UNITED STATES 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

REGION II 

245 PEACHTREE CENTER AVENUE NE, SUITE 1200 

ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30303-1257

September 28, 2016 

EA-16-010 

Mr. David Del Vecchio 

President and Chief Operating Officer 

CB&l AREVA MOX Services 

Savannah River Site 

P.O. Box 7097 

Aiken, SC 29804-7097 

SUBJECT: MIXED OXIDE FUEL FABRICATION FACILITY- NRC INSPECTION REPORT 

NUMBER 70-3098/2016-006 AND NOTICE OF VIOLATION 

Dear Mr. Del Vecchio: 

This letter refers to the apparent violations that were identified during an inspection conducted 

at the Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF), located in Aiken, South Carolina. 

The details of the inspection are documented in Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 

Inspection Report 70-3098/2016-005, issued on July 25, 2016. 

In our inspection report, we provided you with the opportunity to address the apparent violations 

identified in the report by attending a predecisional enforcement conference, or by providing a 

written response before we made our final enforcement decision. In a letter dated 

August 17, 2016, you provided a written response to the two apparent violations. Your 

response acknowledged the two apparent violations, provided the causes of the violations, and 

described corrective actions taken to preclude recurrence. 

Based on the information developed during the inspection, and the information that you 

provided in your response dated August 17, 2016, the NRC has determined that two violations 

of NRC requirements occurred. The violations are cited in the enclosed Notice of Violation 

(Notice) (Enclosure 1) and the circumstances surrounding them are described in detail in NRC 

Inspection Report 70-3098/2016-005. 

The first violation involves CB&I AREVA MOX Services (MOX Services) failure to adequately 

perform measures to verify the validity of certificates of conformance (CoC) for Quality Level-1 

(safety-related) welded ledger assemblies purchased from Specialty Maintenance and 

Construction, Inc. (SMCI) between November 2008 and June 2010. Specifically, MOX Services 

failed to verify that the CoC identified MOX Services specific procurement requirements for the 

ledgers and that the purchased ledgers met the requirements. 

The second violation involves MOX Services failure to conduct adequate audits of SMCI. 

Specifically, the audit reports for the ledger assembly supplier (SMCI) did not document 

objective evidence of inspections or surveillances related to manual welding during their audits. 
D. Del Vecchio 2 

These deficiencies resulted in the installation of approximately 100 ledger assemblies with the 

following weld deficiencies: undersize (leg and/or throat), less than specified length, undercut 

and code prohibited joint design. Full capacity repairs on the ledger assemblies were required 

in order to meet the design requirements for the facility. 

The NRC recognizes that the violations did not result in any actual consequences to the workers 

or the public, because the deficient ledger assembly welds did not cause or result in any 

structural failures. However, the NRC considers the potential consequences to be significant. 

In this case, the violations reflect a breakdown in your Quality Assurrance (QA) program for 

construction, related to receipt inspections and audits of structural components. Under different 

circumstances, a QA program breakdown could have resulted in substantially more significant 

consequences, during subsequent construction or once the facility becomes operational. The 

NRC acknowledges that the two violations discussed above are interrelated. Therefore, these 

violations are categorized collectively in accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy as a 

Severity Level III Problem. 

In accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, a base civil penalty in the amount of $35,000 

is considered for a Severity Level III problem. Because your facility has not been the subject of 

escalated enforcement actions within the last two years, the NRC considered whether credit 

was warranted for the factor of Corrective Action in accordance with the civil penalty 

assessment process in Section 2.3.4 of the Enforcement Policy. 

As documented in your written response of August 17, 2016, your immediate corrective actions 

included but were not limited to the following: (1) full capacity repairs were made on the ledger 

assemblies in order to restore compliance to the design requirements for the facility; (2) receipt 

inspectors were provided and completed an 8-hour training course in weld inspection; (3) 

criteria for progressive shop inspections and implementation of quality 

“Hold Points” were established to confirm technical and quality attributes throughout 

manufacturing (4) receipt inspection packages were required to contain the documentation 

required by the procurement specification; and (5) MOX Services conducted an audit of SMCI 

on June 4, 2015, SMCI-15-VE50 R1, which resulted in placing restrictions on SMCI to address 

the deficiencies identified in SMCI-15-VE50-01 through 12 prior to issuance of additional 

procurements for the MOX Project. In addition, your long term corrective actions included but 

were not limited to the following: (1) SMCI fabricated welds in inventory will be evaluated for 

compliance with specification requirements consistent with a defined sampling plan; (2) a 

physical inspection of all welded equipment installed in the MFFF will be performed; (3) Project 

Assurance in collaboration with Engineering will update the Quality Inspection Plan to capture 

engineering design attributes to be inspected both in the vendor facility as well as during receipt 

inspection; and (4) receipt inspectors will be required to obtain 10 hours of on-the-job weld 

inspection with a certified weld inspector. Based on the above, the NRC determined that credit 

is warranted for the factor of Corrective Action. 

