44402 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 166 / Friday, August 28, 2009 / Notices 

annual meetings in Rockville, Maryland 

and to participate in teleconferences, as 

needed. Members who are not Federal 

employees are compensated for their 

service. In addition, these members are 

reimbursed for travel and 

correspondence expenses. Full-time 

Federal employees are reimbursed travel 

expenses only. 

Security Background Check: The 

selected nominee will undergo a 

thorough security background check. 

Security paperwork may take the 

nominee several weeks to complete. 

Nominees will also be required to 

complete a financial disclosure 

statement to avoid conflicts of interest. 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day 

of August 2009. 

For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

Andrew L. Bates, 

Advisory Committee Management Officer. 

[FR Doc. E9–20813 Filed 8–27–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket No.: 07007001; NRC–2009–0377; 

Certificate No. GDP–1; EA–08–344] 

United States Enrichment Corporation, 

Paducah Gaseous Enrichment Plant; 

Confirmatory Order (Effective 

Immediately) 

I 

The United States Enrichment 

Corporation (USEC), a subsidiary of 

USEC Inc., is the holder of NRC 

Certificates of Compliance (COC) No. 

GDP–1 issued by the NRC pursuant to 

10 CFR Part 76 on November 26, 1996, 

and renewed on December 22, 2008. 

The COC is set to expire on December 

31, 2013. The certificate authorizes 

USEC to operate the Paducah Gaseous 

Diffusion Plant (Paducah), located near 

Paducah, Kentucky. The certificate also 

authorizes USEC to receive, and other 

NRC licensees to transfer to USEC, 

byproduct material, source material, or 

special nuclear material to the extent 

permitted under the COC. 

This Confirmatory Order is the result 

of an agreement reached during an 

alternative dispute resolution (ADR) 

mediation session conducted on July 2, 

2009. 

II 

On December 5, 2008, the NRC’s 

Office of Investigations (OI) completed 

an investigation (OI Case No. 2–2008– 

023) regarding activities at the Paducah 

Gaseous Diffusion Plant located in 

Paducah, Kentucky. The purpose of the 

investigation was to determine whether 

one or more operators deliberately 

concealed damaged equipment, falsified 

records, and made false statements to 

conceal a procedural error while moving 

a uranium hexafluoride (UF6) cylinder. 

Based on the evidence developed 

during the investigation, the NRC staff 

identified four apparent violations. 

III 

On July 2, 2009, the NRC and USEC 

met in an ADR session mediated by a 

professional mediator, which was 

arranged through Cornell University’s 

Institute on Conflict Resolution. ADR is 

a process in which a neutral mediator 

with no decision-making authority 

assists the parties in reaching an 

agreement or resolving any differences 

regarding their dispute. This 

confirmatory order is issued pursuant to 

the agreement reached during the ADR 

process. The elements of the agreement 

consist of the following: 

1. The NRC and USEC agreed that 

four violations occurred during and 

subsequent to an incident that occurred 

in late January 2008, while an operator 

was preparing a UF6 cylinder for 

movement using the applicable 

procedure. The violations involved the 

following: 

a. On January 29, 2008, an Operator 

in building C–337A failed to follow Step 

8.7.37 of checklist ‘‘Cylinder Burping 

and Cold Pressure Procedure’’ 

incorporated into procedure USEC CP4– 

CO–CN2045a that required that the 

pigtail be disconnected from the 

cylinder and the autoclave manifold 

prior to cylinder movement. As a result, 

the pigtail and the autoclave manifold 

were damaged when the cylinder was 

lifted. In addition, the same Operator 

subsequently willfully placed a waste 

pigtail in a radioactive waste storage bag 

and hid it in an unrelated control panel, 

instead of storing the waste pigtail in a 

drum and completing the required 

documentation in accordance with the 

requirements of USEC Procedure CP4– 

CO–CN2045a, Step 5.27.3. USEC 

Procedure CP4–CO–CN2045a is 

required by Technical Safety 

Requirements 3.1.1, ‘‘Procedures 

Scope,’’ which requires, in part, that 

written procedures shall be 

implemented to cover activities listed in 

Appendix A to Safety Analysis Report 

(SAR) section 6.11. Appendix A to SAR 

6.11, ‘‘Organization and Operating 

Programs,’’ lists UF6 cylinder handling 

as an activity that requires 

implementation of written procedures. 

