Regulator confirms protection for employees

Thursday, 11 January 2007 The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced on 5 January that it had issued a confirmatory order, supporting an employee who suffered discrimination after raising safety concerns.

The order was issued to Nuclear Management Company (NMC), operators of the Point Beach nuclear plant near Two Rivers, Wisconsin. An NRC statement said that its investigation had determined that a Senior Reactor Operator at Point Beach was discriminated against in December 2004 by plant management for raising safety issues involving deficiencies in a safety system operating procedure. the operator had identified possible violations of NRC requirements in a document prepared as part of the plant's correction action program. The NRC also determined that raising the issue had affected the operator's employee evaluation.

In October 2006 NMC agreed to take corrective action at Point Beach as well as at three other plants it operates: Palisades in Michigan, and Monticello and Prairie Island in Minnesota, all of which are owned by We Energies. NMC will review and revise its policy for the writing of correction action reports and train employees and managers on management's expectation that employees should not be discouraged from using the correction action program. NMC supervisors and managers will also be provided with training on the company's policies for maintaining a safety conscious work environment, NRC said.

The NRC order confirms that agreement, which was negotiated through NRC's Alternative Dispute Resolution process. No fine has been proposed.

Further information

Nuclear Management Company
We Energies

Nuclear Regulatory Commission