Therefore, to encourage prompt and comprehensive correction of violations, I have been 

authorized, after consultation with the Director, Office of Enforcement, not to propose a civil 

penalty in this case. However, significant violations in the future could result in a civil penalty. 

The NRC has concluded that information regarding (1) the reason for the violations, (2) the 

corrective actions that have been taken and the results achieved, and (3) the date when full 

compliance will be achieved is already addressed on the docket in your letter dated 

August 17, 2016. Therefore, you are not required to respond to this letter unless the description 

therein does not accurately reflect your corrective actions or your position. In that case, or if you 
D. Del Vecchio 3 

choose to provide additional information, you should follow the instructions specified in the 

enclosed Notice. 

Administratively, this letter is issued as a separate inspection report, 70-3098/2016-006, and the 

following violations are opened: 70-3098/2016-06-01, Failure to Adequately Perform Measures 

to Verify the Validity of CoC for QL-1 Welded Components; and 70-3098/2016-06-02, Failure to 

Conduct Adequate Audits of SMCI. Accordingly, apparent violations 70-3098/2016-05-01 and 

70-3098/2016-05-02 are closed. 

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure," a 

copy of this letter, and its enclosure will be made available electronically for public inspection in 

the NRC Public Document Room and in the NRC’s ADAMS, accessible from the NRC Web site 

at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. 

If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact Michael Ernstes at (404) 997-

4540. 

Sincerely, 

 /RA Laura Dudes for/ 

 Catherine Haney 

 Regional Administrator 

Docket No. 70-3098 

Construction Authorization No.: CAMOX-001 

Enclosure: Notice of Violation 

cc w/encl: (See next page) 
D. Del Vecchio 4 

cc w/encl: 

Mr. Scott Cannon, Federal Project Director 

NA-262. 1 

P.O. BoxA 

Aiken, SC 29802 

Ms. Joyce Connery, Chairman 

Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board 

625 Indiana Ave., NW, Suite 700 

Washington, DC 20004 

Mr. Joseph Olencz, NNSNHQ 

1000 Independence Ave., SW 

Washington, DC 20585 

Ms. Susan Jenkins 

Division of Radioactive Waste Management 

Bureau of Health and Environmental Control 

2600 Bull St. 

Columbia, SC 29201 

D. Silverman 

Morgan, Lewis, and Bockius 

1111 Penn. Ave., NW 

Washington, DC 20004 

G. Carroll 

Nuclear Watch South 

P.O. Box 8574 

Atlanta, GA 30306 

Ms. Diane Curran 

Harmon, Cutran, Spielburg and Eisenberg, LLP 

1726 M St., NW, Suite 600 

Washington, DC 20036 

L. Zeller 

Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League 

P.O. Box 88 

Glendale Springs, NC 28629 

Mr. Dealis Gwyn, Licensing Manager 

CB&I AREVA MOX Services 

Savannah Rivet Site 

P.O. Box 7097 

Aiken, SC 29804-7097
Letter to D. Del Vecchio from Catherine Haney dated September 28, 2016. 

SUBJECT: MIXED OXIDE FUEL FABRICATION FACILITY- NRC INSPECTION REPORT 

NO. 70-3098/2016-006 AND NOTICE OF VIOLATION 

Distribution w/encl.: 

