IR 05000202/2010001
| ML22258A099 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 03001250, 05000202 |
| Issue date: | 09/15/2022 |
| From: | Blake Welling Decommissioning, ISFSI, and Reactor Health Physics Branch |
| To: | Edwards J Hospital of Central Connecticut |
| References | |
| EA-22-050, OI-2021-010 2021-001, IR 2021010 | |
| Download: ML22258A099 (4) | |
Text
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
REGION I
475 Allendale Road, Suite 102 KING OF PRUSSIA, PA 19406-1415 September 15, 2022 EA-22-050 Jeanette Edwards, VP Operations The Hospital of Central Connecticut 100 Grand Street New Britain, CT 06050 SUBJECT: THE HOSPITAL OF CENTRAL CONNECTICUT (HOCC) - NRC INSPECTION REPORT 03001250/2021001 AND NRC OFFICE OF INVESTIGATIONS REPORT NO. 1-2021-010
Dear Ms. Edwards:
On March 5, 2021, Shawn Seeley and Robert Gallaghar, inspectors of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), conducted a routine announced inspection remotely, with an on-site inspection for the safety and security portions from March 21-23, 2021, and continued in-office review through August 19, 2022. This inspection was performed under your NRC License No.
06-02388-01.
During this inspection, the NRC staff examined activities conducted under your license related to public health and safety. Additionally, the staff reviewed your compliance with the NRCs rules and regulations as well as the conditions of your license. Within these areas, the inspection consisted of selected examination of procedures and representative records, observations of activities and interviews with personnel.
Based on the results of the inspection, apparent violations of NRC requirements were identified.
The violations were of a security-related nature; therefore, the details of the violations, as well as the corrective actions that have since been taken to restore compliance with regulatory requirements, are discussed in the non-public enclosure.
Additionally, the NRC Office of Investigations (OI), initiated an investigation (Case No. 1-2021-010)
to determine whether your staff deliberately committed security-related violations. Based upon documentary and testimonial evidence developed during the OI investigation, the NRC did not substantiate that the actions of your employees were deliberate.
The apparent violations are being considered for escalated enforcement in accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy. The current Enforcement Policy is included on the NRCs Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/enforcement/enforce-pol.html. The circumstances surrounding the apparent violations were discussed with you and additional members of your staff telephonically during the final exit meeting on August 19, 2022. The enclosed inspection report presents the findings of this inspection.
Since the NRC has not made a final determination in this matter, a Notice of Violation is not being issued at this time. Please be advised that the number and characterization of the apparent violations described in the enclosed inspection report may change as a result of further review. You will be advised by separate correspondence of the results of our deliberations on this matter. The circumstances surrounding the apparent violations, the significance of the issues, and the need for lasting and effective corrective actions were discussed with you during the August 19, 2022, telephone call. As a result, it may not be necessary to conduct a pre-decisional enforcement conference in order to enable the NRC to make an enforcement decision. In addition, since your facility has not been the subject of escalated enforcement actions within the last two inspections, and based on our understanding of your corrective action, a civil penalty may not be warranted in accordance with Section 2.3.4 of the Enforcement Policy.
Before the NRC makes its enforcement decision regarding the apparent violations, we are providing you an opportunity to (1) respond to the apparent violations addressed in this inspection report within 30 days of the date of this letter or (2) request a Pre-decisional Enforcement Conference (PEC). If a PEC is held, it will be closed to public observation because it would involve security-related information; however, the time and date of the PEC would be publicly announced. 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 An Apparent Violation in NRC Inspection Report 03001250/2021001; EA-22-050 and should include for each 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; (3) the corrective steps that will be taken; and (4) the date when full compliance will be achieved. Your response may reference or include previously docketed correspondence if the correspondence adequately addresses the required response. Additionally, your response should be sent to the NRCs Document Control Center, with a copy mailed to Regional Administrator, NRC Region I, 475 Allendale Road, Suite 102, King of Prussia, PA 19406, within 30 days of the date of this letter. If an adequate response is not received within the time specified or an extension of time has not been granted by the NRC, the NRC will proceed with its enforcement decision or schedule a PEC.
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. In presenting your corrective action, you should be aware that the promptness and comprehensiveness of your actions will be considered in assessing any civil penalty for the apparent violations. The guidance in the enclosed excerpt from NRC Information Notice 96-28, Suggested Guidance Relating to Development and Implementation of Corrective Action, may be helpful.
Please contact Ms. DeFrancisco at anne.defrancisco@nrc.gov within 10 days of the date of this letter to notify the NRC which of the above options you choose. If you do not contact the NRC within the time specified, and an extension of time has not been granted by the NRC, the NRC will proceed with its enforcement decision.
Please note that final NRC investigation documents, such as the OI report described above, may be made available to the public under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) subject to redaction of information appropriate under the FOIA. Requests under the FOIA should be made in accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 9.23, Requests for Records. Additional information is available on the NRC website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/foia/foia-privacy.html.
However, the material enclosed herewith contains Security-Related Information in accordance with 10 CFR 2.390(d)(1) and its disclosure to unauthorized individuals could present a security vulnerability. Therefore, the material in the enclosure will not be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. If Security Related Information is necessary to provide an acceptable response, please mark your entire response Security-Related Information in accordance with 10 CFR 2.390(d)(1) and follow the instructions for withholding in 10 CFR 2.390(b)(1). In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390(b)(1)(ii), the NRC is waiving the affidavit requirements for your response.]
If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact Anne DeFrancisco of my staff at anne.defrancisco@nrc.gov.
Sincerely, Digitally signed by Blake Blake D. D. Welling Welling Date: 2022.09.15 16:06:58 -04'00'
Blake Welling, Director Division of Radiological Safety and Security Region I Docket No. 030-01250 License No. 06-02388-01 Enclosures:
1. Inspection Report No. 03001250/2021001 (non-public)
2. NRC Information Notice 96-28 cc w/Encl:
Mohammed Aljallad, Ph.D., RSO State of Connecticut ML22258A099 Cvr Ltr & Encl: Non-Publicly Available Sensitive A.3.
ADAMS ACCESSION NUMBER: ML22258A097 OFFICE RI:DRSS RI:DRSS RI:DRSS RI:ORA NAME SSeeley RGallaghar ADeFrancisco MMcLaughlin DATE 9/9/22 9/1/22 8/31/22 8/31/22 OFFICE OE RI:DRSS NAME LSreenivas BWelling DATE 9/13 /22 9/15/22