ML20149M238

Discusses Page B1 of Hartford Courant Re Investigator to Look Into NRC Attitude

ML20149M238
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Site:	Millstone
Issue date:	10/26/1996
From:	Blanch P AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED
To:	NRC
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References
NUDOCS 9612130166
Download: ML20149M238 (2)

Text

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l From: PAUL M. BLANCH <PMBLANCH@ix.netcom.com>

To: WND2.WNP3(jaz,awd,jnh),WND).WNP2(hjm,ded),TWD1.TWP...

Date: 10/26/96 4:36am

Subject:

Page B1 Hartford Courant Ernie: ,

I couldn't have said it better myself. j Investigator to look into NRC attitude By MICHAEL REMEZ.

This story ran in the Courant October 26, 1996 i WASHINGTON - Independent investigators at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission want to know if the agency's staff has truly changed its approach to whistle-blowers at the Millstone plants in Waterford, Conn.

The inspector general's office has launched an investigation into comments made by a top official in the agency's Northeast region that appear to show low regard for concerns raised by whistle-blowers.  !

George A. Mulley, deputy assistant inspector general, said Friday his office wants to determine whether the attitudes l expressed reflect one person, the region or are more pervasive. He said the investigation also will look into how the l transcripted interviews were made public before the final report. '

The statements by Eugene Kelly, chief of systems engineering for the regional office, appear in an interview done for the just-completed internal investigation into the way the agency and Northeast Utilities dealt with safety complaints at the three Waterford plants for the past decade.

Kelly discounted complaints that the agency had been unresponsive to whistle-blowers, and labeled one prominent NU whistle-blower - his name blacked out of the transcript - as ' 'sel fishly motivated.

Thursday, the commission issued a candid and highly critical report that found, in part, that regulators had mishandled safety complaints at the plants, viewed whistle-blowers as a burden" and were generally unqualified to respond to '

complaints of harassment.

The report also criticized the unhealthy work environment' at the Millstone plants, which the authors concluded did not tolerate dissenting views.

NU was ordered to hire an independent third party to oversee a revamping of its employee-concerns program before any of the three plants can be restarted. All three are on the agency's watch 9612130166 961210 PDR ORG NRRA PDR

list of troubled plants and have been off-line since March because of safety concerns.  :

NU issued a statement saying it was making progress in handling employee concerns and it welcomed any further positive developments.in that area.

In anticipation of the report's release, The Courant Sunday quoted from transcripts - including Kelly's - obtained from the agency's public document room in Washington. Kelly fleshed out his views in a telephone initerview.

Wednesday, Ernt:st Hadley, attorney for several prominent Millstone whistle-blowers, requested the new investigation. He complained that Kelly's comments show how the agency contributes to a stifling of alternative views at nuclear power plants

- what is known as a chilling effect."

The real chilling effect, Hadley wrote to Mulley, comes not from the utilities that engage in harassment, intimidation and discrimination, but from NRC staff who give the utilities carte blanche to engage in such activities with impunity.

Friday, Hadley said the agency has not changed. He said the commission should be subjected to the same requirement it imposed on NU and a third party should be brought in to oversee its system for dealing with nuclear power whistle-blowers. )

If it's good medicine, pass it around,' Hadley said.

In his telephone interview last week, Kelly attributed many of the problems at the Millstone plants to management's inability to relate to its employees. Mechanical or procedural problems that may have been present for years were exploited by 1 certain employees who became disenchanted or believed they were wronged, l he said.  !

A lot of complaints were coming from just a few people,' Kelly said. 1

They may have been walking around, for years, feeling fine. But if things go to hell, you start to lay off people, cut costs, that sort of thing, people suddenly start talking in ways you never heard them talk before.

Kelly could not be reached for additional comment Friday Paul M. Blanch Energy Consultant 135 Hyde Rd.

West Hartford CT 06117 Voice 860-236-0326 Fax 860-232-9350 4

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