NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS -- REGION I

 475 Allendale Road

 King of Prussia, PA 19406

No. I-02-045 June 25, 2002 

CONTACT: Diane Screnci, (610) 337-5330 E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov

Neil A. Sheehan, (610) 337-5331

NRC PROPOSES $288,000 FINE AGAINST DOMINION NUCLEAR 

FOR VIOLATIONS AT MILLSTONE

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has cited Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc., for two

violations of NRC requirements associated with the loss of two irradiated fuel rods at the Millstone

Unit 1 nuclear power plant in Waterford, Conn. The NRC has proposed a $288,000 civil penalty for

one of the violations.

Northeast Nuclear Energy Company (NNECO), the former operator of Millstone Station,

informed the NRC in November 2000 that two fuel rods were unaccounted for. The company was

conducting a spent fuel pool inventory when it determined the fuel was missing. A subsequent

investigation by NNECO concluded that the fuel most likely had been cut into segments and sent to a

low-level radioactive waste facility along with other irradiated reactor hardware sometime between

March 1985 and December 1992.

The NRC conducted an inspection to review the results of the company’s investigation. The

special inspection was conducted between October and December of last year. A public meeting to

discuss the findings was held in January and the report was issued on February 27. Based on that

inspection, the NRC agrees with NNECO’s conclusions. The NRC has also concluded that there are

adequate controls to account for all of the spent fuel at Millstone, except for the missing rods.

Since Dominion is now the operator of Millstone Station, it is accountable and was offered the

opportunity to meet with the NRC staff at a predecisional enforcement conference to discuss the

apparent violations. It declined to do so. The company responded in writing and did not contest the

violations.

In a letter to Dominion, NRC Region I Administrator Hubert J. Miller said, “Notwithstanding

the fact that there was no realistic threat, past or present to the public health and safety, the loss of

highly radioactive fuel rods is unprecedented and is a very significant violation.”

Dominion was cited for two violations. The first violation, categorized as a Severity Level II,

related to inadequately accounting for special nuclear material contained within the spent fuel rods. 

The second violation involved untimely reporting to the NRC that the licensed material was missing. 

The second violation is a Severity Level IV violation for which a civil penalty was not assessed.
A base penalty of $96,000 is considered for a Severity Level II violation. In this case the NRC

has decided to triple the base amount because of the “unprecedented nature of the loss of highly

radioactive material and to further emphasize the importance of adequate accounting of irradiated fuel

at nuclear power reactors,” Miller said.

Because of the radiological controls that are in place at any of the possible locations of the

missing fuel, the NRC believes there is no current threat to public health and safety. There was no

evidence found by the NRC team to support the possibility of theft or diversion of the rods. The very

high radiation level of the material would have made theft difficult, dangerous and highly unlikely.

In reviewing the company’s corrective actions, the NRC noted the investigation into the

missing fuel was thorough and complete, the root cause analysis was comprehensive and the physical

inspection of the spent fuel pool was comprehensive.

Dominion has 30 days to respond to the notice of violation.

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