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NRC NEWS
U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION III
801 Warrenville Road, Lisle IL 60532 |
| CONTACT: |
Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663/e-mail: rjs2@nrc.gov |
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Angela Greenman (630) 829-9662/e-mail: opa3@nrc.gov |
NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT: RIII-96-49 August 27, 1996
CONTACT: Jan Strasma 630/829-9663
Angela Dauginas 630/829-9662
E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov
NRC STAFF PROPOSES $50,000 FINE AGAINST COMMONWEALTH EDISON CO.
FOR VIOLATIONS OF NRC REQUIREMENTS AT ZION NUCLEAR STATION
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has proposed a $50,000 fine against
Commonwealth Edison Company for a series of violations of NRC regulations occurring at
the Zion Nuclear Power Station from February through May.
The two-reactor Zion Station is located at Zion, Illinois.
NRC Regional Administrator A. Bill Beach said, in notifying the utility of the fine:
"These violations are of concern because operators made fundamental errors which
demonstrated insufficient attention to detail during the performance of required duties, and the
corrective actions to prevent recurrence were either ineffective or untimely."
He added, "A contributing factor to these errors was the absence of supervision in the
field to monitor operations and maintenance personnel and provide guidance during the
performance of safety-related activities."
Two violations occurred during the testing of emergency diesel generators in May.
During one test, an operator adjusted the wrong control, causing the diesel generator to shut
down. In the other test, operators did not make sure all auxiliary equipment was available and
operated the diesel generator for 20 minutes without cooling water flow. The diesel generator
was not damaged.
Another operator error occurred when a tank inside the plant overflowed because
valves were not properly aligned. About 560 gallons of water containing small amounts of
radioactive contamination spilled on the floor of the auxiliary building.
In the fourth instance, the timing system of one emergency core cooling system was
taken out of service for maintenance while the timing system of the parallel system was out of
service for maintenance. The timing systems control the starting of the emergency core
cooling system if it were needed.
In the fifth violation, the company was cited for several instances of failing to
complete the required planning and review prior to undertaking maintenance on safety
equipment while the plant was in operation.
The company has until September 24 to pay the fine or to protest it. If the fine is
protested and subsequently imposed by the NRC staff, the utility may request a hearing.
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Nuclear Regulatory Commission news announcements are issued by fax and by internet e-mail. If you wish to receive Region III news releases by e-mail, send a message to
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DC 20555.
News releases are also available on the NRC's internet web site at the address:
http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/opafuncdesc.html.
A listing of NRC staff meetings with licensees and other organizations which are open to the
public is available through a computer online system (1-800/952-9676), the Fedworld online
system (1-800/303-9672), and the NRC's internet web site: http://www.nrc.gov. A
recorded listing of meetings may be heard by calling 1-800/952-9674.
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