ML20207P904
| ML20207P904 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 01/07/1987 |
| From: | Chilk S NRC OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY (SECY) |
| To: | |
| References | |
| FRN-52FR1200, RULE-PRM-50-47 NUDOCS 8701200391 | |
| Download: ML20207P904 (4) | |
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DOCKET NUMBER-PETITION RULE PRM 88-4 7
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 0
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[ Docket No. PRM-50-47)
Quality Technology Company; Petition for Ruk5ma' king AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION:
Receipt of petition for rulemaking.
SUMMARY
- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission requests public comments on this notice of receipt of a petition for rulemaking dated October 27, 1986, that was filed by Quality Technology Company. The petition was docketed by the Comission on November 14, 1986, and assigned Decket No. PRM-50 47.
The petitioner requests that the Ccmmission add to its regulations requirements that all utilities involved in a nuclear program (1) report to the NRC's Office of Investigation all employee-identified concerns related to " wrongdoing activities" and (2) establish and maintain an employee concerns program.
DATES:
Submit comments by March 13, 1987.
Coments received af ter this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but assurance of consideration cannot be given except as to comments received on or before this date.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission, Washington, DC 20555, Attention:
Docketing and Service
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. Obtain a copy of the petition by writing to the Division of Rules and Records,
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Office of. Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Conmiss' ion, Washington, DC 20555.
A copy of the petition and of comments on the petition are available for inspection or copying for a fee at the Public Document Room at 1717 H Street, NW., Washington, DC.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael T. Lesar, Acting Chief, Rules and Procedures Branch, Division of Rules and Records, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, Telephone:
301-492-7758 or, Toll Free, 800-368-5642.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Petitioner's Proposal The petitioner encourages the Commission to add to its regulations requirements that all utilities involved in a nuclear program (1) report to the NRC's Office of Investigations all employee-identified concerns related to " wrongdoing activ.ities" and (2) establish and maintain an employee concerns program.
The petitioner envisions that the reporting of " wrongdoing activities" would f
be much along the same lines as the reports of nuclear safety-related issues required by 10 CFR 50.55(e) and 10 CFR Part 21.
The petitioner suggests that t
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. the employee concerns program could incorporate ideas from work of the Employee Response Team recently conducted at the Ternessee Valley-Authority (TVA) Watts Bar facility.
Basis of the Proposal The petitioner bases this proposal on experience from its involvement in an employee concerns program at several utilities, most recently at TVA's Watts Ear facility. The petitioner contends that its various roles in employee concerns programs have provided the company the unique position of viewing the nuclear industry from both the perspective of management and the employee.
They further contend that they know from this vantage point and experience that employees engaged in construction or operation of a nuclear facility have the nest accurate and insightful information about nuclear safety-related issues. Several thousand nuclear safety-related concerns and several hundred
" wrongdoing activities" were identified through efforts of employee concerns programs that the petitioner contends would nct have otherwise been identified.
Their experience makes clear to the petitioner that NRC's safeguards management is only partially effective. Therefore, they think that an effective way should be developed of obtaining the information that only employees may hold.
Reason for the Proposal The petitioner thinks that without resolution of employee-identified safety-related concerns, the potential exists for a series of costly hardware failures or danger to employees of nuclear facilities or the general public.
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The petitioner states that, from their experience, how a licensee disposes of
" wrongdoing activities" is not clear at all and that licensees do not willingly report these activities to the NRC or the Department of Justice. Therefore, a corrective action mechanism should be developed to investigate or resolve
" wrongdoing" issues.
Conclusion The petitioner concludes (1) that requiring the reporting of all employee-icentified concerns to the NRC's Office of Investigation would prevent unresolved issues from falling into a " black-hole," and (2) that the sheer numbers of concerns identified along with the greater than 50 percent rate of substantia-tien of these concerns more than justifies the need for establishing and main-taining a nationwide employee concerns program.
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Cated at Washington, D.C., this I]
day of January, 1987.
For the uclear Regulatory Commission, u
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Secretary of the Commission.
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