b. On January 29, 2008, an Operator 

in the C–337A building willfully did not 

take any action to secure the damaged 

autoclave manifold, contact the 

appropriate supervisor or manager, or 

log the damage in a work package, 

narrative logbook, or other quality 

record. The Operator also willfully 

attempted to repair the autoclave 

manifold so as to conceal the initial 

failure to disconnect the pigtail from the 

autoclave manifold and the cylinder. In 

addition, a second Operator failed to 

contact the appropriate supervisor or 

manager upon learning of an incident 

that resulted in damage to both the 

pigtail and the autoclave manifold, and 

an Operator-Trainee in the C–337A 

building also failed to contact the 

appropriate supervisor or manager upon 

witnessing the incident. The actions of 

the two Operators and Operator-Trainee 

are contrary to USEC procedures CP2– 

PS–PS1044, ‘‘Use of Procedures’’, and 

CP2–CO–CO1032, ‘‘Shift Routines and 

Operating Practices.’’ 

c. On January 29, 2008, an Operator 

in the C–337A building willfully 

prepared and signed his name (i.e., 

falsified) on a document, indicating that 

the pigtail had been properly 

disconnected from the autoclave 

manifold, when in fact the Operator 

knew that the pigtail had not been 

properly disconnected and was 

damaged. A second Operator in the C– 

337A building also willfully signed his 

name (i.e., falsified) on a document, 

with knowledge that the pigtail had not 

been properly disconnected from the 

autoclave. The falsification of 

documents is prohibited by USEC 

Procedure UE2–OP–OP1030, ‘‘Conduct 

of Operation.’’ 

d. On January 30, 2008, two Operators 

and an Operator-Trainee, individuals 

who were familiar with the 

circumstances that resulted in damage 

to an autoclave manifold, willfully 

denied any knowledge of these 

circumstances when questioned by 

Corporation management. These actions 

are contrary to USEC Procedure UE2– 

OP–OP1030, ‘‘Conduct of Operation.’’ 

2. At the ADR session, USEC– 

Paducah representatives agreed that the 

circumstances described in Item 1 above 

represent violations of requirements, 

and were due, in part, to the willful 

actions of the two Operators and an 

Operator-Trainee. 

3. Based on USEC–Paducah’s review 

of the incident and NRC concerns with 

respect to precluding recurrence of the 

violations, USEC took the following 

actions: 

a. In January 2008, cylinders 

potentially affected by the incident were 

inspected. 

b. In February 2008, the Nuclear 

Safety & Quality organization began 

conducting surveillances of in-hand 


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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 166 / Friday, August 28, 2009 / Notices 44403 

procedure use at the General Manager’s 

request. 

c. On February 1, 2008, the USEC 

Section Manager issued a memorandum 

to all UF6 handling personnel describing 

the discovery of the damaged manifold 

and the need for anyone with 

knowledge to come forward. 

d. On February 4, 2008, the damaged 

pigtail was retrieved and stored per NCS 

requirements, and the NCS incident 

evaluation was completed. 

e. On February 5, 2008, the crane and 

lifting devices used by Operator 1 on 

January 29, 2008 were tested and 

inspected. 

f. On February 12, 2008, USEC 

conducted an ‘‘All Hands Stand Down’’ 

meeting with all plant personnel to 

inform them about the event and to 

reinforce management expectations. 

g. On February 22, 2008, Operations 

initiated a Long-Term Order requiring 

that two operators be present during 

cylinder connections and 

disconnections. 

