NRC Action Number(s) and
Facility Name | Action Type
(Severity) &
Civil Penalty
(if any) | Date
Issued | Description |
EA-16-173
Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC, SC | ORDER | 08/09/2017 | On August 9, 2017, the NRC issued a Confirmatory Order to Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC to formalize commitments reached as part of an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mediation session involving violations at the Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility (CFFF). The NRC identified the following four Apparent Violations (AVs), all of which were considered for escalated enforcement in accordance with the NRC's Enforcement Policy: (1) failure to ensure criticality accident sequences remain highly unlikely, as required by Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 10 CFR 70.61(b); (2) failure to assure that under normal and credible abnormal conditions, all nuclear processes were subcritical including use of an approved margin of subcriticality, as required by 10 CFR 70.61(d); (3) failure to establish adequate management measures to ensure that items relied on for safety (IROFS) perform their function when needed, as required by 10 CFR 70.62(d); and (4) failure to make a one hour report, as required by Appendix A (a)(4) of 10 CFR Part 70. As part of the settlement agreement, Westinghouse agreed to take a number of actions in addition to those already completed. These additional actions include: (1) conduct an additional Nuclear Safety Culture survey; (2) implement improvements to reduce uranium carryover from the Calciner scrubbers; (3) implement additional design changes to reduce uranium carryover from filtration system; (4) develop and implement additional methods to monitor system parameters that are early indicators of an abnormal accumulation in the conversion area process off-gas scrubber from a process upset that could challenge the accumulation rate and/or criticality safety mass limits; and (5) develop and implement a criticality safety basis/IROFS database to help maintain the proper flow down of the safety basis into implementing documents. In recognition of these actions, the NRC agreed to refrain from proposing a civil penalty and issuing a Notice of Violation. |
EA-10-153
Westinghouse Electric Company - Commercial Nuclear Fuel Division, SC | NOV
(SL III) | 02/25/2011 | On February 25, 2011, a Notice of Violation was issued to Westinghouse Electric Company, Commercial Nuclear Fuel Division, for a Severity Level III problem which existed on and before July 23, 2010, involving three violations associated with the Integral Fuel Burnable Absorber (IFBA) Filter Press used in the waste water handling system. Specifically, the violations involved (1) the failure to establish double contingency for the IFBA filter press to protect against an inadvertent criticality as required by License Condition 6.1.1, (2) the failure to designate items relied on for safety (IROFS) to limit the risk of a high consequence event as required by 10CFR70.61(e), and (3) the failure to designate the passive engineered controls of the IFBA filter press as an IROFS as required by the license and license application based on the conclusion that the accident scenario was not credible. In addition, two Severity Level IV violations were issued involving the failure to establish adequate operating procedures for the filter press and the failure to make a change to facility equipment in accordance with approved procedures. |
EA-10-124
Westinghouse Electric Company, SC | NOVCP
(SL III)
$17,500 | 11/03/2010 | On November 3, 2010, a Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of a Civil Penalty in the amount of $17,500 was issued to Westinghouse Electric Company, Commercial Nuclear Fuel Division, for a Severity Level III problem involving two violations associated with a spill of uranium bearing ammoniated waste water inside the plant on January 25, 2010. Specifically, the violations involved (1) the failure to identify in the Integrated Safety Analysis (ISA) that a spill in the quarantine tank system could lead to an intermediate consequence event as required by 10CFR70.62(c)(1), and (2) the failure to designate items relied on for safety (IROFS) to limit the risk of an intermediate consequence event resulting from an overflow of the quarantine system as required by 10CFR70.61(e). In addition, two Severity Level IV violations involving failure to follow license condition requirements, and a Severity Level IV problem involving three violations associated with failure to follow Site Emergency Plan requirements were issued. |
EA-08-244
