ML20236T301
| ML20236T301 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Diablo Canyon  |
| Issue date: | 07/24/1998 |
| From: | Travers W NRC |
| To: | AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20236T295 | List: |
| References | |
| IA-98-024, IA-98-24, NUDOCS 9807280091 | |
| Download: ML20236T301 (7) | |
Text
. _ _ _ _ _ _ - - _.
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION in the Matter of
)
)
lA 98-024 Leland H. Brooks
)
)
ORDER P' ROHIBITING INVOLVEMENT IN NRC-LICENSED ACTIVITIES (EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY)
Leland H. Brooks was an employee of Westinghouse a contractor to Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) at the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant (Diablo Canyon). PG&E holds NRC license Nos. DPR-80 and DPR-82, issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) pursuant to 10 CFR Part 50. The licenses authorize the operation of Units 1 and 2 of the Diablo Canyon facility in accordance with the conditions specified therein.
l ll On April 16,1997, Mr. Brooks, a millwright, was granted temporary unescorted access to Diablo i
Canyon as an employee of Westinghouse. PG&E terminated Mr. Brooks access to Diablo Canyon on May 21,1997, upon completion of the work Mr. Brooks was hired to perform.
PG&E's decision to grant Mr. Brooks unescorted access was based on the information Mr.
Brooks provided in a signed Personnel Access Questionnaire dated April 7,1997, including information Mr. Brooks provided about his arrest record. In addition to requesting information l
l about any arrests, this questionnaire clearly stated, "Fcr all arrests and/or convictions that l
L occurred in the last five years, a ccpy of your court ordens must be provided with this application." Mr. Brooks wrote "None" next to this statement. On July 22,1997, approximately two months af*.er Mr. Brooks' access to Diablo Canyon had been terminated. PGaE received information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) which indicated that Mr. Brooks had 983)200091 980724 hDR ADOCK 05000275 i
\\
t
' failed to inform PG&E of several arrests and convictions, including a 1995 felony charge which was still pending. PG&E conducted an investigation and determined that Mr. Brooks knowingly withheld and/or falsified information on the Personnel Access Questionnaire. On August 6, 1997, PG&E issued Mr. Brooks a letter informing Mr. Brooks of this conclusion and denying Mr.
l Brooks future access to Diablo Canyon.
The deliberately false information that Mr. Brooks provided to the licensee, as well as the failure t
to provide copies of the required court records, were violations of 10 CFR 50.5, " Deliberate l
Misconduct." Specifically, Section 50.5(a)(2) provides, in part, that an employee of a contractor to a licensee may not deliberately submit to a licensee information that the person submitting i
the information knows to be incomplete or inaccurate in some respect material to the NRC.
l The false and incomplete information that Mr. Brooks submitted was material because PG&E is l
required to consider criminal history in making a determination as to whether to grant unescorted access in accordance with 10 CFR 73.56.
l
\\
j On April 27,1998, the NRC issued a letter to Mr. Brooks, infc.,11ng Mr. Brooks that the NRC l
was considering escalated enforcement action against him and providing Mr. Brooks a choice of requesting a predecisional enforcement conference or submitting a written response.
l Although Mr. Brooks telephoned the NRC regional office and stated that he didn't recall ever working at the Diablo Canyon nuclear nower plant, he has not submitted a written response or requested a predecisional enforcement conference, and he has not provided any evidence to i
support his claim. The NRC's letter to Mr. Brooks informed him that in the absence of a I
response, we would proceed with enforcement action.
__________.______________.__.____________._________._________._______________a
3 l
. 1 Ill Based on the above, the NRC has concluded that Mr. Brooks engaged in deliberate misconduct by deliberately omitting criminal history information when completing a Personnel Access
. Questionnaire to gain unescorted access to the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plants. The NRC must be able to rely on employees of licensees and their contractors to comply with NRC i
i requirements, including the requirement to provide information that is complete and accurate in all material respects. Mr. Brooks's action in deliberately providing false information to the '
i licensee raises serious doubt about his trustworthiness and reliability and particularly whether he can be relied upon to comply with NRC requirements and to provido complete and accurate information to NRC licensees in the future.
' Consequently, I lack the requisite reasonable assurance that li:,ensed activities can be
' conducted in compliance with the Commission's requirements and that the health and safety of
' the public would be protected if Mr. ' Brooks were permitted to be involved in NRC-licensed activities. Therefore, the public health, safety and interest require that Mr. Brooks be prohibited from any involvement in NRC-licensed activities for a period of five years from the date of this Order. Additionally, Mr. Brooks is required to notify the NRC of his first employment in NRC-licensed activities for the five year period after the above prohibition period. Furthermore, pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202, based on the significance of Mr. Brook's conduct described above and the fact that he could seek and obtain employment and unescorted access at other nuclear facilities, and engage in licensed activities before his criminal history became known to the licensee, I find that the public health, safety and interest require that this Order be effective immediately.
I lLE
)
. l lv I
i Accordingly, pursusnt to Sections 103,161b,1611,161o, and 186 of the Atomic Energy Act of l
1954, as amended, and the Commission's regulations in 10 CFR 2.202,10 CFR Part 50.5, and j
10 CFR 150.20, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, THAT:
1.
