ML20207F131

Responds to Requesting Copy of OI Rept 3-1998-033 Re Docket Potential Violation of 10CFR76.7 Concerning Employee Protection at Plant.Request Denied for Listed Reasons

ML20207F131
Person / Time
Site:	07007001
Issue date:	06/04/1999
From:	Pederson C NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III)
To:	Adkins J UNITED STATES ENRICHMENT CORP. (USEC)
References
EA-99-110, NUDOCS 9906080069
Download: ML20207F131 (4)

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% UNITED STATES k NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION E REGloN !!!

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• • • • • / June 4, 1999 EA 99-110 Mr. J. N. Adkins Vice President - Production United States Enrichment Corporation Two Democracy Center 6903 Rockledge Drive Bethesda, MD 20817

SUBJECT:

REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING PREDECISIONAL ENFORCEMENT CONFERENCE

Dear Mr. Adkins:

I am responding to your letter dated May 25,1999, in which U.S. Enrichment Corporation (USEC) requested a copy of U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Office of Investigations (01) Report No. 3-1998-033, concerning a potential violation of 10 CFR 76.7

" Employee Protection," at the USEC facility in Paducah, Kentucky. The protected activities associated with the potential violation involve the safety-related concerns raised to management by the former Manager of Quality Systems as part of his daily activities. The letter from USEC indicated that, if the NRC policy does not permit release of the 01 Report, the NRC could provide additional information by responding to seven questions contained in an enclosure to the letter. In the letter, you stated that additional information was needed to prepare for the upcoming predecisional enforcement conference associated with the apparent violation.

The NRC is denying your request for a copy of the 01 report. We are also denying your request to respond to the seven questions with the exception of the question about naming the managers who were involved in the decision to reassign the former Manager of Quality Systems. The identity of those individuals is contained in the enclosure to this letter.

In denying the requests for the 01 report and other information, it is a matter of policy that the NRC does not normally release Ol reports until and unless the NRC staff initiates formal enforcement action. A predecisional enforcement conference (conference) is in essence the last stage of the NRC's fact gathering process and is not a formal hearing. Instead of releasing the 01 report, the NRC letter dated May 18,1999, provided a summary of the bases for the 4 apparent violation and the NRC's concem. The investigation previously conducted by USEC, the information leamed by USEC attorneys present during 01 interviews, and the previously provided NRC summary should be sufficient detail for your staff to adequately prepare for the conference. During the conference, we will seek your independent understanding of the facts and your perspectives about the reassignment of the former Manager of Quality Systems.

Releasing an 01 report before a conference has the potential for participants developing a presentation or response to a question based on what the NRC knows, rather than what may actually have occurred. This could prevent the conference from serving as a forum for a l g

[ 0 9906080069 990604 V PDR ADOCK 07007001 C PDR

l J. Adkins broader presentation of all potentially relevant information. If you or your staff is not prepared to answer a question because it relates to matters which were not discussed in the summary or the information previously obtained by USEC, or for any other reason, a written response may be provided subsequent to the conference to supplement the record.

Another reason the NRC does not normally release Ol reports, until and unless the NRC staff initiates formal enforcement action, is to prevent the unnecessary public disclosure of information potentially damaging to individuals. Ol investigations, by their very nature, involve charges of wrongdoing by individuals, and sometimes uncover information that may be

_ personally embarrassing. Therefore,01 reports are not usually released. However, thould a formal request be made for an Ol report after an enforcement action has been taken, then it will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room (PDR), and as a result, is available to the public.

Ol reports are released before a conference only when the pertinent evidence contained in the report is already in the public record, such as when there has been or is a public adjudication before the U.S. Department of Labor in which the same or similar evidence was or will be placed in the public record. That is not the situation in this case.

A predecisional enforcement conference is a way for the NRC staff to gain insights necessary to decide whether to initiate formal enforcement action. Please follow the instructions described in our letter to you dated May 18,1999, to schedule an enforcement conference. The NRC staff will consider all available information, including your presentation at the conference, before deciding whether to initiate formal enforcement action in this case.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's ' Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter without the enclosure will be placed in the PDR. The NRC will delay deciding whether to place a copy of the enclosure in the PDR until a final enforcement decision has been made.

Please call me if you wish to discuss this matter further.

Sincerely, i

I WW A D. Pederson, Director g Division of Nuclear Materials Safety Docket No. 70-

' Certificate No. GDP-1

Enclosure:

List of Individuals l

J. Adkins cc w/o enclosure: H. Pulley, Paducah General Manager L. L. Jackson, Paducah Regulatory Affairs Mansger J. M. Brown, Portsmouth General Manager S. A. Toelle, Manager, Nuclear Regulatory Assurance and Policy, USEC Portsmouth Resident inspector Office R. M. DeVault, Regulatory Oversight Manager, DOE J. C. Hodges, Paducah Site Manager, DOE j

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J. Adkins 4 i

THE ENCLOSURE TO THIS LETTER IS NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE DIRECTOR. NRC OFFICE OF ENFORCEMENT i Distribution w/ enclosure:

i V. Beaston, OE OE: EA Files (2)

D. Dambly, OGC S. Chidakel, OGC R. Pierson, NMSS P. Ting, NMSS J. L. Caldwell, Rill-R. Paul, OI:Rlli Resident inspector, Paducah Distribution w/o enclosure:

Public IE-07 Docket File W. Troskoski, NMSS C. Cox, NMSS W. Schwink, NMSS P. Harich, NMSS I M. L. Hom, NMSS l R. Bellamy, RI EJM, Ril (e-mail)

D. B. Spitzberg, RIV IEO (e-mail)

DOCDESK (e-mail)

Greens OAC: Rill l J