NRC-92-0128, Responds to NRC Re Violations Noted in Insp Rept 50-341/91-10.Corrective Actions:Nuclear Security Director Removed from All nuclear-related Activities & Ombudsman Program Established to Provide Forum for Concerns

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Responds to NRC Re Violations Noted in Insp Rept 50-341/91-10.Corrective Actions:Nuclear Security Director Removed from All nuclear-related Activities & Ombudsman Program Established to Provide Forum for Concerns
ML20116P115
Person / Time
Site: Fermi DTE Energy icon.png
Issue date: 11/20/1992
From: Orser W
DETROIT EDISON CO.
To:
NRC OFFICE OF ENFORCEMENT (OE), NRC OFFICE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IRM)
References
CON-NRC-92-0128, CON-NRC-92-128 NUDOCS 9211240343
Download: ML20116P115 (7)


Text

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November 20, 1992 NRC-92-0128 Director, Office of Enforcement U. S. Nuc1 car Reguletory Commission l Attn: Locument Centrol Desk l Washington, D. C. 20555 l l

Referenc s; 1) Fermi 2 NRC Docket No. 50-341 j NRC License No. NPF-43 1

2) NRC Letter to Detroic Edison, Notice of Violation (U.S. Department of Labor Case No. 86-ERA-32), dated October 23, 1992

Subject:

Reply to NRC Notice of Violation EA 91-100 (U. S.

Department of Labor Case No. 86-ERA-32)

Attached is the response to the Notice of Violation contained in Reference 2. This violation is associated with a complaint of employment discrimination filed by a Nuclear Security (NS) Specialist atteging that Detroit Edison had retaliated against the NS Specialist in 1986 for raising concerns with the NRC.

Detroit Edison takes very seriously its responsibility to maintain an atmosphere that encourages emp1oyen to bring safety and safeguards issues to the attention of management. Detroit Eoison believes that such an atmosphere exists and-_that the incident has not had a chilling effect on other employes such that they would not come forth with conce rn s. Detroit Edison believes that this violation represented an isolated case and is not characteristic of the current climate regarding safety concerns in the Nuclear Organization.

Nevertheless, Detroit Edison has implemented actions that have corrected the problems that caused or contributed to this incident.

First, the individual responsible was removed by the Company from any Nuclear related activities. Second, other employes of the security organization received briefings on this specific incident and the Company's policy that no one is to be discriminated against for

,- raising concerns. Third, a comprehensive correcti've actica system was

, 4 0 u,2, 3timplementet in 1989 which contains provision for emp1oyee anonymously at 9211240343 921120 ADOCV. 050 1 j gM., g p)Pl[d,. ggg j,gg e f

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. November 20, 1992 NRC-92-0128 Page 2 identif ying saf ety concerns. Fourth, an Ombudsman program has been implemented since this incident occurred. Fifth, Equal Employment Opportunity. (EEO) Specialists have been sensitized on handling ccmplaints with respect to issues of confidentiality, timeliness of response to complaints, and their roles as Company representatives.

Finally, if a complaint appears to involve at. employment discrimination issue the practice is to advise the complainant of the time limits for external filing, as appropriate.

Detroit Edison has also recently re-reviewed these issues and has determined that additional actions could be taken to further enhance the prograr for raising safety concerns and their prompt tesolution.

These actions will provide additional assurance that cases such as the one cited are avoided.

Should you have any questions regardine this response, please contact me at (313) 586-5201.

Sincerely, n

Enclosure cc: T. G. Colburn A. B. Davis W. J. Kropp M. P. Phillips i

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Enclosure to NRC-92-0128

. Page 1 REPLY TO NOTICE OF VIOLATION - EA 91-100 (U. S. DEPARDG'NT OF LADOH CASE NO. 86-ERA-32)

STATEMENT OF VIOLATION:

10 CFR 50.7 prohibits discrimination by a Commission licensee, or a contractor or subcontractor of a licensee, ag; inst an employe for engaging in certain protected activities. Discrimination includes discharge and other actions that relate to compensation, terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. The protected activities include, but are not limited to, providing the NRC with information about possible violations of NRC requirements.

