NRC to Discuss Security Violations at Nine Mile Point Station

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	NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION I 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406
	CONTACT:	Diane Screnci (610)337-5330/ e-mail: dps@nrc.gov Neil A. Sheehan (610)337-5331/e-mail: nas@nrc.gov

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I-98-53

May 7, 1998

NRC TO DISCUSS SECURITY VIOLATIONS AT NINE MILE POINT STATION

A pair of apparent violations of Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirements at the Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station will be the subject of a meeting between NRC staff and representatives of Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation on Monday, May 11. The apparent violations involve the utility's handling of information pertaining to plant security.

The meeting, scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. in the Public Meeting Room at the NRC Region I office in King of Prussia, Pa., will be open to the public for observation.

On January 24, records personnel found seven boxes in the records management vault at the plant, which is located in Oswego, N.Y. Although the boxes contained safeguards, or plant security, information, they were kept in the vault, which is not an approved storage facility. In addition, the personnel working in the vault were not authorized to have access to that material. The NRC does not believe plant security was compromised as a result of breakdowns.

The other violation stems from Niagara Mohawk's failure to properly evaluate the significance of the discovery and to report it to the NRC, as required.

The decision to hold a predecisional enforcement conference does not mean that the NRC has determined a violation has occurred or that enforcement action will be taken. Rather, the purpose is to discuss the apparent violations, their causes and safety significance; to provide the licensee with an opportunity to point out any errors that may have been made in the NRC inspection report; and to enable the licensee to outline its proposed corrective action.

No decision on the apparent violations will be made at this conference. That decision will be made by NRC officials at a later time.