler, OGC
JGoldberg, OGC ..
SCollins, NRR
RZimmerman, NRR
Enforcement Coordinators
Rl, Rll and RIV
Resident inspector, LaSalle
JGilliland, OPA
HBell, OlG
GCaputo, Of
TMartin, AEOD
OE:ES
OE:EA (2)
RAO:Rlli
SLO:Ritt
PAO: Rill
' OCFO/LFARB w/o encl.
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Docket File
' R. Paul, OI: Rill
Rlll:OAC
020033
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