Contrary to the above, the Department of Labor (DOL) ruled that on April 23, 1986, a Nuclear Security Specialist employed by the Detroit Edison Company was unlawfully discriminated against by the Detroit Edison Company in that the Nuclear Security Specialist was reassigned from that position to the lesser position of Nuclear Security Officer in retaliation for having engaged in certain protected activities. The DOL decision was subsequently upheld by the Urlted States Court of Appeals for the b'ixth Circuit.

Those activities included: (1) providing infn eation to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission during the period of November to December 1985, indicating that the Detroit Edison Company was not in compliance with the O C requirements regarding the protection of Safeguards Information processed by and stored in a computer; and (2) providing information on February 24 and April 15, 1986, indicating that the Detroit Edison Company's then Director of Nuclear Security at the Fermi 2 Nuclear Power Plant provided false or misleading information '

to an NRC inspector regarding the Nuclear Security Director's knowledge of the use of that computer to process and store Safeguards Information.

ADMISSION OR DENIAL OF THE ALLEGED VIOLATION:

The Detroit Edison Company concurs with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (MRC) recapitulation of the case history pertaining to

) the above matter. -Detroit Edison accepts and acknowledges the i decisions of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the U.S. Department of Labor.

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Enclosure tc NRC-92-0128

. Page 2 REASON FOR TIIE VIOLATION:

The Detroit Edison Company believes that the incidents cited in the violation were the result of the actions of an individual, the then-Nuclear Sc;urity Directcr. Detroit Edison believes that the individual did not have a sufficieat appreciation for NRC rules and regulations and the importance of adherence to those rules and regulations. The problem wt. compounded by Detroit Edison Company's Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) office attempting to handle the employe's discrimination complaint using informal mediation methods without regard to the Department of Labor 30-day filing requirement. ,

CORRECTIVE STEPS TilAT llAVE hEFN TAKEN AND RESULTS ACllIEVED:

Detroit Edison removed the former Nuclear Security Director from all nuclear-related activities. The former Nuclear Security Director was replaced by a Security Director with broad-bared experience in dealing with NRC rules and regulations.

In addition, Nuclear Security department managers, who were cognizant of the circumstances of this matter, have subsequently taken measures to assure that the employe is not discriminated against due to her action. Specifically, the supervisor of the employe was counseled to treat the employe fairly in accordance with accepted standards and to ensure that all employes within the section do likewise. The employe, who was subsequently promoted to an equivalent position has had an open dialogue with the current Security Organization Management. The Nuclear Security Director has also held meetings with members of the Security Organization to discuss this matter and to assure members of the organization that no one would be discriminated against in any way for raising corcerns.

Detroit Edison has reviewed its programs and policies for handling employe complaints. Particular attention was directed toward employe knowledge of how complaints can be filed, confidentiality, and the atmosphere that exists for individuals to raise safety and safeguards issues.

As discussed in the violation transmittal letter, the processing of the NS Specialist's complaint was not handled in a proper and timely manner. At the time that this incident occurred, Detroit Edison treated matters of alleged discrimination through a defined emplo30 complaint system or, alternatively, through an informal mediation process. Since this matter occurred, alleged discriminations are no longer handled via informal mediation. Employes of the Company's Equal Employment Opportunity organization have been made aware of these changes.

Additionally, Detroit Edison has established a Fermi 2 Ombudsman program. The Ombudsman program is described in the Fermi 2 Site I

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Enclosure to NRC-92-0128 Pagu 3 Orientation handbook which is provided to all employes during in-processing and at the annual requalification training. This program provides that anyone with a concern may contact the Ombudsman, in confidence, to obtain assistance in resolving-the concern. The Ombudsman currently reports directly to the Senior Vice President-Nuclear Generation.

