5M News

January 29, 2010

NRC notes two personnel violations at Salem Twp. nuke plant

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission sent two notices of violation to the nuclear plant in Salem Township for personnel issues last year.

Between April and August, two workers at PPL Corp.’s Susquehanna Steam Electric Station worked while their medical clearances weren’t current.

Neil Sheehan, an NRC spokesman, said the company won’t be assessed any fines, but the violations will factor in during the plant’s annual assessment, which are due out in March.

Joe Scopelliti, a spokesman for the nuclear plant, said the company won’t fight the notices.

“We agree with the NRC’s assessment,” he said. “They did a thorough investigation. We complied with helping them with that investigation. … They are the oversight, so when we discovered it, we knew that it wasn’t correct.”

Through an inspection, the NRC found that two senior reactor operators failed to meet the medical prerequisites for their individual licenses. One operator worked after failing an eye examination, Scopelliti said. The other worked for about three months after the deadline for a biennial medical exam had expired.

PPL identified and reported the issues to the NRC, which corroborated the findings and included them in its quarterly evaluation.

Both individuals have since passed their physicals and remain employed at the nuclear plant.

The plant has made changes to ensure the same oversights don’t occur again, Scopelliti said.

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