Holtec International has agreed to pay a six-figure fine for unspecified security violations at a nuclear power plant the company is decommissioning in New Jersey, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said this week.
Holtec told NRC Jan. 7 that it intends to pay the $150,000 fine proposed in December for security violations at Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in Forked River, N.J., near Toms River, an agency spokesperson told RadWaste Monitor via email Tuesday.
The Camden, N.J., nuclear services company “will send in a written response documenting its completed and planned corrective actions” in the coming weeks, the spokesperson said.
Agency inspectors should follow up with Holtec to make sure corrective actions are being implemented, the spokesperson said.
NRC announced the violations over the summer. The commission hasn’t disclosed any specifics, saying in a December press release that the subject matter is “sensitive.” NRC in August unveiled a separate set of violations at Oyster Creek, stemming from a former plant armorer who was found to have falsified records.
“We have taken steps to address the concerns and overall security performance at Oyster Creek and shared those learnings with our fleet to prevent a reoccurrence,” a Holtec spokesperson said in an emailed statement Tuesday. “The NRC has determined that the overall security program at the plant remains effective. We take these issues very seriously and reviewed and acted on the NRC’s violation findings.”
Holtec is currently decommissioning Oyster Creek, which it purchased from Exelon in 2019. The company has said that it could finish up the project by 2025 or so.
