At the conference,
SNC acknowledged the deliberate actions of the NSO and the circumstances that resulted in the violations as described in the NRCs letter of July 1, 2009.
SNC provided the results of its indepth investigation, including a detailed chronology of the incident, its response prior to and upon recognition of the condition of the NSO, root and contributing causes, corrective actions and enhancements to preclude recurrence.
SNC acknowledged the seriousness of the NSOs deliberate actions, but stated that the significance of this incident did not rise to the level of escalated enforcement for several reasons. To summarize its significance characterization,
SNC stated that additional armed responders were always onsite during the incident such that the minimum required security staffing levels were maintained. The NSO was unresponsive for a short duration (up to approximately 30 minutes based on
SNCs presentation).
SNC stated that the NSO provided insufficient cues to allow
FNP staff to identify the cause of the NSOs condition (i.e., illness or some other factor) during the majority of time the NSO was onsite.
SNC also stated that, as with all
SNC employees, the NSO had received training and had a clear understanding of its
Fitness for Duty (
FFD) policy, yet took actions to knowingly violate the policy and avoid detection by concealing alcohol in a water bottle. Based on the information developed during the investigation and the information provided at the conference, the NRC has determined that violations of NRC requirements occurred.One violation is cited in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice) and the circumstances surrounding it are described in detail in the subject inspection report. The cited violation involved Title 10 to the Code of Federal Regulations (10CFR), Part 73.55(f), which states in part that each guard, watchman or armed response individual on duty shall be capable of maintaining continuous communication with an individual in each continuously manned alarm station. On June 27, 2008, an NSO deliberately consumed alcohol prior to arriving for work at
FNP and while on site, for a period of time, the armed response individual was not capable of maintaining continuous communication with an individual in each continuously manned alarm station. In this case, the NSO was found by
SNC personnel in an unresponsive state and unavailable to perform his duties as required by
10 CFR 73.55(f). In this case, the violation discussed above did not result in any actual consequences because an actual security incident did not occur that necessitated action by the NSO. However,
FNPs security response capability was degraded for a period of time because of the condition of the NSO. In addition, the deliberate actions of the NSO in consuming alcohol within five hours of reporting to work, entering the facility with alcohol concealed in water bottles, and then consuming more alcohol while onsite during the performance of his duties to the point of becoming unresponsive, is egregious and demonstrates a complete lack of regard for NRC requirements, as well as
SNC policies and security procedures. Based on the underlying security significance, the deliberate actions of the NSO, and because the NRC holds licensees responsible for the actions of its employees, the NRC has concluded that the violation is appropriately characterized at
Severity Level III, in accordance with the NRC Enforcement
