BSEP-97-0083, Requests Exemption Per 10CFR26.6,allowing for Specific CP&L Employee,Blood Analysis as Alternative to Urinanalysis for FFD Evaluation Process Required by 10CFR26.W/medical Review Officer Evaluation & List of Commitments

Requests Exemption Per 10CFR26.6,allowing for Specific CP&L Employee,Blood Analysis as Alternative to Urinanalysis for FFD Evaluation Process Required by 10CFR26.W/medical Review Officer Evaluation & List of Commitments

ML20141F003
Person / Time
Site:	Brunswick
Issue date:	05/15/1997
From:	Hinnant C CAROLINA POWER & LIGHT CO.
To:	NRC OFFICE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IRM)
References
BSEP-97-0083, BSEP-97-83, NUDOCS 9705210177
Download: ML20141F003 (6)

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Carolina Power & Light Company C. S. Hinnant l PO Box 10429 Vice President Seuthport, NC 28461-0429 Brunswick Steam Electric Plant SERIAL: BSEP 97-0083 10 CFR 26.6 MAY 15.1997 U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ATTN: Document Control Desk Washington, DC 20555 BRUNSWICK STEAM ELECTRIC PLANT, UNIT NOS.1 AND 2 .

DOCKET NOS. 50-325 AND 50-324/ LICENSE NOS. DPR-71 AND DPR-62 EXEMPTION TO SUPPORT ALTERNATIVE FITNESS-FOR-DUTY EVALUATION Gentlemen:

Carolina Power & Light (CP&L) Company requests an exemption per 10 CFR 26.6 that will ,

allow for a specific CP&L employee, a blood analysis as an alternative to urinalysis for the.

fitness-for-duty (FFD) evaluation process required by 10 CFR 26. Based on the inability to comply with the urinalysis requirements of 10 CFR 26, the employee's unescorted access to the  !

sites' respective protected areas has been suspended. in this case, the CP&L employee has a l l

long-standing and permanent medical condition which renders the individual unable to provide a urine specimen consistent with FFD guidelines. j i

The indrcidual has been selected for random drug and alcohol testing in the past, and on each j occasion the employee volunteered for and readily provided, a blood specimen for chemical j analysis. These blood test results were declared negative (i.e., testing by the FFD program  !

revealed no detectable levels of prohibited substances). The negative blood test results were j inappropriately used as the basis to grant the employee unescorted access to the sites' protected areas.

The NRC has recognized the potential use of blood analysis as an attemative to urinalysis. l Specifically, on May 9,1996, the NRC published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register entitled " Modifications to Fitness-For-Duty Program Requirements." In this rulemaking, the NRC is proposing a new paragraph 26.24(i) to address cases where an individual has a medical condition that makes collection of breath, blood, or urine specimens difficult or hazardous. The proposed paragraph 26.24(i) states the following:

(i) If an individual has a medical condition that makes collection of breath, blood, or urine specimens difficult or hazardous, the MRO, in consultation with the treating or personal physician, may authorize an attemate evaluation process, tailored to the individual case, for determining whether a violation of fitness-for-duty policy has I occurred, provided this process includes measures to prevent subversion and can k, achieve results comparable to those produced by urinalysis for illegal drugs and ')M l

breath analysis for alcohol.

Consistent with paragraph 26.24(i) of the proposed rule change to 10 CFR 26, CP&L proposes an alternate evaluation process for this individual employee. A certified Medical Review Officer 9705210177 970515

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. NRC Document Control Desk-  !