V. McCree, OEDO 

G. Tracy, OEDO 

Region II Regional Coordinator, OEDO 

J. Martin, OGC 

E. Julian, SECY 

B. Keeling, OCA 

H. Harrington, OPA 

K. Fowler, OI 

H. Bell, OIG 

P. Holahan, OE 

R. Fretz, OE 

T. Marenchin, OE 

S. Moore, NMSS 

R. Sun, NMSS 

D. Tiktinsky, NMSS 

M. Burgess, NMSS 

C. Haney, RII 

L. Dudes, RII 

W. Jones, RII 

M. Ernstes, RII 

W. Gloersen, RII 

R. Hannah, RII 

J. Ledford, RII 

J. Pelchat, RII 

S. Price, RII 

D. Gamberoni, RII 

L. Gibson, RII 

Brice Bickett , RI 

Michael Hay, RIV 

Richard Skokowski, RIII 

RidsOeMailCenter Resource 

OEWEB Resource 

PUBLIC 
D. Del Vecchio 3 

August 17, 2016. Therefore, you are not required to respond to this letter unless the description 

therein does not accurately reflect your corrective actions or your position. In that case, or if you 

choose to provide additional information, you should follow the instructions specified in the 

enclosed Notice. 

Administratively, this letter is issued as a separate inspection report, 70-3098/2016-006, and the 

following violations are opened: 70-3098/2016-06-01, Failure to Adequately Perform Measures 

to Verify the Validity of CoC for QL-1 Welded Components; and 70-3098/2016-06-02, Failure to 

Conduct Adequate Audits of SMCI. Accordingly, apparent violations 70-3098/2016-05-01 and 

70-3098/2016-05-02 are closed. 

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure," a 

copy of this letter, and its enclosure will be made available electronically for public inspection in 

the NRC Public Document Room and in the NRC’s ADAMS, accessible from the NRC Web site 

at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. 

If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact Michael Ernstes at (404) 997-

4540. 

Sincerely, 

 /RA/ 

 Catherine Haney 

 Regional Administrator 

Docket No. 70-3098 

Construction Authorization No.: CAMOX-001 

Enclosure: Notice of Violation 

cc w/encl: (See next page)

*See previous concurrence 

 PUBLICLY AVAILABLE NON-PUBLICLY AVAILABLE SENSITIVE NON-SENSITIVE 

 ADAMS: ACCESSION NUMBER ML16272A4444 SUNSI REVIEW COMPLETE FORM 665 ATTACHED 

OFFICE RII:DCP RII:DCP RII:EICS RII:EICS RII: ORA NMSS:FCSE 

SIGNATURE /RA via Email/ * * * /RA/ /RA via Email/ 

NAME MErnstes WJones DGamberoni SPrice LDudes CErlanger 

DATE 8/29/2016 8/30/2016 8/31/2016 9/1/2016 9/28/2016 9/26/2016 

E-MAIL COPY YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO 

OFFICE OE 

SIGNATURE /RA via Email/ 

NAME 

DATE 09/26/2016 

E-MAIL COPY YES NO YES NO 

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY 
Enclosure 

NOTICE OF VIOLATION 

CB&l AREVA MOX Services Docket No. 70-3098 

Aiken, SC Construction Authorization No.: CAMOX-001 

 EA-16-010 

During NRC inspections conducted between December 2014 and July 2016, violations of NRC 

requirements were identified. In accordance with the NRC Enforcement Policy, the violations 

are described below: 

A. Condition 3.A of the NRC Construction Authorization No. CAMOX-001, Revision (Rev.) 2, 

dated June 12, 2008, authorizes, in part, the applicant to construct a plutonium processing 

and mixed oxide fuel fabrication plant in accordance with the statements, representations, 

and conditions of the MOX Project Quality Assurance Plan (MPQAP), dated 

March 26, 2002, and supplements thereto; (MPQAP, Rev. 6, dated May 22, 2008). 

MPQAP, Section 7, Control of Purchased Material, Equipment, and Services, Section 7.2.7, 

Certificate of Conformance, allows for the use of a certificate of conformance (CoC) to 

accept material, equipment, or services from a supplier. MPQAP Section 7.2.7.F required, 

in part, that “measures shall be identified to verify the validity of supplier certificates and the 

effectiveness of the certification process (such as by audit of the supplier/subcontractor or 

by an independent inspection or test of the item).” 

MOX Services specification DCS01-BAA-DS-SPE-B-09352, Metal Fabrications for Quality 

Levels 1, 2, 3, and 4, required vendor documentation submittals for welder qualifications, 

inspector qualifications, and certified welding inspection reports. 

