OI 4-2019-012, NRC Investigation Report 4-2019-012
| ML20310A346 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 11/05/2020 |
| From: | Ryan Lantz Division of Reactor Safety IV |
| To: | Shoptaw B - No Known Affiliation |
| Clark D | |
| References | |
| IA-20-050, OI 4-2019-012 | |
| Download: ML20310A346 (5) | |
Text
November 5, 2020 IA-20-050 Mr. Brent Shoptaw
[NOTE: HOME ADDRESS DELETED UNDER 10 CFR 2.390]
SUBJECT:
NRC INVESTIGATION REPORT 4-2019-012
Dear Mr. Shoptaw:
This letter refers to the investigation completed on August 27, 2020, by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Office of Investigations at the Columbia Generating Station.
The investigation was conducted to determine the circumstances surrounding a fitness-for-duty (FFD) test administered to you on January 30, 2019, that yielded a positive result for an illegal substance. A factual summary of the investigation, as it pertains to your actions, is provided as .
Based on the information acquired during the investigation, an apparent violation was identified and is being considered for escalated enforcement action in accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy. The current Enforcement Policy is included on the NRCs web site at http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/enforcement/enforce-pol.html. The apparent violation, as documented in Enclosure 2, is a violation of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 55.53(j), which requires, in part, that licensed operators shall not use, possess, or sell any illegal drugs.
Before the NRC makes its enforcement decision, we are providing you an opportunity to:
(1) respond in writing to the apparent violation in Enclosure 2 of this letter within 30 days of the date of this letter; or (2) request a predecisional enforcement conference (PEC). If a PEC is held, the PEC will be closed to public observation since information related to an Office of Investigations report will be discussed and the report has not been made public. If you decide to participate in a PEC, please contact John Kramer at 817-200-1121 within 10 days of the date of this letter. A PEC should be held within 30 days of the date of this letter.
If you choose to provide a written response, it should be clearly marked as a Response to Apparent Violation, NRC Investigation Report 4-2019-012; IA-20-050 and should include for the apparent violation: (1) the reason for the apparent violation or, if contested, the basis for disputing the apparent violation; (2) the corrective steps that have been taken and the results achieved; and (3) the corrective steps that will be taken. You may also provide any information which you feel might clarify the characterization of the apparent violation. Your response should be sent to the Director, Division of Reactor Safety, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region IV, 1600 E. Lamar Blvd., Arlington, TX 76011-4511 and emailed to R4Enforcement@nrc.gov. If an adequate response is not received within the time specified or CERTIFIED MAIL RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
B. Shoptaw 2 an extension of time has not been granted by the NRC, the NRC will proceed with its enforcement decision.
If you choose to request a PEC, the conference will afford you the opportunity to provide your perspective on these matters and any other information that you believe the NRC should take into consideration before making an enforcement decision. The decision to hold a PEC does not mean that the NRC has determined that a violation has occurred or that enforcement action will be taken. This conference would be conducted to obtain information to assist the NRC in making an enforcement decision. The topics discussed during the conference may include information to determine whether a violation occurred, information to determine the significance of a violation, information related to the identification of a violation, and information related to any corrective actions taken or planned.
Because this letter references and encloses information addressing NRCs review of an apparent enforcement action against an individual, this letter and its enclosures will be maintained by the Office of Enforcement in an NRC Privacy Act system of records, NRC-3, Enforcement Actions Against Individuals. This system, which is not publicly accessible, includes all records pertaining to individuals who are being or have been considered for enforcement action, whether such action was taken or not. The NRC-3 system notice, which provides detailed information about this system of records, can be accessed from our web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/foia/privacy-systems.html.
In addition, please be advised that the number and characterization of apparent violations described in the enclosed inspection report may change as a result of further NRC review. You will be advised by separate correspondence of the results of our deliberations on this matter.
If the NRC concludes that enforcement action should be issued to you, this letter, and your response, if you choose to submit one, will be made publicly available either electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the NRCs ADAMS, accessible from the NRCs website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. However, you should be aware that all final NRC documents, including the final Office of Investigations report, are official agency records and may be made available to the public under the Freedom of Information Act and subject to redaction of certain information in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act. To the extent possible, any response which you provide should not include any personal privacy or proprietary information so that it can be made available to the public without redaction.
If you have any questions regarding this matter, you may contact John Kramer, Senior Enforcement Specialist, at 817-200-1121.
Sincerely, Ryan E. Lantz Digitally signed by Ryan E. Lantz Date: 2020.11.05 14:28:09 -06'00' Ryan E. Lantz, Director Division of Reactor Safety
Enclosures:
- 1. Factual Summary
- 2. Apparent Violation
ML20310A346 SUNSI Review: ADAMS: Non-Publicly Available Non-Sensitive Keyword:
By: PAJ Yes No Publicly Available Sensitive OFFICE SES:ACES C:DRS/OB TL:ACES C:DRP/PBA RC OE NAME JKramer GWerner JGroom JJosey DCylkowski DFurst SIGNATURE /RA/ E /RA/ E /RA/ E /RA/ E /RA/ E /RA/ E DATE 10/27/20 10/29/20 10/28/20 10/28/20 10/29/20 11/03/20 OFFICE OGC D:DRS NAME RSusko RLantz SIGNATURE /NLO/ E /RA/ E DATE 11/03/20 11/05/20 FACTUAL
SUMMARY
OFFICE OF INVESTIGATIONS REPORT 4-2019-012 On April 3, 2019, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Office of Investigations (OI),
Region IV, initiated an investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding your fitness-for-duty (FFD) test that yielded a positive result for an illegal substance while you were employed as a licensed operator at Energy Northwests Columbia Generating Station. The investigation was completed on August 27, 2020.
On January 30, 2019, you tested positive for opiate metabolites (codeine) at more than twice the drug cutoff limit of 2000 ng/ml (nanograms/milliliter) established in 10 CFR 26.163 and in Columbia Generating Stations procedure SWP-FFD-01, Fitness for Duty Program Requirements. Specifically, your FFD urine sample tested positive for codeine at 4600 ng/ml.
A separate lab performed a retest and your urine sample again tested positive for codeine at 5069 ng/ml. You provided several explanations for the positive test, which included: ingestion of poppyseed muffins, contamination of a vaping product that you were using at the time, cross-contamination by a pharmacy when filling another prescription, and accidental ingestion of your spouses medication. Based on the evidence gathered, none of your explanations provide a reasonable account for the presence of codeine in your system. Therefore, it appears that you used an illegal drug (codeine taken in the absence of a valid prescription). This appears to have caused you to be in violation of 10 CFR 55.53(j).
Enclosure 1
APPARENT VIOLATION Based on the results of an NRC investigation completed on August 27, 2020, an apparent violation of NRC requirements was identified. The apparent violation is listed below:
10 CFR 55.53(d) requires, in part, that operator licenses are subject to, and the licensee shall observe all applicable rules, regulations and orders of the Commission.
10 CFR 55.53(j) requires, in part, that the licensee shall not use, possess, or sell any illegal drugs.
10 CFR 26.5 defines an illegal drug as any drug that is included in Schedules I to V of section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. 812, but not when used pursuant to a valid prescription or when used as otherwise authorized by law.
Contrary to the above, on or before January 30, 2019, you used an illegal drug. Specifically, absent a valid prescription, you ingested codeine, a drug included in Schedules I to V of section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act, as evidenced by a positive random fitness for duty urinalysis test preformed on January 30, 2019. That uranalysis indicated the presence of opiate metabolites (codeine) at a level more than twice the cutoff limit established in NRCs regulations and Columbia Generating Stations procedures.
Enclosure 2