IR 05000327/2015008
| ML15068A132 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Sequoyah  |
| Issue date: | 03/09/2015 |
| From: | McCree V M Region 2 Administrator |
| To: | Shea J W Tennessee Valley Authority |
| References | |
| EA-14-003, OI 2-2013-006 | |
| Download: ML15068A132 (9) | |
Text
March 9, 2015
EA-14-003 Mr. JosephVice President, Nuclear Licensing Tennessee Valley Authority 1101 Market Street, LP 3D-C Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801
SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION AND PROPOSED IMPOSITION OF CIVIL PENALTY- $70,000 (NRC INSPECTION REPORT NO. 05000327/2015008, 05000328/2015008 AND INVESTIGATION REPORT NO. 2-2013-006, SEQUOYAH NUCLEAR PLANT)
Dear Mr. Shea:
This refers to an investigation initially completed on December 19, 2013, and then supplemented on May 12, 2014, by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Office of Investigations (OI) at Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) Sequoyah Nuclear Plant (Sequoyah), as described in NRC Inspection Reports 05000327/2014008 and 05000328/2014008 dated December 29, 2014.
The purpose of the investigation was to determine whether TVA's contract fire watch personnel employed at Sequoyah deliberately failed to conduct fire watches required by NRC regulations and whether documentation of fire watches was falsified, as well as whether there was any managerial influence or involvement in the falsification. The inspection report documented the identification of two apparent violations, involving missed fire watches and subsequent falsification of procedurally required paperwork, which occurred in October and November of 2012. Both apparent violations were considered for escalated enforcement in accordance with the NRC's Enforcement Policy.
In the letter transmitting the inspection report, we provided you the opportunity to address the apparent violations identified in the report by either attending a pre-decisional enforcement conference, providing a written response before we made our final enforcement decision, or requesting Alternative Dispute Resolution. In a letter dated January 23, 2015, you provided a response to the apparent violations. In your response, you accepted the violations as described in the inspection report, including the willful aspects, and provided details of your corrective actions to preclude recurrence.
Based on the information developed during the investigation and the information that you provided in your response of January 23, 2015, the NRC has concluded that two violations of NRC requirements occurred. These violations are cited in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice) and the circumstances surrounding them are described in detail in the subject inspection report. To summarize, the first violation involved contract laborers, including fourforemen, who deliberately failed to conduct compensatory hourly fire watches as required by TVA Procedure NPG-SPP-18.4.6, Control of Fire Protection Impairments, Revision 1, in October and November of 2012. These hourly fire watches were required as compensatory measures for fire protection equipment that was out of service at that time. In addition, the NRC found that four foremen deliberately failed to exercise supervisory duties as required by Appendix A to NPG-SPP-18.4.6.
The second violation involved the subsequent falsification of procedurally required forms (TVA Procedure NPG-SPP-18.4.6-2) during the same time frame, when individuals initialed that fire watches were performed with knowledge that watches had, in fact, not been performed. These actions represented a violation of 10 CFR 50.9(a), Completeness and accuracy of information, which states that information required to be maintained shall be complete and accurate in all material respects.
Based on the NRC's review, the violations did not result in any actual consequences. In this case, an actual fire did not occur in the fire zones in question during the time frame the fire watches were missed. The potential consequences of multiple missed fire watches, by numerous contract personnel, is a concern to the NRC. Fire watches are conducted as a compensatory measure for fire protection equipment or features that are out of service, and among other purposes, serve to identify unapproved fire loadings or undesirable plant conditions, and may provide early detection or mitigation of a fire. Although the NRC recognizes that other fire protection plan features serve as defense in depth to provide early detection or mitigation of fires, routine fire watches are an important part of the overall fire protection plan strategy to reduce the risk and consequences of a fire at the facility.