h. On February 29, 2008, the General 

Manager sent a letter to all employees 

reinforcing the need for procedural 

compliance. 

i. On February 29, 2008, the General 

Manager sent a letter to all employees 

reinforcing the need to stop work and 

report errors. 

j. In March 2008, USEC completed 

repairs of the 2E autoclave manifold. 

k. In March 2008, a Use of Procedures 

question bank was distributed as a 

coaching tool plant-wide. The question 

bank covers the stop work requirements 

and other rules that govern procedure 

use at the plant. 

l. In April 2008, USEC conducted a 

session for all supervisors to reinforce 

the responsibilities of line management 

to establish and maintain a strong safety 

culture. In addition, supervisors were 

tasked with conducting a Nuclear Safety 

Culture briefing for all workers that 

highlights the safety implication of not 

reporting mistakes and the related 

guidance in the USEC Code of Conduct. 

m. In August 2008, USEC revised its 

new employee training materials to 

include additional training on the 

elements of a Safety Conscious Work 

Environment. 

n. In October 2008, USEC revised the 

relevant plant procedures to require two 

operators to be present for selected 

cylinder operations. 

o. In October 2008, USEC developed 

recurring training for Operations and 

Maintenance supervisors to reinforce 

‘‘conduct of’’ principles and procedure 

compliance. Training will be conducted 

for a period of 12 months from the date 

of issuance of the Confirmatory Order. 

p. In November 2008, USEC 

conducted briefings for all personnel 

who handle fissile materials on the 

importance of complying with 

procedures. 

q. In March 2009, the General 

Manager and Plant Manager conducted 

over 25 briefings for all employees with 

regard to safety culture, open 

communications, teamwork to identify 

vulnerabilities early, procedural 

compliance, and reporting off-normal 

conditions. 

r. USEC took disciplinary action to 

address the unacceptable performance 

of the three individuals involved in the 

incident. 

4. In addition to the actions 

completed by USEC as discussed above, 

USEC agreed to additional corrective 

actions and enhancements, as fully 

delineated below in Section V of the 

Confirmatory Order. 

5. At the ADR session, the NRC and 

USEC agreed that (1) the actions 

referenced in Section III.3 and Section 

V, would be incorporated into a 

Confirmatory Order, and (2) the 

resulting Confirmatory Order would be 

considered by the NRC for any 

assessment of USEC, as appropriate. 

6. In consideration of the completed 

corrective actions delineated in Section 

III.3 and the commitments delineated in 

Section V of this Confirmatory Order, 

the NRC agreed to refrain from 

proposing a civil penalty or issuing a 

Notice of Violation for all matters 

discussed in the NRC’s letter to USEC of 

February 25, 2009 (EA–08–344). 

7. This agreement is binding upon 

successors and assigns of USEC. 

On August 12, 2009, USEC consented 

to issuance of this Order with the 

commitments, as described in Section V 

below. USEC further agreed that this 

Order is to be effective upon issuance 

and that it has waived its right to a 

hearing. 

IV 

Since USEC has completed the 

actions as delineated in Section III.3, 

and agreed to take the actions as set 

forth in Section V, the NRC has 

concluded that its concerns can be 

resolved through issuance of this Order. 

I find that USEC’s commitments as set 

forth in Section V are acceptable and 

necessary and conclude that with these 

commitments the public health and 

safety are reasonably assured. In view of 

the foregoing, I have determined that 

public health and safety require that 

USEC’s commitments be confirmed by 

this Order. Based on the above and 

USEC’s consent, this Order is 

immediately effective upon issuance. 

