No: II-96-104
Contact: Ken Clark or Roger Hannah
December 17, 1996
Telephone: (404) 331-5503 or 331-7878
NRC STAFF TO HOLD PREDECISIONAL ENFORCEMENT CONFERENCE
TO DISCUSS VOGTLE EQUIPMENT CONCERNS WITH GEORGIA POWER COMPANY
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has scheduled a predecisional enforcement
conference with Georgia Power Company on December 19 at 10:00 a.m. in the NRC Atlanta
regional office to discuss apparent violations of NRC requirements at the Vogtle nuclear
power plant. The conference is open to observation by members of the public and the press.
An NRC inspection, completed at the Vogtle plant on November 9, listed an apparent
violation based upon information identified by a Georgia Power engineering evaluation which
determined that a Unit 1 safety injection pump could have been unable to perform its intended
safety function during a major accident because its motor bearings could fail. Other safety
injection pumps would be available to mitigate the effects of such an accident.
The conference will be begin at 10:00 a.m. in the NRC's Atlanta regional office, located at
101 Marietta Street, N.W.
NRC officials said the decision to hold an enforcement conference does not mean that a
determination has been made that a violation has occurred or that enforcement action will be
taken. The purpose of the conference is to discuss the apparent violations, their causes and
safety significance, to provide the licensee with an opportunity to point out any errors that
may have been made in the NRC inspection report and to outline proposed corrective actions.
No decision on the apparent violations or any contemplated enforcement action, such as a
civil penalty, will be made at this conference. Those decisions will be made by senior NRC
officials at a later time.
The meeting is between the NRC and Georgia Power Company, but NRC officials will be
available at its conclusion to answer questions from interested observers.
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