Information Notice No. 87-15: Compliance with the Posting Requirements ofSubsection 223B of The Atomic Energy Act Of 1954, As Amended

                                                      SSINS No.: 6835   
                                                        IN 87-15

                                UNITED STATES
                        NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
                     OFFICE OF INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT
                            WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555

                                March 25, 1987

Information Notice No. 87-15: COMPLIANCE WITH THE POSTING REQUIREMENTS
OF  SUBSECTION 223b OF THE ATOMIC ENERGY ACT OF 1954, AS AMENDED

Addressees:

All nuclear power reactor facilities holding a construction permit and all 
firms supplying components or services to such facilities.

Purpose:

This notice is provided to call attention to the posting requirements of 
Subsection 223b of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (Act).

Description of Circumstances:

Reports by NRC resident inspectors suggest that the provisions of
Subsection  223b may not have been prominently posted at some reactor
construction sites,  contrary to the specific requirement of the Act.

Discussion:

Public Law No. 96-295 adds subsection b to Section 223 of the Atomic
Energy  Act. This subsection extended the criminal penalty provisions of
the Act to  any director, officer, or employee of a firm constructing or
supplying the  components of a utilization facility required to be
licensed under Section 103 or 104b of the Act who by act or omission
knowingly and willfully violates or  causes to be violated any section of
the Act, or any NRC regulation or order  issued thereunder, or license
condition that results or could result in  significant impairment of a
facility's basic component. Subsection 223b, among  other things, also
provides that the provisions of the subsection shall be  prominently
posted at each site where a utilization facility required to be  licensed
under Section 103 or 104b of the Act is under construction and on the 
premises of each plant where components for such a facility are
fabricated.  This posting requirement took effect on June 30, 1980.

No specific written response is required by this information notice. If
you  have any questions about this matter, please contact the Regional 
Administrator of the appropriate NRC regional office or this office.

Edward L. Jordan, Director
Division of Emergency Preparedness and Engineering Response
Office of Inspection and Enforcement

Technical Contact: A. Bill Beach, IE
(301) 492-4909

See next page for attachments


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                                                            Attachment 1 
                                                            IN 87-15  
                                                            March 25, 1987

                     SUBSECTION 223b OF THE ATOMIC ENERGY
                           ACT OF 1954, AS AMENDED

Any individual director, officer, or employee of a firm constructing, or 
supplying the components of any utilization facility required to be
licensed  under Section 103 or 104 b. of this Act who by act or omission,
in connection  with such construction or supply, knowingly and willfully
violates or causes  to be violated, any section of this Act, any rule,
regulation, or order issued  thereunder, or any license condition, which
violation results, or if  undetected could have resulted, in a significant
impairment of a basic  component of such a facility shall, upon
conviction, be subject to a fine of  not more than $25,000 for each day of
violation, or to imprisonment not to  exceed two years, or both. If the
conviction is for a violation committed  after a first conviction under
this subsection, punishment shall be a fine of  not more than $50,000 per
day of violation, or imprisonment for not more than  two years, or both.
For the purposes of this subsection, the term "basic  component" means a
facility structure, system, component or part thereof  necessary to
assure--

(1) the integrity of the reactor coolant pressure boundary,

(2) the capability to shut-down the facility and maintain it in a safe
shut-down condition, or

(3) the capability to prevent or mitigate the consequences of accidents
which  could result in an unplanned offsite release of quantities of
fission products  in excess of the limits established by the Commission.

The provisions of this subsection shall be prominently posted at each site 
where a utilization facility required to be licensed under Section 103 or
104  b. of this Act is under construction and on the premises of each
plant where  components for such a facility are fabricated.

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