NRC NEWS

 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

 801 Warrenville Road

 Lisle IL 60532

 Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov

No. III-05-046 December 19, 2005

CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 

Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 

NRC PROPOSES $60,000 FINE AGAINST POINT BEACH NUCLEAR PLANT 

FOR FAILURE TO PROVIDE COMPLETE AND ACCURATE INFORMATION

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has proposed a $60,000 fine against Nuclear

Management Company for failing to provide complete and accurate information on the critique of an

emergency preparedness drill at the Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant in August 2002. The plant is

located near Two Rivers, Wis.

An NRC investigation concluded that two plant employees deliberately provided NRC

inspectors with inaccurate information about the identification of a problem during the emergency

drill. 

The problem concerned the company’s failure to identify an untimely declaration of an Alert

classification during the August 2002 drill. During the drill, the plant staff failed to declare an Alert

classification within the required 15 minutes after simulated plant conditions met the Alert criteria. An

Alert is the second lowest classification in the system of four levels of nuclear emergencies.

The NRC investigation showed that the NRC, not the company, identified the problem of late

declaration of the Alert during a post-drill critique. Subsequently, two plant employees falsified

information on the drill performance evaluation form submitted to the NRC showing, incorrectly, that

the drill deficiency was identified by the company. 

The NRC also made a final determination that the plant’s tardiness in making an emergency

declaration and the failure to self-identify this weakness during a drill critique was a “white” issue,

meaning it is of low to moderate importance to safety. The NRC classifies its findings in ascending

order of safety importance from green to white, yellow and red.

“Declaring and classifying a nuclear emergency in a timely manner is crucial for proper and

timely response to a nuclear accident. We require emergency drills to find and correct weaknesses in

the plant’s emergency preparedness programs so that the plant staff will be as ready as possible in case

of a real event. If we are not provided with accurate information about the company’s performance

during a drill, neither the company nor the NRC will be able to address weaknesses in the plant’s

emergency preparedness program,” said NRC Regional Administrator James Caldwell. 

Nuclear Management Company has taken corrective measures that included disciplinary

actions against the employees involved in the incident and counseling plant employees on the
importance of accurate oral and written communication with the NRC. The employees involved in

providing the NRC with inaccurate information were dismissed by Nuclear Management Company. 

In 2003 the NRC Office of Investigations referred this case to the U.S. Department of Justice.

One of the employees appeared in the United States District Court, Green Bay, Wis., in June 2005 and

pleaded guilty to knowingly making and delivering false written statements to the NRC. He was

sentenced to one year of probation, with the conditions that he pay a fine and refrain from participating

in any NRC-licensed activities. The second employee cooperated with the investigation and faced no

criminal charges. 

The notice to the company on the enforcement action will be available online at 

http://www.nrc.gov/what-we-do/regulatory/enforcement/current.html and from the NRC Region III

Office of Public Affairs. Point Beach documents are available through the NRC’s online document

collection, known as ADAMS, at http://www.nrc.gov.gov/reading-rm/adams.html by entering docket

numbers 50-266 and 50-301. 

The company has until Jan. 17 to pay the fine or to protest it. If the fine is protested and

subsequently imposed by the NRC staff, the company may request a hearing.

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