ML20209H622
| ML20209H622 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Comanche Peak  |
| Issue date: | 01/29/1987 |
| From: | Ellis J Citizens Association for Sound Energy |
| To: | Bloch P, Jordan W, Mccollom K Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel |
| References | |
| CON-#187-2396 OL, NUDOCS 8702060093 | |
| Download: ML20209H622 (5) | |
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'87 FEB ~3 pn :29 January 29, 1987 M.s cl Administrative Judge Peter B. Bloch Dr. Kenneth A. McCollom U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1107 West Knapp Street Atomic Safety & Licensing Board Stillwater, Oklahoma 74075 Washington, D. C.
20555 Dr. Walter H. Jordan 881 W. Outer Drive Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830
Dear Administrative Judges:
Subject:
In the Matter of Texas Utilities Electric Company, et al.
Application for an Operating License Comanche Peak Steam Electr*c Station Units 1 and 2 Docket Nos. 50-445 and 50-446 - O b Additional Information Regarding OIA Report, Board Notification No. 86-24, Report of Investigation by the Office of Inspector and Auditor, sent to the Board and Service List under cover letter 12/11/86 from NRC Staff's ?!r. Noonan CASE's 1/21/87 Motion to Compel NRC Staff to Supplement Responses to Question 1 of CASE's 2/10/82 First Set of Interrogatories and Requests to Produce to NRC Staff dealt with trending which has been performed by NRC Region IV regarding Comanche Peak.
In Footnote 8 on page 11 of that pleading, we stated:
"It is our understanding that efforts are now underway to get all of the recent OIA Report (hopefully uncensored), including all of the back-up information which is part of the entire report, into the hands of the Board and parties."
However, it now appears that the names of the individuals who might have requested confidentiality have already been revealed to the supervisors from whom there was a need to keep their names confidential (see attached copies of: January 20, 1987, FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM; and excerpt from January 26, 1987, EUCLEAR tt0NITOR).
8702060093 870129 PDR ADOCK 05000445 4
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If this is correct, there is now no remaining valid reason for the complete (unexpurgated) OIA report, including all attachments and back-up information, to be withheld from the Board and CASE. We request that the Board take whatever steps are necessary and appropriate to ascertain whether or not this information is correct, and, if so, that the Board request that the report in its entirety immediately be supplied to the Board and parties.
Respectfully submitted, CASE (Citizens Association for Sound Energy) rs.) Juanita Ellis President cc:
Service List 2
Ins FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM,
. Tuesday, January 20, 1987 DUt C
A doze led to a tion of 1:
power p theveryl imprope The r constitul clear Rd one for:1 hiscomi tigative Comanche Peak supervisors Continued from Page 1 who gavo information had been re-theirfindings.incluc ington.
leased to Region IV managers.
in which oneinspect The report,incl he Region IV office is responst-But NRC spokesman Bob Wisner for five hours.
ble for nuclear plants in 14 states.
safd the Office of Inspector and Au-NRCinvestigatorsconcluded that ditor, which conducted the investi-of allthosew'.otalki the Region IV office had done an gadon of Region IV, informed him gators, was delivert inadequatejobof ensuring safecon-that "in this situation, there was no five commissione struction at Comanche Peak. That granting of confidentiality to any-Thanksgiving. The conclusion-along with the names one."
who talked to the of thoseinterviewed-wasinclud-Even in situations where investi-said they considere<
ed in copies of the investigators' re-gatorsdoagree to keep namesconfi-commissioners have port that were distributed to NRC dential, he said, NRC policy would of those involved.
staff members in November.
allow "some limited internal distri-Unexpurgated vc Dat left those who had com-bution (of reports) with names in port also were delivt plained open to possible retaliation them to persons with a need to ecutive Director Vs byNRCofficials already accused of know "
distributed amongl intimidation and harassment, the The Office of Inspector and Audi-Thesumn.ary portid formerinspectortold theStar Tele-torconcluded thatthe performance imately 3,tMpage' gram. Both the inspector and the of Region IV office was so poor that names and other mf second person asked that their its reports could not be relied upon cd,then was release names not be used because they as evidence that Comanche Peak - Congress.
were told by NRC officials not to alreadyin trouble with the agency's TheformerNRCC publicly discuss the report or its re-licensing board - had been built called agt ncy inves percussions.
- safely, plain about the bre; "They promised to keep my name The nuclear power plant 45 miles tiality.
in confidence, and then they blew southwest of Fort Worth at Glen lie said the NH my confidentiauty," the inspector Itose is nine years behind schedule " told me,'You didii said. "Our names have been and its cost has jumped tenfold, to ing'(that he viantedl plastered all over Washington."
87.7 billion. It twice has f ailed to win They haid, 'You nat inspector, who formerly an operating license, and majority confidentialit),'"
workediortheNRC,said the release owner Texas Utilities Electric Co. is ' Thesecond persoi
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of names seriously endangered the in the process of a massive reinspec-NHC investigation careers of agency employees who tion and repair effort.
