ML20214U664
| ML20214U664 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Trojan File:Portland General Electric icon.png |
| Issue date: | 06/04/1987 |
| From: | Martin J NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION V) |
| To: | Cockfield D PORTLAND GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20214U668 | List: |
| References | |
| EA-87-060, EA-87-60, NUDOCS 8706110290 | |
| Download: ML20214U664 (3) | |
Text
,.
e JUN 4 1987
^
Docket No. 50-344 License No. NPF-1 EA 87-60 Portland General Electric Company 121 S. W. Salmon Street Portland, Oregon 97204
. ATTN:
David W..Cockfield,-Vice President, Nuclear Gentlemen:
Subject:
NOTICE OF VIOLATION AND PROPOSED IMPOSITION OF CIVIL PENALTY (NRC INSPECTION REPORT NO. 50-344/87-15)
- This refers to the special inspection conducted on April 15-24, 1987 at the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant, Rainier, Oregon.
Several examples of apparent violations involving radiation safety matters were identified by an NRC Radiation Specialist during this inspection and were discussed with you during
. the Enforcement Conference held on May 14, 1987.
Since July 1982, your facility has opertted with an estimated 112 fuel pellets unaccounted for in the reactor coolant.ind support systems.
The existence of this type of radiological hazard was known to ycu and has been periodically reemphasized by NRC, industry repenentatives, and members of your facility-staff.
- Shortly after beginning your 10d' refueling outage on April 1, a substantial
~ increase ~ia the rate of personne' contamination incidents was observed, followed by a significant dispersal of highly radioactive particulate fission products in the upper elevations of the reactor containment building on-April 9, 1987.
The apparent violations of NRC requirements in the enclosed Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty indicate your. failure to establish and
- implement radiation protection procedures, train workers, perform radiation surveys and maintain records of radiation survey results.
Collectively, the
- violations demonstrate a programmatic breakdown in your radiation safety program-that resulted in several workers receiving significant, unnecessary,~ radiation
~
exposures. Only fortuitously did these workers not receive exposure to radia-
. tion in excess of regulatory requirements.
An NRC review indicates that your performance in the area of radiological controls has declined during the last SALP evaluation period to a category 2 rating.
In the December 19, 1986 SALP report, NRC recommended that you consider action to increase the level of management attention and oversight directed toward the radiological controls area.
The April 1987 incidents indicate a continuing failure on your part to improve performance in this area.
The NRC has noted deficiencies including inadequate training of the radiation protection technicians, very general safety requirements on work permits, broad CERTIFIED MAIL RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED B706110290 870604 ADOCK0500g4 i
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Portland General Electric Company technician authority with minimum direction and oversight, organizational weak-ness, and insufficient corporate involvement.
The NRC believes the root cause of the apparent violations and deficiencies is a lack of management involvement in radiation control activities.
To emphasize the need for programmatic improvements in the radiological controls area, I have been authorized, after consultation with the Director, Office of Enforcement, to issue the enclosed Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty in the amount of $50,000 Dollars for the violations described in the enclosed Notice.
In accordance with the " General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions," 10 CFR Part 2, Appendix C (1987), the violations described in the enclosed Notice have been categorized in the aggregate as a Severity Level III problem.
The base value of a civil penalty for a Severity Level III problem is $50,000.
The escalation and mitigation factors in the Enforcement Policy were considered.
The Policy allows for reduction of a civil penalty under certain circumstances.
Although the NRC recognizes that your corrective actions were prompt and exten-sive and included upgrading your radiation protection program, mitigation of l
the civil penalty is considered inappropriate in view of (1) your failure to promptly recognize the seriousness of the fuel fragment contamination issue considering prior notice of similar events, and (2) the multiple examples of apparent failures to comply with regulatory requirements identified during the inspection period.
Accordingly, in this case it is our conclusion that neither mitigation nor escalation is warranted.
You are required to respond to this letter and should follow the instructions specified in the enclosed Notice when preparing your response.
In your response, you should document the specific actions taken and any additional actions you plan to prevent recurrence. After reviewing your response to this Notice, including your proposed corrective actions and the results of future inspections, the NRC will determine whether further NRC enforcement action is necessary to ensure compliance with NRC regulatory requirements.
In accordance with Section 2.790 of the NRC's " Rules of Practice," Part 2, Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, a-copy of this letter and its enclosure will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room.
The responses directed by this letter and the enclosed Notice are not subject to the clearance procedures of the Office of Management and Budget as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, Pub. L. No.96-511.
Sincerely, Origind Signed by John 3. Marbu John B. Martin Regional Administrator
Enclosure:
Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty
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~
-JUN N1987 Portland General Electric Company -
cc w/ enclosure:
J. W. Durham,'Sr. Vice President
~
C. A. Olmstead, Plant General Manager W. Dixon,~ DOE bec w/ enclosure:
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.J. Taylor, DEDRO J. Martin, RV A.~ Johnson, RV J. Lieberman, OE J. Goldberg, OGC Enforcement Coordinators RI, RII, RIII, RIV F. Ingram, OGPA J. Crooks, AE00 B. Hayes, OI S. Connelly, OIA E. Flack, OE EA File ES File EDO Rdg File DCS (IE06)
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