Press Release-II-10-082, NRC Issues Confirmatory Order to Areva Richland Facility

Press Release-II-10-082: NRC Issues Confirmatory Order to Areva Richland Facility

ML103370105
Person / Time
Issue date:	12/03/2010
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region II
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Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-II-10-082
Download: ML103370105 (1)

Text

NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region II 245 Peachtree Center Ave. NE, Suite 1200 Atlanta, GA 30303-1257 Web Site: www.nrc.gov No. II-10-082 December 3, 2010 CONTACT: Roger Hannah (404) 997-4417 E-mail: OPA2@nrc.gov Joey Ledford (404) 997-4416 NRC ISSUES CONFIRMATORY ORDER TO AREVA RICHLAND FACILITY The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a Confirmatory Order to AREVA NP, Inc., which operates a nuclear fuel processing facility in Richland, Wash. Under the terms of the order, the company has agreed to a series of corrective actions related to an employee falsifying transportation forms for an overseas shipment of low-enriched uranium.

The order is the result of an agreement reached under the NRCs Alternative Dispute Resolution process, which was requested by AREVA to address the violation associated with the improper shipment forms. ADR is a process using a neutral mediator with no decision-making authority to assist the parties in reaching an agreement.

In 2009, the NRCs Office of Investigations substantiated that an AREVA employee deliberately falsified United Kingdom Department for Transportation transit approval forms for overseas shipments of low-enriched uranium. In addition, the NRC investigation found that the employee also failed to follow the procedure for calculations associated with the shipments.

A mediation session with AREVA was held on Oct. 5 and a settlement was reached. The Confirmatory Order, issued Thursday, outlines a number of actions AREVA has agreed to take.

As part of the order, AREVA is required to document corrective actions and enhancements already completed or in progress, and to conduct a review within the next year to determine the effectiveness of those actions. The company also must conduct an independent safety culture assessment at its facilities, and develop additional corrective actions based on the assessment.

The company took disciplinary action against the employee involved in the incident and that employee is no longer employed at AREVA, Inc.

Copies of the Confirmatory Order will be posted on the NRC web site at www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/enforcement/actions.