" whistle blowers" u aired complaints in what they The Washington investigators the NRC have bec thought was confidence.
found that inspection reports criti-tremely difficult p<
"neir lives are unlivable now," cal of Comanche Peak were rewrit-And 14the Garde.
he said-ten and delayed. In some instances, resenting Coman3 The inspector said acquaintances reports of violations were deleted, nents,sai llt was a f "werecalhng up fromitegionlV the The investigators reported allega-to turn mer names day affer it tthe reports was out," to tions that Comanche Peak inspec-ers to their bosses, let n,lm know that names di those tors were pressured to do%ngrade the names from pu i
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Cstigators identify dear plant accusers r AYLE REAVES The inspector, and a second per-kar-Telesrem wruer son connected with the Comanche o people those complaints Peak investigation, said all those K thirg report on regula-who talked to investigators - in-te Comanch? Peak nuclear cluding NRC employees and con-ant have beenidentified to sultants-were promised confiden-f, bupervisorsthey accusedof tiality, r conduct.
Ilowever, a spokesman for the 4i evelation of those names agency'sOfficeofinspectorand Au-en 4
Lib es betrayal by the U.S. Nu-ditorin Washington.D.C. said confi-gulatory Commission, says dentiality was never granted to any-
((QD ict NitCinspector whotook one involved in the investigation of
'lai:ts to th2 agency'sinves-thcagency's RegionlV officein Arl-nrm.
Please see Comanche on Page 2 h belaMe On
' Aperture Card O
f i glVen names OT OCCUSerS mganinstance report.
There are a lot of good inspectors ircas" grilled" The commission member who there," he said.
originally asked the NitC investiga-The inspector,who has more than ling the names tors to check into the allegations two decades of experience at nucle.
dtothei vesti-about Itegion IV said he is aware of ar plants, said llegion IV was using Li to the NitC's the " breach of confidentiahty is-inspectors experienced in one type
's just cfter sue."
of work-regulating factories that two inspectors "lamveryconcernedaboutit,and make nuclear plant components -
Star-Telegram Idointend to explore lt," NRC Com-to oversee inspections in a dif ferent i it proper that missioner James Asselstine said.
area, that of nuclear power plant thenames: fall A staff memberof the U.S.Ilouse construction work.
Subcommittee on Energy Conserva-Also, he said, inspection reports sions of th7 re-tion and Power said at least three were beingchanged and"they were
' red to NitC Ex. people identified in the report taking six to eight months to get ntor Stello and called his office.
some reports out."
the NitC staff, "One was an NRC employee and if an inspector's findmgs aren't not thelpprox-two were outside - contract - em-passed on to the builders within a report, with ployees,"sald committee staff mem-few weeks, he said, they of ten are ormation d:let-ber Gerry Waldron. "The contract useless.
.it: members of employees expressed real concern "I've been an inspector for a long about whether they would ever get time," he said. "If a plant is unsafe, aspect:r sald he their centracts renewed, ever be youcloseitdownorstopwork."That ligat:rs to com-hired again.
attitude was not evident at Coman-ch c f c::fiden-
"In addition, the NRC employee che Peak, he said.
questioned whether, maybe in the The inspector said he was highly L, investigators future, he would start getting bad dissatisfied with the way the NitC
't put it in writ-grades on reviews, start suffering Region IV handled the overview of onfidentiality). reprisals," Waldron said.
qnality control operations at Co.
manche Peak.
The commission has received rec.
6 tnvolved m the ominendations from Stello about "They missed the boat so many igreed th:t the what to doin tespamse to theinvesti-times,, he said.
hostillwork for gative report on llegion IV but has Theinvestigators, report severely taken no action.
criticizes the negion lV of fice in that i put in an ex area.
stion.
The former NitC inspector told mitt:rney rep the Stor Tclepram that,oversever.
The investigation began in the ie Peak oppo. al years of working at Comanche spring of lla, after allegations retf:rtheNitC Peak,hehad become"teedoff atthe were brought to the attention of 4f thecomplain way they were handling things."
Commissioner Asselstine, who then while temoving "lt huris me to feelthat theincog. asked for the investigation by tge ihecofiesof the pctents are wrecking the NitC. NitC's investigative office.
Tf76VXo609 3 -0/
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x2 MONITOR A Publication of the Nuclear Information & Resource Service Vol. 2, No. 10 January 26, 1987 1616 P Street NW Suite 160 Washington, DC 20036 i
DRIELY Comanche Peak whistleblowers are complaining that their names were released to NRC of ficials, including those to whom their allegations were orginally directed. In December, the NRC released an of fice of Inspector and Auditor investigation of Region IV, baned on whistleblower allegations. At the tinte, the OIA report blacked out the names of all individuals involved.
Apparently, however, copies of the report, without the names I
blacked out, were distributed throughout the NRC. Now, NRC officials are claiming that they never meant to promise confidentiality to the whistleblowers.
Meanwhile, despite NRC Chairman Lando Zech's claim that the Region IV investigation involved only one whistleblower, the clean copy of the report names a dozen NRC staf f members and contractors who made al' legations.
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