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NRC NEWS
U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION IV
1450 Maria Lane, Walnut Creek, CA 94596 |
| CONTACT: |
Mark Hammond (510) 975-0254/E-mail: mfh2@nrc.gov |
CONTACT: Mark Hammond FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Office: (510) 975-0254 July 16, 1996
Home: (415) 674-1024 RIV-96-45
Pager: (800) 916-4952
NRC TO DISCUSS SOUTH TEXAS PROJECT
WORKER DISCRIMINATION CASES WITH RAYTHEON AND HL&P
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold a predecisional
enforcement conference with officials of Raytheon Co. and Houston
Lighting & Power Co. to discuss apparent violations of NRC requirements
barring discrimination against workers who raise safety concerns.
The conference will begin at 10 a.m. on Friday, July 19, at NRC
Region IV offices in Arlington, Texas. HL&p operates the South Texas
Project nuclear power plant near Bay City, Texas. Raytheon is a
contractor to HL&p at South Texas Project. The meeting will be open to
the public for observation; NRC officials will be available afterwards
for questions.
The meeting is being held to discuss two apparent violations based
on the results of U.S. Department of Labor proceedings. The first
involves Thomas H. Smith, then an employee of Ebasco Services, Inc. (The
Ebasco division with contracts at STP was bought by Raytheon). The
Secretary of Labor ruled March 13 that Mr. Smith was subjected to a
hostile work environment in 1991 in retaliation for raising concerns
about scaffolding safety at the plant.
The second violation involves Earl V. Keene, an employee of
Raytheon Engineers and Constructors. A Department of Labor administrative
law judge ruled on Sept. 29, 1995, that Mr. Keene was subjected to
discriminatory treatment in 1994 after he raised concerns about signing
off for electrical maintenance work he did not perform.
The decision to hold a predecisional enforcement conference does
not mean that NRC has made a final determination that violations did
occur or that enforcement action, such as a monetary fine, will be taken.
The purpose is to discuss the apparent violations, their causes and
safety significance, and to provide HL&p and Raytheon an opportunity to
present corrective actions that have been taken.
No decision on the apparent violations or any enforcement action
will be made at the conference. Those decisions will be made later by
senior NRC officials.
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