Contrary to the above, between June 2008 and November 2010, MOX Services accepted 

material, equipment, and services from a supplier, Specialty Maintenance and Construction, 

Inc. (SMCI) without verifying the validity of supplier certificates and the effectiveness of the 

certification process (such as by audit of the supplier/subcontractor or by an independent 

inspection or test of the item). In this case, the MOX Services certification process and 

receipt inspections failed to identify that CoC and related documentation for safety-related 

ledger assemblies did not meet MOX Services specifications regarding welder 

qualifications, inspector qualifications, and certified welding inspection reports. 

B. Condition 3.A of the NRC Construction Authorization No. CAMOX-001, Revision (Rev.) 2, 

dated June 12, 2008, authorizes, in part, the applicant to construct a plutonium processing 

and mixed oxide fuel fabrication plant in accordance with the statements, representations, 

and conditions of the MOX Project Quality Assurance Plan (MPQAP), dated 

March 26, 2002, and supplements thereto; (MPQAP, Rev. 6, dated May 22, 2008). 

MPQAP, Section 5, Instructions, Procedures, and Drawings, Section 5.1 General, states in 

part that “Quality-affecting activities are prescribed by and performed in accordance with 

documented, approved QA procedures and other approved implementing documents 

(drawings, specifications, etc.) appropriate to the MOX Project workscope.” 

CB&I AREVA MOX Services Project Procedure (PP) 3-12, Supplier Evaluation, Rev. 8, 

dated March 4, 2008, Section 3.8.10, specified that “the Lead Auditor shall perform the audit 

by examining objective evidence (e.g. records, work in progress, etc.), conducting 
 2 NOV 

interviews, and reviewing procedures and QA Program documents to ensure compliance 

with MOX Services QA Program requirements established for the supplier or product.” 

MOX Services specification DCS01-BAA-DS-SPE-B-09352, Metal Fabrications for Quality 

Levels 1, 2, 3, and 4, required QL-1 items to be welded and inspected in accordance with 

American Welding Society (AWS) D1.1, Structural Welding Code - Steel. 

Contrary to the above, between June 2008 and November 2010, MOX Services’ audits of 

SMCI were inadequate in that the audits failed to ensure SMCI’s compliance with the MOX 

Services’ QA program requirements established for the supplier or product, as required by 

the MPQAP and PP3-12. MOX Services failed to perform and document adequate 

examination of objective evidence during audits preceding the fabrication and installation of 

the ledger assemblies. Specifically, MOX Services failed to provide objective evidence for 

the adequacy of manual welding performed by SMCI prior to procurement of the ledger 

assemblies. As a result, approximately 100 ledger assemblies were obtained from SMCI 

with the following weld deficiencies: undersize (leg and/or throat), less than specified 

length, undercut and code-prohibited joint design. The ledger assemblies were also 

fabricated with material shapes that resulted in an intermittent partial joint penetration weld 

instead of the specified intermittent fillet weld. An intermittent partial joint penetration weld is 

prohibited by AWS D1.1. These ledger assemblies were used in the load bearing 

floor/ceiling supports in 25 rooms of the Aqueous Polishing Building (BAP) in the MOX 

Service’s facility. The welding deficiencies resulted in temporary closure of effected areas, 

an extensive engineering redesign and repair work that lasted approximately nine months. 

This is a Severity Level III Problem. (NRC Enforcement Policy - Supplement 6.5 c) 

The NRC has concluded that information regarding the reason for the violations, the 

corrective actions taken and planned to correct the violations and prevent recurrence, and 

the date when full compliance will be achieved, is already adequately addressed on the 

docket in your letter dated August 17, 2016. However, you are required to submit a written 

statement or explanation pursuant to 10 CFR 2.201 if the description therein does not 

accurately reflect your corrective actions or your position. In that case, or if you choose to 

respond, clearly mark your response as a "Reply to a Notice of Violation, EA 16-010”, and 

send it to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Document Control Desk, 

Washington, DC 20555-0001 with a copy to the Regional Administrator, Region II, within 30 

days of the date of the letter transmitting this Notice of Violation (Notice). 

If you choose to respond, your response will be made available electronically for public 

inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or in the NRC’s Agencywide Documents 

Access and Management System (ADAMS), accessible from the NRC Web site at 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Therefore, to the extent possible, the response 

should not include any personal privacy, proprietary, or safeguards information so that it can 

be made available to the Public without redaction. 

In accordance with 10 CFR 19.11, you may be required to post this Notice within two 

working days. 

Dated this 28th day of September 2016.