No: III-13-039 October 28, 2013

CONTACT: Viktoria Mitlyng 630-829-9662

 Prema Chandrathil 630-829-9663

NRC Issues Orders to

Dresden Nuclear Plant and Former Plant Employees

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has issued a confirmatory order to Exelon Generation 

Company, LLC for one incident involving violations of the Behavioral Observation Program at the 

Dresden Nuclear Power Station. In addition, the NRC issued orders prohibiting two former Dresden

employees involved in the situation from participating in nuclear work regulated by the NRC. Dresden is 

located in Morris, Ill., 25 miles southwest of Joliet.

The NRC investigated the incident in which senior reactor operator Michael J. Buhrman, planned 

to rob an armored car and recruited the assistance of another senior reactor operator, Landon E. Brittain.

The plan was not carried out. However, Buhrman was apprehended for aggravated vehicular carjacking 

and fled the country after being released on bail. He was tried and sentenced in absentia. Brittain has a 

number of criminal charges pending against him.

The NRC concluded that Buhrman’s and Brittain’s actions while offsite demonstrated they could 

not be relied upon to adhere to NRC requirements to protect plant and public safety. In addition, 

Dresden personnel who knew about Buhrman’s plan to commit an offsite crime failed to report the 

situation to plant management, which is an NRC requirement for workers who have unescorted access to 

the plant. 

“We expect nuclear workers to be trustworthy and feel responsible for plant safety. This includes 

alerting management should they encounter questionable behavior in other workers. Plants must have 

effective programs and training to make sure employees adhere to these standards,” said NRC Region III 

Administrator Cynthia D. Pederson. “The incident at Dresden shows a failure to adhere to NRC 

requirements. This situation was unusual; we do not normally encounter this type of egregious behavior 

in plant workers. For this reason, the NRC has taken strong regulatory action against the individuals 

involved and the plant. Exelon is taking steps to address the problem and we will evaluate their 

effectiveness going forward.”

The confirmatory order to Exelon was issued as a result of the Alternative Dispute Resolution 

process, which uses a mediator to assist the NRC and a licensee to reach an agreement for a more effective 

use of the enforcement process. The company agreed to abide by the conditions of the order requiring a 

number of actions to ensure the NRC’s concerns will be addressed. Some of the commitments include: 

enhancing the behavioral observation program procedure at all Exelon nuclear plants; providing training to 
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company staff on the revision; evaluating the effectiveness of the training; and developing a presentation of 

the facts and lessons learned from this incident to be presented at industry forums.

Exelon agreed to address these issues according to the timelines established in the order and to notify 

the NRC in writing upon completion of specific actions.

The orders to Buhrman and Brittain prohibit them from participating in NRC-licensed activities due 

to the NRC’s lack of confidence that they can meet the agency’s safety requirements. The orders state, 

“This action is necessary to provide the NRC with reasonable assurance that the protection of public 

health and safety will not be compromised by your involvement in NRC-licensed activities.”

The NRC’s confirmatory order to Exelon, orders to Buhrman and Brittain, and the letter

summarizing the results of the NRC’s investigation will be available on the NRC’s website .