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I-97-106 August 15, 1997
FOR ALLEGED VIOLATIONS AT GINNA
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has cited Rochester Gas and Electric Company for two alleged violations of NRC security requirements at the R.E. Ginna nuclear plant near Rochester, N.Y. The staff has proposed a $55,000 fine.
An NRC inspection was conducted on May 21-30 to review Ginna's security program. Based on that inspection and information gathered at a subsequent predecisional enforcement conference in the NRC's Region I office on August 5, the NRC staff has determined two alleged violations of NRC requirements occurred, each involving inadequacies in the vehicle barriers used to prevent the malicious use of a vehicle to gain entry to the protected and vital areas. The design is intended to prevent adversaries from transporting personnel and their hand-carried equipment by vehicle near the vital areas. It is also intended to preclude the use of a land vehicle bomb.
The first alleged violation is based on the discovery of three openings in the barrier large enough for a vehicle to get through. The second alleged violation involved the use of nylon ties to secure approximately 1200 feet of barrier cables to the posts. These nylon ties could be removed with hand-held tools, defeating their ability to withstand a vehicle's attempt to penetrate the barrier.
In a letter to RG&E, NRC Region I Administrator Hubert J. Miller said, "The NRC is particularly concerned that these conditions were not identified by your staff when the barrier was designed and installed, nor were they identified by your security staff during routine tours of the facility."
Mr. Miller also recognized that the company took prompt and comprehensive corrective actions, once the alleged violations were identified, including installing additional barriers in the areas where openings existed.
The company has 30 days either to pay the proposed fine or to request in writing that all or part of the penalty be withdrawn.
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