In addition to the importance of fire watches, of greater concern to the NRC is the fact that multiple contract personnel, including several foremen, conspired and/or engaged in deliberate misconduct such that fire watches were not performed as required, and accompanying paperwork was falsified. Furthermore, in this case, TVA management failed to provide necessary management oversight of these contractor personnel, and failed to instill a culture of commitment to procedural compliance. As discussed in the NRC Enforcement Policy, willful violations are of particular concern because the NRC's regulatory program is based on licensees and their contractors, employees, and agents acting with integrity and communicating with candor. Based on the above and in light of the interrelation of the two violations, the NRC has concluded that the significance of the two violations should be characterized as a Severity Level III problem. In accordance with the Enforcement Policy, a base civil penalty in the amount of $ 70,000 is considered for a Severity Level III problem. Because your facility has been the subject of escalated enforcement actions within the last 2 years1 and because the violations were willful, the NRC considered whether credit was warranted for Identification and Corrective Action in accordance with the civil penalty assessment process in Section 2.3.4 of the Enforcement Policy. The issue involving missed fire watches and subsequent falsification during the October and 1 On June 4, 2013 (EA-13-023) a SLIII violation of 10 CFR 50.72 was issued (ADAMS Accession No. ML13155A560)November 2012 timeframe was brought to the attention of NRC staff prior to TVA's knowledge and involvement, and as such, credit is not warranted for the factor of Identification. Regarding the factor of Corrective Action, TVA's letter of January 23, 2015, identified a number of actions, including but not limited to: (1) suspension of unescorted access for the six individuals identified; (2) development and implementation of a Fire Watch/Route Accountability Log to be maintained by the Sequoyah Fire Operations Foreman; (3) establishment of a pre-job brief each shift to ensure applicable fire watches (FW) and fire routes are performed in an accountable manner; (4) revision to Sequoyah processes to conduct two observations of FW duties each week and incorporated requirements for the Fire Watch/Route Accountability Log and shift briefings; and (5) the conduct of briefings for FW implementing organizations to ensure accountability of FW. Based on the above, credit is warranted for the factor of Corrective Action. Therefore, to emphasize the importance of prompt identification of violations, the importance of TVA's oversight of its fire protection plan implementation, and in recognition of the willful aspects of the violations, I have been authorized, after consultation with the Director, Office of Enforcement, to issue the enclosed Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty (Notice), in the base amount of $70,000 for the Severity Level III problem. The NRC plans to conduct a followup inspection in accordance with Inspection Procedure 92702, "Followup on Traditional Enforcement Actions Including Violations, Deviations, Confirmatory Action Letters, Confirmatory Orders, and Alternative Dispute Resolution Confirmatory Orders." The followup inspection will verify that adequate corrective actions have been implemented, the root cause has been identified, generic implications have been addressed, and that your programs and practices have been appropriately enhanced to prevent recurrence. The NRC requests that your staff provide notification of your readiness for the NRC to conduct the traditional enforcement followup inspection to review the actions taken to address the Severity Level III violation.
The NRC has concluded that information regarding: (1) the reason for the violations; (2) the corrective steps that have been taken and the results achieved; and (3) the corrective steps that will be taken; and (4) the date when full compliance was achieved is already adequately addressed on the docket in TVA's letter dated January 23, 2015. Therefore, you are not required to respond to this letter unless the description therein does not accurately reflect your corrective actions or your position. In that case, or if you choose to provide additional information, you should follow the instructions specified in the enclosed Notice.
For administrative purposes, this letter is issued as NRC Inspection Report 05000327/2015008 and 05000328/2015008. Apparent Violations (AV) 05000327,05000328/2014008-01, "Failure to Implement Proper Control of Fire Protection Impairments," and AV 05000327,05000328/2014008-02, "Failure to Maintain Complete and Accurate Records of Fire Watches," have been re-designated as Violation 05000327, 328/2015008-01, "Problem Implementing Fire Protection Program Requirements."In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure," a copy of this letter and its enclosures will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the NRC's document system (ADAMS), accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. The NRC also includes significant enforcement actions on its Web site at (http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/enforcement/actions/).
Sincerely,/RA/ Victor M. McCree Regional Administrator Docket Nos.: 50-327, 50-328 License Nos.: DPR- 77, DPR-79
Enclosure:
Notice of Violation cc: Distribution via Listserv