The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week cited a Westinghouse fuel facility in South Carolina with two violations of federal nuclear rules, but details were scarce this week.
The two Severity Level IV violations were identified in an inspection of the Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility (CFFF) from Nov. 18-21, 2019, according to a Jan. 10 letter to plant manager Mike Annacone from Eric Michel, chief of Projects Branch 2 at the NRC’s Division of Fuel Facility Inspection.
These are the latest troubles at the plant in recent years, and come as Westinghouse attempts to renew its NRC operating license.
The letter did not provide any details on the violations. A detailed inspection report was not made public, and an agency spokesman declined to elaborate on the findings.
“The enclosed inspection report contains security-related information, and its disclosure to unauthorized individuals could present a security vulnerability,” Michel wrote in the letter to Annacone. “Therefore, the material in the enclosure will not be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the NRC’s document system.”
Westinghouse did not respond to a query regarding the NRC findings.
Severity Level IV violations are “those of more than minor concern,” according to the NRC. However, they are not considered serious enough to warrant an escalated enforcement process, which is a more detailed review of an issue.
Agency spokesman Joey Ledford said Westinghouse has taken corrective actions following the inspection, but would not elaborate on what those involved. “Any enforcement actions have yet to be determined,” he said by email.
Ledford also declined to provide details on what type of penalties Westinghouse could face, or a timeline for when any penalties would be enacted.