BSEP 97-0083 / Page 2 10 CFR 26.6 i 4

(MRO) has performed an evaluation of the' employee's medical condition and concurs that there  !

is a medical reason for the individual's inability to produce a urine specimen that complies with  ;

the urinalysis requirements of 10 CFR 26. Information related to the identity of the individual

- has been edited from the medical evaluation (Enclosure 1) in order to protect the individual's  !

personal privacy. In lieu of a urine specimen, a blood specimen will be collected and processed ,

i in accordance with 10 CFR 26, Appendix A, Section 2.4, as applicable. .

i l CP&L believes blood specimen analysis achieves FFD evaluation results comparable to those l r

produced by urinalysis for illegal drugs. CP&L is aware of the limitations present with analyzing

'a blood specimen (a shorter half-life limits detection and no correlation exists to the thresholds i

' established for urinalysis), but believes that this attemate evaluation process in conjunction with j I

, the current Continual Behavioral Observation Program, which the individual has been and

. continues to be subject to, provides reasonable assurance that a violation of FFD program  ;

+: would be detected. Therefore, CP&L submits this exemption request for approval.

Please refer any questions regarding this submittal to Mr. Keith Jury, Manager - Regulatory j

. Affairs, at (910) 457-2783.  ;

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- Sincerely, i  !

, C. S. Hinnant l a GMT/gmt j l

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Enclosures:

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1. Medical Review Officer Evaluation l l

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2. List of Commitments j l

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- NRC Document' Control Desk i- i BSEP 97-0083 / Page 3 10 CFR 26.6 '  ;

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. U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region 11 ,

ATTN.:' Mr. Luis A. Reyes, Regional Administrator 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Suite 23T85 '

-~ Atlanta, GA 30303 .t i

Mr. C. A. Patterson NRC Senior Resident inspector - Brunswick Units 1 and 2:

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission i ATTN.: Mr. David C. Trimble, Jr. (Mail Stop OWFN 14H22)

.11555 Rockville Pike j, Rockville, MD 20852-2738 -  :

i The Honorable J. A. Sanford . l Chairman - North Carolina Utilities Commission -  ;

- P.O. Box 29510 '-

Raleigh, NC 27626-0510 [

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- ENCLOSURE 1-BRUNSWICK STEAM ELECTRIC PLANT, UNIT NOS 1 AND 2 l DOCKET NOS. 50-325 AND 50-324/ LICENSE NOS. DPR-71 AND DPR-62 EXEMPTION TO SUPPORT ALTERNATIVE FITNESS-FOR-DUTY EVALUATION ]

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MEDICAL REVIEW OFFICER EVALUATION ,

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I January 8, 1997

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Ms. Arlene Graves FAX: 546-6567

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Fitness for Duty Program Administrator Carolina Power & Light PO Box 1551 Raleigh, NC 27602 Re: 6 FITNESS FOR DUTY j MR# 63570 l1 SSN: 6

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Dear Ms. Graves:

Thank you for the opportunity to perform a " medical" evaluation on M N , a CP&L employee 6 It is my opinion, as a certified medical review officer, that 6 has a legitimate medical reason for his inability to produce a urine specimen for forensic. drug-screen testing as required under NRC Fitness for Duty

. Guidelines. His condition is long-standing and is permanent, but will l in no other way affect his on-the-job performance.

I appreciate the opportunity to assist in this matter.

Sincer.a.lys DJ C atlan u. .rtsen, MD , MRO-C Medical Director Park Occupational Medicine CJL:h]m/MSE I.

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ENCLOSURE 2 BRUNSWICK STEAM ELECTRIC PLANT, UN!T NOS.1 AND 2 DOCKET NOS. 50-325 AND 50-324/ LICENSE NOS. DPR-71 AND DPR-62 EXEMPTION TO SUPPORT ALTERNATIVE FITNESS-FOR-DUTY EVALUATION LIST OF COMMITMENTS The following table identifies those actions committed to by Carolina Power & Light Company in J this document. Any other actions discussed in the submittal represent intended or planned actions by Carolina Power & Light Company. They are described to the NRC for the NRC's information and are not regulatory commitments. Please notify the Manager-Regulatory Affairs at the Brunswick Nuclear Plant of any questions regarding this document or any associated regulatory commitments. .

Commitment Committed date or outage f

After NRC approval of this exemption request, CP&L's fitness-for-duty evaluation process will be modified to support the conditions of the exemption.

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