With respect to employe awareness of alternate methods to raise safety issues or file complaints, Detroit Edison believes there is adequate information provided to employes on bulletin boards located throughout-the site, which are posted in accordance with 10CFR50.7 and other regulations, as to their options to file a complaint with or raise a safety issue to appropriate government agencies.

Furthermore, since 1986, Detroit Edison has made additional adjustments to programs at Fermi designed to ensure concerns of this or any other nature are appropriately addressed. The adjustments include:

1. Changes to the Corrective Action Program which permits anyone to write a Deviation Event Report (DER) on any issue that is adverse to quality or safety. The process is designed to objectively evaluate the information of concern and ensure that corrective action. if necessary, is accomplished and documented.
2. Included within the Corrective Action Program is the provision for DERs to be submitted anonymously to the Plant Safety organization. " Anonymous" DERs must be dispositioned in the same mancer as other DERs.

3 Senior management has initiated rariodic meetings with groups of employes to open lines of commurication and listen to concerns and ideas.

4. Detroit Edison initiated a Human Performance Evaluation System (HPES) program. The program is-designed to systematically l' understand and resolve occurrences such that quality is not l Impacted, and programs and procedures are modified to address.

concerns of employes as appropriate. Site personnel view the HPES coordinator as performing a role similar to QA and have on j occasion contacted him with concerns.

l 5 Wide dissecination of the content of this Notice of Violation was l nado. The-Fermi 2 site " Management Update," which is a daily publication distributed site-wide to highlight key plant activities and issues,-discussed the citation and tne Senior Vice President-Nuclear Generation reminded personnel at that time that the individual who filed the complaint remains at the plant and that the employe is not to be discriminated against due to the action.

Enclosure to l NRC-92-0128 Page 4

6. Detroit Edison offers employes and workers leaving the site the opportunity to provide job critique information or concerns relative to work at the Fermi 2 site. The information is normally collected during out-processing.

A review of records since the occurrence of this event disclose the following:

There have been 14 documented allegations made to the NRC by plant workers that Detroit Edison is aware of.

There have been 5 anonymous DER's initiated.

There have been 6 Ombudsman Concerns filed in 1992 to date.

Detroit Edison has a quality circle (PRIDE) program which is a mechanism to resolve nroblems and identify concerns amongst work groups. Although the focus of this program is work process improvement, nuclear safety concerns may be raised and are directed to the plant corrective action program for resolution.

Detroit Edison believes that its program is effectively identifying and addressing conceras and that the process is fundamentally sound.

It is recoinized that promptly and adequately addressing concerns minimizes the opportunity for such matters becoming employment discrimination issues.

CORRECTIVE STEPS THAT WILL BE TAKEN TO AVOID FURTHER VIOLATIONS:

To assess the need for further action in this area, Detroit Edison assembled a task force under the direction of the General Director-Nuclear Assurance. The task force conducted a review of existing programs available to site employes to address concerns in a -

timely manner. This review was initiatcd both as a result of this violation and as a response to recent events of a similar nature within the industry. As a result of the review the Company identified the following additional activities which would strengthen the program at Fermi 2:

1. A specific Nuclear Generation policy statement on concerns and their handling, including precautions with regards to protected activities, will be developed. The policy will include the principle that each employe has access to senior management for the purpose of discussing safety concerns without fear of reprisal. Employes will be made aware of this policy.

Responsibilities will be assigned for execution of this policy and the monitoring of its effectiveness.

2. Appropriate changes will be made to improve feedback regarding the disposition of concerns to the affected employe and others, as applicable, either directly through the supervisor or anonymously through the site Ombudsman, as appropriate.

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Enclosure to NRC-92-0128 Page 5 3 The employe out-processing critique will be strengthened to more specifically elicit information about concerns.

DATE WHEN PULL COMPLIANCE WILL BE ACHIEVED:

Detroit Edison is presently in compliance with 10 CFR 50.7 and the actions described will be fully implemented by December 31, 1992.

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