ML20210C364

Discusses OI Rept 3-98-017 Completed on 980224 Re Contract Security Officer That Inadvertently Brought Personal Handgun Into Search Area at Plant & Forward NOV

ML20210C364
Person / Time
Site:	Zion  File:ZionSolutions icon.png
Issue date:	07/20/1999
From:	Dyer J NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III)
To:	Kingsley O COMMONWEALTH EDISON CO.
Shared Package
ML20210C368	List: ML20210C364 ML20210C378
References
3-98-017, EA-99-100, NUDOCS 9907260043
Download: ML20210C364 (4)

Text

.

[g"%k UNITED STATES NUCLEAR RE2ULATORY COMMISSION

% S REGloN lli l E E 801 WARRENvlLLE ROAD

/ USLE. ILUNolS 60532-4351

• • • • • July 20, 1999 EA 99-100 Mr. Oliver D. Kingsley President, Nuclear Generation Group Commonwealth Edison Company ,

ATTN: Regulatory Services l Executive Towers West 111 1400 Opus Place, Suite 500 Downers Grove,IL 60515

SUBJECT:

NOTICE OF VIOLATION I

(NRC OFFICE OF INVESTIGATIONS REPORT NO. 3-98-017)

Dear Mr. Kingsley:

j This refers to the 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 February 24,1998, that a contract security officer inadvertently brought .

a personal handgun into the personnel search area at the Comed Zion Station. The I information from Comed indicated that at the request of the officer owning the handgun, ,

another officer, who had operated the x-ray search equipment, failed to make the required l notifications that a firearm had been identified through the x-ray search process. A copy of the synopsis of the Ol report was provided to Comed by letter dated April 27,1999. 1 Based on the information developed during the O! investigation, Comed's investigation, and the information provided in a letter from Comed dated May 27,1999, in response to an April 27,1999, 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 the investigation reports, the April 27,1999, letter from the NRC, and the Comed letter dated May 27,1999.

In summary, a security officer entered the personnel search area of the Zion Station on February 24,1998. He submitted a hand-carried bag for x-ray inspection and his personal 7 handgun was identified among his belongings. He apparently forgot that the handgun was in  ;

his bag. The security officer immediately retrieved his belongings, including the handgun, from /

the belt of the x-ray equipment and asked the x-ray equipment operator to not report him (

because he feared his employment would be terminated for bringing a firearm to the Zion Station. He and the x-ray equipment operator then erased the image of the handgun from the x-ray equipment monitor. The procedures implementing the NRC-approved Zion security plan required the x-ray equipment operator to immediately notify the alarm station and a supervisor upon discovery of a firearm. The x-ray equipment operator did not make those immediate notifications. A short time later, the security officer returned to the personnel search area and offered cash to the x-ray equipment operator for not making a report about the handgun. The x-ray equipment operator did not accept the money. A few minutes later, a security force 9907260043 990720 PDR 0 ADOCK 05000295 PDR

O. Kingsley supervisor entered the personnel search area and the x-ray equipment operator did not tell the supervisor about the firearm. However, the x-ray equipment operator did tell a supervisor about the event approximately 1% hours later. The actions of the security officers represent a delibetate violation of the procedures implementing the NRC-approved security plan for the Zion Station. Therefore, the violation has been categorized in accordance with the " General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions"(Enforcement Policy),

NUREG-1600, at Severity Level Ill.

In accordance with the Enforcement Policy, a base civil penalty of $55,000 is considered for a Severity Level ll1 violation. Because the Zion Station was the subject of an escalated enforcement action within the two years preceding this Severity Level ll1 violation,' the NRC considered whether credit was warranted for /dentification and Corrective Action in accordance with the civil penalty assessment process in Section VI.B.2 of the Enforcement Policy.' Credit was given for Identi# cation because Comed identified the violation and notified the NRC.

Credit was also given for Corrective Action because of the immediate and long term measures taken by Comed. The corrective actions are described in your May 27,1999 letter and include, but are not limited to: (1) terminating the employment of the individuals; (2) placing the appropriate information pertaining to the revocation of the individuals unescorted in the industry's Personnel Access Database System; (3) documenting the event in a Security Department Lesson Leamed Report; and (4) disseminating that report to the guard force at each Comed nuclear station, including Zion.

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 propose a civil penalty for this Severity Level ill violation. However, significant violations in the future could result in a civil penalty.

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 when full compliance was achieved is adequately addressed on the docket in a May 27, 1999, letter from Comed. Therefore, you are not required to respond to this letter unless the description therein does not accurately reflect your corrective actions or your position. In that case, or if you choose to provide additional information, you should follow the instructions specified in the enclosed Notice.

A Notice of Violation and Proposed imposition of Civil Penalty - $110,000 was issued on January 15,1998, for a Severity Level lli problem associated with a programmatic  ;

breakdown in the implementation of the fitness for duty program at the Zion Station during  !

1997 (EA 97-249).

A Notice of Violation was issued on April 9,1999, for a Severity Level lli violation for the failure to properly protect Safeguards information during the period July 1997 to January 22,1998 (EA 98-558).

L ,

O. Kingsley 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 Room (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, O

J. E. Dyer w

Regional Administrator Docket Nos. 50-295;50-304 License Nos. DPR-39; DPR-48 1

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 R. Starkey, Decommissioning Plant Manager R. Godley, Regulatory Assurance Supervisor M. Aguilar, Assistant Attorney General K. Nollenberger, County Administrator Mayor, City of Zion State Liaison Officer, Illinois State Liaison Officer, Wisconsin Chairman, Illinois Commerce Commission i

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CPederson, Rlli Enforcement Coordinators RI, Ril and RIV JGilliland, OPA HBell, OlG GCaputo,01 RPaul, OI:Rlli OE:ES OE:EA (2)

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