Westinghouse Electric Company, SC | ORDER | 08/6/2009 | On August 6, 2009, the NRC issued a Confirmatory Order (Effective Immediately) to Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC (WEC) – Commercial Nuclear Fuel Division to formalize commitments made as a result of an ADR mediation session. The commitments were made by WEC as part of a settlement agreement between WEC and the NRC regarding apparent violations of NRC requirements by a former contract foreman. The agreement resolves the apparent violations involving WEC's maintaining inaccurate records associated with employee training and testing of a ventilation system filter, an Item Relied On For Safety, which was identified during an NRC Office of Investigations (OI) investigation. WEC agreed to a number of corrective actions, including procedural revisions, improved management oversight of contractor activities, a review of the causes of the falsification issues, and incorporation of lessons learned into employee initial and annual refresher training. In consideration of these commitments, the NRC agreed to refrain from further enforcement action in this matter. |
EA-08-165
Westinghouse Electric Company, SC | NOV
(SL III) | 08/6/2008 | On August 6, 2008, a Notice of Violation was issued to Westinghouse Electric Company, Commercial Nuclear Fuel Division, for a Severity Level III problem involving three violations associated with the loss, on February 4, 2008, of sixteen sample vials of uranium hexafluoride. Specifically, the violations involved (1) the failure to properly document and control the transfer of sixteen sample vials of uranium hexafluoride from shipping and receiving to the chemistry laboratory as required by procedures, (2) the failure to secure from unauthorized removal the sixteen vials when they were stored in a controlled area and the failure to control and maintain constant surveillance of the sample vials when they were not in storage, and (3) the failure of an individual to annotate that he had read and acknowledged the procedure governing the disposal of empty shipping containers prior to performing that work assignment. In this case, there are no indications of any radiation or chemical exposures as a result of the licensee’s loss of control of the sixteen uranium hexafluoride sample vials. |
EA-08-057
Westinghouse Electric Company, SC | NOV
(SL III) | 05/1/2008 | On May 1, 2008, a Notice of Violation was issued for a Severity Level III violation. The violation involved the failure to assure safe and compliant activities involving nuclear material. Specifically, on November 17, 2006, a safety significant control interlock was willfully bypassed by an operator who disabled an alarm acknowledgement pushbutton associated with Conversion Line 5 while hydrogen gas was flowing to the calciner in the licensee's wet conversion process. This activity is prohibited by licensee procedures and NRC license conditions. |
EA-05-104
Westinghouse Electric Company, MO | NOVCP
(SL III)
$16,250 | 08/25/2005 | On August 25, 2005, a Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty in the amount of $16,250 was issued for a Severity Level III Problem consisting of two violations. The first violation involved the failure to incorporate a significant number of nuclear criticality safety evaluation controls into plant procedures prior to conducting operations involving fissile materials. The second violation involved the failure to determine the mass of fissile material in objects prior to placing the objects into nuclear criticality safety fissile material storage arrays. A Severity Level IV violation was also issued involving the failure to follow posted instructions established in accordance with the requirements of a nuclear criticality safety evaluation. |
EA-06-043
Westinghouse Electric Company, SC (Columbia Facility) | NOV
(SL III)
| 05/12/2006 | A Notice of Violation was issued on May 12, 2006, for a Severity Level III violation involving the licensee's failure to have a change to a safety significant control, i.e., the use of a new sponge blasting media, reviewed and approved by the licensees Environmental Heath and Safety Unit, prior to implementation. |
EA-04-096
Westinghouse Electric Company, SC (Columbia Facility) | NOVCP
(SL II)
$24,000 | 07/28/2004 | On July 28, 2004, a Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty in the amount of $24,000 was issued for a Severity Level II problem involving multiple violations related to the discovery of ash deposits in the incinerator off-gas system at concentrations that exceeded the bounding assumptions of the approved safety basis. |
EA-02-045
Westinghouse Electric Company, SC (Columbia Facility) | NOV
(SL III) | 05/29/2002 | On May 29, 2002, a Notice of Violation was issued for a Severity Level III problem including multiple violations (one willful) involving material control and transportation of special nuclear material. |
EA-01-174
Westinghouse Electric Company, SC (Columbia Facility) | NOV
(SL III) | 08/31/2001 | On August 31, 2001, a Notice of Violation was issued for a Severity Level III problem involving multiple violations related to an event involving the failure of criticality safety controls on the licensee's ammonium diuranate process lines. |
EA-07-442
Westinghouse Electric Company, SC (Columbia Facility) | NOVCP
(SL III)
$13,750 | 01/01/1998 | Breakdown on control of licensed activities regarding criticality safety. |
EA-97-244
Westinghouse Electric Company, SC (Columbia Facility) | NOV
(SL III) | 07/28/1997 | Unaccounted for two unradiated fuel rods. |