The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has moved ahead with its decision about a couple of violations at the Ginna Nuclear Power Plant.
The commission decided not to impose a fine. The NRC found what’s called a ‘notice of violation’ at Level 3. That is one of the less severe violations the federal agency can use to cite a nuclear plant operator .
These two violations include paperwork that was not filed properly about a Ginna senior plant operator who had to take medication to control high blood pressure.
In this case, the agency says it could have imposed a penalty of at least 70-thousand dollars, but it decided to waive that partly because Ginna’s owner, Exelon Corporation took corrective action including reviewing all of its operators to determine if there are any other medical problems that haven’t been disclosed.
The NRC did say that significant violations in the future could result in a civil penalty. Exelon released this statement to WXXI News:
“Exelon discovered the reporting lapses, notified the NRC, and corrected the issue. While integrating Nine Mile Point, Ginna and Calvert Cliffs into its nuclear fleet, Exelon reviewed licensed operator medical programs at all three stations.
This review identified a few isolated instances where Ginna did not promptly report operator medical information to the NRC. The review confirmed Ginna operators appropriately notified station medical personnel of prescriptions and changes in medical condition. However, the information was not forwarded to the NRC in a timely manner. Exelon has already implemented actions to prevent recurrence.”
