Grundy Reporter

Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Unit 2 issued the following announcement on March 19.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued an order banning a Reed College employee

from NRC-licensed activities for three years and suspending the person’s senior reactor operator

license for deliberately providing incomplete and inaccurate information to the NRC for reactor

operator license applications, as well as violations of facility access control requirements at the

Reed Research Reactor in Portland, Ore. The agency has also issued Reed College a Confirmatory

Order regarding the case.

The NRC concluded that the employee, the director of the Reed Research Reactor, on two

occasions in 2015 deliberately provided the NRC inaccurate and incomplete information for

students seeking operator licenses for the reactor. The agency also concluded the employee

deliberately violated facility access control requirements for the reactor. These violations did not

affect public health or safety. Nevertheless, the NRC determined the significance of the underlying

issues, the employee’s broad sphere of influence, and the deliberate nature of the actions justify the

license suspension and three-year ban. The employee must respond to the Order in writing and has

30 days to request alternative dispute resolution or a hearing on the matter.

The NRC’s Nov. 19, 2019, letter to Reed College regarding the case offered a mediated

settlement through the agency’s alternative dispute resolution process. The Confirmatory Order

enforces the results of that process, which include Reed College waiving hearing rights on the

matters covered in the settlement.

The college committed to revising many of its procedures on qualifying and requalifying

reactor operators as well as procedures regarding unescorted access to the Reed Research Reactor.

The college also committed to additional training for its staff on the need to provide the NRC with

accurate and complete information; additional oversight of the facility by the school’s president and

dean of the faculty; and submitting a presentation regarding lessons learned from these events at an

upcoming annual conference of research and test reactor licensees. The NRC will review the

presentation to ensure it complies with the Confirmatory Order.

As part of the mediation process, the NRC agrees to forego additional enforcement action on

this issue. Further details of the settlement are contained in the Confirmatory Order.

Original source can be found here.