2) A provision that any other sale, possession, or use of illegal drugs will result in immediate revocation of access to vital areas, mandatory rehabilitation prior to reinstatement of access, and possible discharge from nuclear power plant activities. -8 The industry, by periodic briefings or other appropriate methods, is expected to keep the Commission informed on program status. The NRC may also from time to time ask individual licensees to provide such information as the Commission may need to assess program adequacy. ENFORCEMENT Violations of any applicable reporting requirement or instances of a person being unfit for duty such that plant safety is potentially affected will be subject to the enforcement process. Any NRC staff enforcement action pertaining to fitness for duty during this grace period will be undertaken only with Commission concurrence. In addition to required reports and inspections, information requests under 10 CFR 50.54(f) may be made and enforcement meetings held to ensure understanding of corrective actions. Orders may be issued where necessary to achieve corrective actions on matters affecting plant safety. In brief, the NRC's decision to use discretion in enforcement in order to recognize industry initiatives in no way changes the NRC's ability to issue orders, call enforcement meetings, or suspend licensees should a significant safety problem be found. -9 Nothing in this Policy Statement shall limit the authority of the NRC to conduct inspections as deemed necessary to take appropriate enforcement action when regulatory requirements are not met. ENCLOSURE NO. 2 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION COMMISSION POLICY STATEMENT ON FITNESS FOR DUTY OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANT PERSONNEL AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission ACTION: Final Commission Policy Statement on Fitness for Duty of Nuclear SUMMARY: This statement presents the policy of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) with respect to fitness for duty and describes the activities that the NRC will use to execute its responsibilities to ensure the health and safety of the public. To provide reasonable assurance that all nuclear power plant personnel werking-in WITH ACCESS TO vital areas at operating plants are fit for duty, licensees and applicants w+1 ARE developING and implementING fitness for duty programs USING GUIDANCE in aeeerdance-with the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) "EEI Guidelines to Effective Drug and Alcohol/Fitness for Duty Policy Development." The-guidelines-w÷11-be-provided-to-the-NRG-for review-and-comment. It remains the continuing responsibility of the NRC to independently evaluate applicant development and licensee implementation of fitness for duty programs to ensure that desired results are achieved. Nothing in this Policy Statement limits NRC's authority or responsibility to follow up on operational events or its enforcement authority when regulatory requirements are not met. However, while evaluating the effectiveness of this guidance, the NRC intends to exercise discretion in enforcement matters related to fitness for duty programs for nuclear power plant personnel and refrain from new rulemaking in this area for a period of at least eighteen months from the effective date of this Policy Statement. - 2 EFFECTIVE DATE: (Upon publication in the Federal Register) FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Loren Bush, Operating Reactor Programs D.C. Commission, Washington, D. C. 20555, telephone (301) 492-8080. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: BACKGROUND The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recognizes drug and alcohol abuse problems to be a social, medical, and safety problem affecting every segment of our society. Given the pervasiveness of the problem it must be recognized that it exists to some extent in the nuclear industry. Prudence, therefore, requires that the Commission consider additional appropriate measures to provide reasonable assurance that a person who is under the influence of alcohol or any substance legal or illegal which affects his ability to perform his duties safely, is not allowed access to a vital area at a nuclear power plant. The nuclear power industry, through WITH ASSISTANCE FROM programs developed and coordinated by EEI and the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), has made and is continuing to make substantial progress in this area. A Task Force on Drug Abuse Problems, Policies, and Programs established IN 1982 by EEI's Industrial Relations DIVISION Executive Advisory Committee, |