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NRC NEWS
U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION II
101 Marietta St., Suite 2900, Atlanta, GA 30323 | | CONTACT: |
Ken Clark (Phone: 404-331-5503, E-mail: kmc2@nrc.gov ) |
| Roger Hannah (Phone 404-331-7878, E-mail: rdh1@nrc.gov ) |
No. II-96-59 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: Ken Clark 404-331-5503 July 10, 1996
Roger Hannah 404-331-7878
NRC STAFF PROPOSES $500,000 IN CIVIL PENALTIES
AGAINST CRYSTAL RIVER NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has proposed a total of
$500,000 in civil penalties against Florida Power Corporation for alleged
violations of NRC requirements at the Crystal River nuclear power plant near
Crystal River, Florida.
Although the violations did not result in any actual impact on public
health and safety, they did raise significant regulatory concerns related
to ineffective management oversight and followup of operator concerns and
operational activities. The NRC said the company failed to ensure that the
engineering department promptly and accurately addressed operator concerns,
and that the company demonstrated inadequate corrective action.
The NRC also said company managers appeared insensitive to safety
concerns and did not aggressively pursue them; that engineers overlooked
basic scientific principles and produced inaccurate analyses; and
investigations failed to identify important case facts and underlying root
causes. The violations were found during inspections and investigations
stemming from events in September 1994.
NRC officials said on two occasions in September 1994, a crew of
licensed operators at the Crystal River plant adjusted make-up tank pressure
and level to collect technical information to determine whether an operating
procedure relating to that tank was accurate. That make-up tank contains
water that is pumped directly into the reactor coolant system.
The actions taken by the operators were not required by plant
conditions and the operators asserted that the motivation for the
unauthorized tests was to resolve a safety concern they had been pursuing
for several months with plant operations management, engineering and the
NRC. However, the tests were not described in the plant's Safety Analysis
Report, and there was no written safety evaluation to demonstrate that the
tests did not involve an unreviewed safety question. In addition, as a
result of the tests, the licensee determined the facility had been operated
outside its design limits.
The company has 30 days from receipt of the Notice of Violation to
either pay the fine or to protest its imposition.
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