V 

Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 

104b, 161b, 161i, 161o, 182 and 186 of 

the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as 

amended, and the Commission’s 

regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR 

Part 76, It is hereby ordered, effective 

immediately, that Certificate No. GDP– 

1 be modified as follows: 

a. USEC agrees to conduct an endpoint effectiveness review of actions 

targeting improvement in procedural 

compliance. USEC will review plant 

data for instances of failing to comply 

with applicable sections of CP2–PS– 

PS1044, ‘‘Use of Procedures.’’ 

b. USEC agrees to conduct a midpoint effectiveness review of its efforts 

to enforce compliance with the USEC 

Code of Conduct. USEC will review 

plant data for instances of intentional 

procedure or USEC Code of Conduct 

violations. The acceptable success 

criterion is zero instances of intentional 

procedure or USEC Code of Conduct 

violations. 

c. Not later than 180 days after the 

issuance of the confirmatory order, 

USEC will conduct a review of the 

Assessment Tracking Reports classified 

as either ‘‘Significant Conditions 

Adverse to Quality’’ or ‘‘Level 1 events’’ 

during the 12 months preceding the 

issuance of the confirmatory order, in 

addition to this occurrence, to 

determine if weaknesses in any of the 13 

safety culture components, as identified 

in NRC Regulatory Information 

Summary 2006–13, caused or 

significantly contributed to the event. 

d. Within 90 days after conducting the 

review described in paragraph V.d and 

following completion of the Safety 

Conscious Work Environment 

assessment, USEC will assess the safety 

culture component weaknesses 

identified above, integrate the results 

with the Safety Conscious Work 

Environment assessment, and develop 

any appropriate corrective actions. 

e. USEC–Paducah agrees to complete 

the items listed in Section V within 12 

months of issuance of the Confirmatory 

Order. 

f. Within 3 months of completion of 

the terms of the Confirmatory Order, 

USEC–Paducah will provide the NRC 

with a letter discussing its basis for 

concluding that the Order has been 

satisfied. 

The Regional Administrator, NRC 

Region II, may relax or rescind, in 

writing, any of the above conditions 

upon a showing by USEC of good cause. 

VI 

Any person adversely affected by this 

Confirmatory Order, other than USEC, 


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44404 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 166 / Friday, August 28, 2009 / Notices 

may request a hearing within 20 days of 

its publication in the Federal Register. 

Where good cause is shown, 

consideration will be given to extending 

the time to request a hearing. A request 

for extension of time must be directed 

to the Director, Office of Enforcement, 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001, and 

include a statement of good cause for 

the extension. 

If a person other than USEC requests 

a hearing, that person shall set forth 

with particularity the manner in which 

his interest is adversely affected by this 

Order and shall address the criteria set 

forth in 10 CFR 2.309 (d) and (f). 

If a hearing is requested by a person 

whose interest is adversely affected, the 

Commission will issue an Order 

designating the time and place of any 

hearing. If a hearing is held, the issue to 

be considered at such hearing shall be 

whether this Confirmatory Order should 

be sustained. 

A request for a hearing must be filed 

in accordance with the NRC E–Filing 

rule, which became effective on October 

15, 2007. The NRC E-filing Final Rule 

was issued on August 28, 2007 (72 FR 

49139), and was codified in pertinent 

part at 10 CFR Part 2, Subpart B. The E– 

Filing process requires participants to 

submit and serve documents over the 

internet or, in some cases, to mail copies 

on electronic optical storage media. 

Participants may not submit paper 

copies of their filings unless they seek 

a waiver in accordance with the 

procedures described below. 

To comply with the procedural 

requirements associated with E–Filing, 

at least five (5) days prior to the filing 

deadline the requestor must contact the 

Office of the Secretary by e-mail at 

HEARINGDOCKET@NRC.GOV, or by 

calling (301) 415–1677, to request (1) a 

digital ID certificate, which allows the 

participant (or its counsel or 

representative) to digitally sign 

documents and access the E–Submittal 

server for any NRC proceeding in which 

it is participating; and/or (2) creation of 

an electronic docket for the proceeding 

(even in instances when the requestor 

(or its counsel or representative) already 

holds an NRC-issued digital ID 

certificate). Each requestor will need to 

download the Workplace Forms 

ViewerTM to access the Electronic 

Information Exchange (EIE), a 

component of the E–Filing system. The 

Workplace Forms ViewerTM is free and 

is available at http://www.nrc.gov/sitehelp/e-submittals/install-viewer.html. 

