[ RadSafe ] Dresden senior reactor operator planned to rob an armored car

[Scott Davidson]

And this guy passed the psych profile for working at a nuclear plant.

On Tue, Oct 29, 2013 at 10:14 AM, Clayton J Bradt
<CJB01 at health.state.ny.us>wrote:

>
> Unbelievable!
>
> Clayton J. Bradt
> Principal Radiophysicist
> NYS Dept. of Health
> **********
>  No: III-13-039 October 28, 2013
> CONTACT: Viktoria Mitlyng 630-829-9662
> Prema Chandrathil 630-829-9663
>
> NRC Issues Orders to
> Dresden Nuclear Plant and Former Plant Employees
> The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has issued a confirmatory order to
> Exelon Generation Company, LLC for one incident involving violations of the
> Behavioral Observation Program at the Dresden Nuclear Power Station. In
> addition, the NRC issued orders prohibiting two former Dresden employees
> involved in the situation from participating in nuclear work regulated by
> the NRC. Dresden is located in Morris, Ill., 25 miles southwest of Joliet.
> The NRC investigated the incident in which senior reactor operator Michael
> J. Buhrman, planned to rob an armored car and recruited the assistance of
> another senior reactor operator, Landon E. Brittain. The plan was not
> carried out. However, Buhrman was apprehended for aggravated vehicular
> carjacking and fled the country after being released on bail. He was tried
> and sentenced in absentia. Brittain has a number of criminal charges
> pending against him.
> The NRC concluded that Buhrman’s and Brittain’s actions while offsite
> demonstrated they could not be relied upon to adhere to NRC requirements to
> protect plant and public safety. In addition, Dresden personnel who knew
> about Buhrman’s plan to commit an offsite crime failed to report the
> situation to plant management, which is an NRC requirement for workers who
> have unescorted access to the plant.
> “We expect nuclear workers to be trustworthy and feel responsible for plant
> safety. This includes alerting management should they encounter
> questionable behavior in other workers. Plants must have effective programs
> and training to make sure employees adhere to these standards,” said NRC
> Region III Administrator Cynthia D. Pederson. “The incident at Dresden
> shows a failure to adhere to NRC requirements. This situation was unusual;
> we do not normally encounter this type of egregious behavior in plant
> workers. For this reason, the NRC has taken strong regulatory action
> against the individuals involved and the plant. Exelon is taking steps to
> address the problem and we will evaluate their effectiveness going
> forward.”
> The confirmatory order to Exelon was issued as a result of the Alternative
> Dispute Resolution process, which uses a mediator to assist the NRC and a
> licensee to reach an agreement for a more effective use of the enforcement
> process. The company agreed to abide by the conditions of the order
> requiring a number of actions to ensure the NRC’s concerns will be
> addressed. Some of the commitments include: enhancing the behavioral
> observation program procedure at all Exelon nuclear plants; providing
> training to company staff on the revision; evaluating the effectiveness of
> the training; and developing a presentation of the facts and lessons
> learned from this incident to be presented at industry forums.
> Exelon agreed to address these issues according to the timelines
> established in the order and to notify the NRC in writing upon completion
> of specific actions.
> The orders to Buhrman and Brittain prohibit them from participating in
> NRC-licensed activities due to the NRC’s lack of confidence that they can
> meet the agency’s safety requirements. The orders state, “This action is
> necessary to provide the NRC with reasonable assurance that the protection
> of public health and safety will not be compromised by your involvement in
> NRC-licensed activities.”
> The NRC’s confirmatory order to Exelon , orders to Buhrman and Brittain,
> and the letter summarizing the results of the NRC’s investigation will be
> available on the NRC’s website .
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