A former supervisor at New York’s Indian Point nuclear power plant has been charged with faking records to hide fuel contamination that was above acceptable limits.
Former chemistry manager Daniel Wilson was charged with fabricating records to conceal a violation of Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirements. NRC Spokesman Neil Sheehan says the allegations concern fuel for Indian Point’s backup emergency diesel generators.
He says the NRC found that the generators would have functioned with the contaminated fuel. Jerry Nappi is a spokesman for Indian Point parent Entergy.
And he talks about how the alleged falsification of records came to light.
The criminal complaint against Wilson, an Orange County resident, is from the U.S. attorney’s office. It contains two charges, one of misconduct; the other, making false statements under NRC jurisdiction. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said any alleged deliberate misconduct at a facility like Indian Point is a matter of grave concern to his office. The NRC’s Sheehan says the NRC is pursuing a civil enforcement case, a case that could include Entergy.
Both Sheehan and Nappi say they are not aware of Wilson having a record of any prior problems during his employment at the Westchester County-based plant. Sheehan says Wilson did reveal a motivation for his alleged actions.
Nappi points out the fuel contamination would not necessarily have shut down the plant, even temporarily, as Entergy has a timeframe during which to remedy the situation.
Nappi says Wilson worked at Indian Point from 1983 to 2012, and was chemistry manager from 2007 until he resigned in April 2012, one month after Sheehan says the NRC began its investigation.