Leland H. Brooks is prohibited for five years from the date of this order from engaging in NRC licensed activities. NRC-licensed activities are those that are conducted pursuant l
to a specific or general license issued by the NRC, including, but not limited to, those activities of Agreement State licensees conducted pursuant to the authority granted by 10 CFR 150.20.
i 2.
If Leland H. Brooks is currently involved with another employer in NRC-licensed activities, he must immediately cease such activities, and inform the NRC of the.name, address and telephone number of the employer, and provide a copy of this Order to the employer.
3.
For the five-year period after the above prohibition period has expired, Mr. Brooks shall notify the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C.,20555, within 20 days of the first time he accepts an offer for employment in NRC-licensed activities, as defined in Paragraph IV.1 above. In the 1
notification, he willinclude a statement of his commitment to comply with regulatory
. requirements and address why the NRC should have confidence that he will comply with regulatory requirements, and the name, adoress and telephone number of his employer
l i or entity where he will be involved in licensed activities.
The Director, Office of Enforcement, may relax or rescind, in writing, any of the above conditions upon a showing by Mr. Brooks of good cause.
V in accordance with 10 CFR 2.202, Mr. Brooks must, and any other person adversely affected by this Order may, submit an answer to this Order, and may request a hearing on this order within 20 days of its issuance. Where good cause is shown. consideration will be given to extending the time to request a hearing. A request for extension of time must be made in writing to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555, and include a statement of good cause for the extension. The answer may consent to this Order. Unless the answer consents to this Order, the answer shall, in writing and under oath or affirmation, specifically admit or deny each allegation or charge made in this Order and shall set forth the matters of fact and law on which Mr. Brooks, or any other such person adversely affected, relies and the reasons as to why the Order should not have been issued. Any answer or request for a hearing shall be submitted to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN.: Chief, Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff, Washington, D.C. 20555. Copies also shall be sent to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S.
{
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555, to the Deputy Assistant General l
Counsel for Enforcement at the same address, to the Regional Administrator, NRC Region IV, f
611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400, Arlington, Texas 76011, and to Mr. Brooks if the answer or hearing request is by a person other than Mr. Brooks. If a person other than Mr. Brooks requests a hearing, that person shall set forth with particularity the manner in which his or her i
.s.
interest is adversely affected by this Order and shall address the criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.714(d).
t if a hearing is requested by Mr. Brooks or a person whose interett is adversely affected, the Commission will issue an Order designating the time and place of any hearing. If a hearing is held, the issue to be considered at such hearing shall be whether this Order should be sustained.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202(c)(2)(i)I Mr. Brooks may, in addition to demanding a hearing, at the time the answer is filed or sooner, move the presiding officer to set aside the immediate i
i effectiveness of the Order, on the ground that the Order, including the need for immediate effectiveness, is not based on adequate evidence but on mere suspicion, unfounded I
allegations, or error.
In the absence of any request for a hearing, or written approval of an extension of time in which to request a hearing, the provisions specified in Section IV above shall be final 20 days from the date of this Order without further order or proceedings. If an extension of time for requesting a hearing has been approved, the provisions specified in Section IV shall be final when the extension expires if a hearing request has not been received. AN ANSWER OR A REQUEST FOR HEARING SHALL NOT STAY THE IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS ORDER.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMM10SION
}J Y hop =
William D. Travers Deputy Executive Director for Regulatory Effectiveness Dated at Rock rille, Maryland this 24thday of July 1998
r-l :.
,+
ir
- V l
l Leland H. Brooks DISTRIBUTION:
i~
PUBLIC
- SECY-
' CA--
LJCallan, EDO AThadani, DEDE JLieberman, OE JGoldberg, OGC SCollins, NRR l
. Enforcement Coordinators l
R1, Ril, Rlli, RIV -
RZimmerman, NRR
. ' Gilliland, OPA J
HBell, OlG GCaputo, OI-TMartin, AEOD l
OE:lA File EMerschoff, RIV l
GSanbom, RIV ~
. RWise, RIV RIV Files E-MAIL DISTRIBUTION:
OEMAIL.
JDyer (JED2) -
TPGwynn (TPG)
WBrown (WLB).
~ GSanborn (GFS)-
GMVasquez (GMV)
_BHenderson (BWH)
CHackney (CAH)
DKunihiro (DMK1)
DProulx (DLP)
' Art Howell(ATH)
Chamberlain (DDC)
L
= KPerkins (KEP)
HWong(HJW)
KBrockman (KEB)
BMurray (BXM)
'O E' k,,.
RA:RIVh,~j./.h O[
D:k DE ~)E/
f JLusN;Y EMerscNoN[
JGoldberg JLiberman AT:$$
07//0/98E(fD 07/08/98.
07/'2498 07M8 07/09/98
- Doc Name:G:\\oecases\\ia98Cf4r.jhl
~
8 l-
= _ _ - _ _ _ _ - _ - _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - _ - _ _ - - - _ _ - _ _ _ >