Information about applying for a digital 

ID certificate also is available on NRC=s 

public Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/ 

site-help/e-submittals/applycertificates.html. 

Once a requestor has obtained a 

digital ID certificate, had a docket 

created, and downloaded the EIE 

viewer, he/she can then submit a 

request for a hearing through EIE. 

Submissions should be in Portable 

Document Format (PDF) in accordance 

with NRC guidance available on the 

NRC public Web site at http:// 

www.nrc.gov/site-help/esubmittals.html. A filing is considered 

complete at the time the filer submits its 

document through EIE. To be timely, 

electronic filings must be submitted to 

the EIE system no later than 11:59 p.m. 

Eastern Time on the due date. Upon 

receipt of a transmission, the E–Filing 

system time-stamps the document and 

sends the submitter an e-mail notice 

confirming receipt of the document. The 

EIE system also distributes an e-mail 

notice that provides access to the 

document to the NRC Office of the 

General Counsel and any others who 

have advised the Office of the Secretary 

that they wish to participate in the 

proceeding, so that the filer need not 

serve the document on those 

participants separately. Therefore, any 

others who wish to participate in the 

proceeding (or their counsel or 

representative) must apply for and 

receive a digital ID certificate before a 

hearing request is filed so that they may 

obtain access to the document via the E– 

Filing system. 

A person filing electronically using 

the agency’s adjudicatory e-filing system 

may seek assistance through the 

‘‘Contact Us’’ link located on the NRC 

Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/sitehelp/e-submittals.html or by calling the 

NRC Meta-System Help Desk, which is 

available between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., 

Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, 

excluding government holidays. The 

Meta-System Help Desk can be 

contacted by telephone at 1–866–672– 

7640 or by e-mail at 

MSHD.Resource@nrc.gov. 

Participants who believe that they 

have good cause for not submitting 

documents electronically must file a 

motion, in accordance with 10 CFR 

2.302(g), with their initial paper filing 

requesting authorization to continue to 

submit documents in paper format. 

Such filings must be submitted by (1) 

first class mail addressed to the Office 

of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001, Attention: 

Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; or 

(2) courier, express mail, or expedited 

delivery service to the Office of the 

Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One White 

Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, 

Rockville, Maryland, 20852, Attention: 

Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. 

Participants filing a document in this 

manner are responsible for serving the 

document on all other participants. 

Filing is considered complete by firstclass mail as of the time of deposit in 

the mail, or by courier, express mail, or 

expedited delivery service upon 

depositing the document with the 

provider of the service. 

Documents submitted in adjudicatory 

proceedings will appear in NRC’s 

electronic hearing docket, which is 

available to the public at http:// 

ehd.nrc.gov/EHD_Proceeding/home.asp, 

unless excluded pursuant to an order of 

the Commission, an Atomic Safety and 

Licensing Board, or a Presiding Officer. 

Participants are requested not to include 

personal privacy information, such as 

social security numbers, home 

addresses, or home phone numbers in 

their filings. With respect to copyrighted 

works, except for limited excerpts that 

serve the purpose of the adjudicatory 

filings and would constitute a Fair Use 

application, participants are requested 

not to include copyrighted materials in 

their works. 

VII 

In the absence of any request for 

hearing, or written approval of an 

extension of time in which to request a 

hearing, the provisions specified in 

Section V above shall be final 20 days 

from the date this Order is published in 

the Federal Register without further 

order or proceedings. If an extension of 

time for requesting a hearing has been 

approved, the provisions specified in 

Section V shall be final when the 

extension expires if a hearing request 

has not been received. A request for 

hearing shall not stay the immediate 

effectiveness of this order. 

Dated this 18th day of August 2009. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Victor M. McCree, 

Deputy Regional Administrator for 

Operations. 

[FR Doc. E9–20817 Filed 8–27–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with NOTICES