UNITEDSTATES

NUCLEARREGULATORY
COMMISSION
WASHINGTON.D.C. 2055+{D01

0ctober20, 1999

Mr.MarkJ. Kelly
10955SouthForkRoad
Dillsboro.
Indiana47018

SUBJECT:ALLEGATION
NO.NRR-1999-4-0057

DearMr.Kelly:
,
Thisis in response to yourletterdatedSeptember 12,1999,regarding yourconcernrelatedto
Parl21 issueson reportability. Youwereconcerned aboutX-raydiffractiontextureanalysisof
zirconium alloytubingperformed in the LambdaResearch laboratory.Youalsoraiseda
concernregarding harassment and intimidation
for raisinga nuclearsafetyconcernto your
supervisor.

Enclosure 1 to thisletterdocuments yourconcernsas we understand them. We haveinitiated

actionsto examinethefactsandcircumstances on the basisof our understanding
of your
lf
concerns. the description of yourconcernsin the enclosureis notaccurate,pleasecontact
me so thatI canassurethatwe correctly understand yourconcernsbeforewe startour review.

peryourconversation
In addition, withNRCstaffon September 30, 1999,we understand
thatyoudo notobjectto havingyourconcernsreferredto the licensee,Yourtechnical
concernsmaybe referredto GE Nuclear,however, youridentityandpositionare notbeing
provided.Peryourrequestof September 30, 1999,we willcallyoubeforewe referyour
concernto GE Nuclear. We willreviewandevaluate the licensee'sactivities
and response
andinformyouof the finaldisposition
of thismattersif we referto GE Nuclear.

of yourtechnical
An evaluation concerns willnormallybe conductedwithin6 months,although
complexissuesmaytakelonger.Youwillbe informedof the resultsof our review.In resolving
yourconcerns,NRCintendsto takeall reasonableeffortsnotto discloseyouridentity.

In yourSeptember 12, 1999letteryourequested thatwe keepcommunications withyou

confidential.All reasonableeffortswillbe madeby the NRCto notdiscloseyouridentitywhen
resolving you
technicalissues.However, arenot considered a confidential
sourceunlessan
hasbeenformallygrantedin writing.The paragraph
explicitrequestof confidentiality below
explains whythe NRCcannotprotectthe identityof individualswhoraisediscrimination
issues.

Oneof yourconcernsinvolvesemployment for raisingsafetyconcerns.

discrimination
However,based uponyour conversationon October9, 1999,withSpecialAgentFaheyyou
haverequestedthatno investigation
of thismatterbe conducted at thistime. Pleasebe aware

C E R T I F I EMA
D IL
RETURNRECEIPT REQUESTED
Complainant Exhibit
77
Pase:
\ h tJBirs
Mr.M. Kelly -2- AllegationNo. NRR-1999-A-0057

thatthe NRCdoesnotinvestigate all allegations andwilldetermine

of discriminations whether
an investigationis warrantedin yourcaseat suchtimethatyou maywishto pursuean
of discrimination.
allegation An evaluation youwouldbe extremely
withoutidentifying difficult.
Therefore,if the NRCdoesinvestigate, pleasebe awarethatin evaluating
yourclaimof
discrimination,yournamewillbe disclosed. Furthermore,NRCevaluationof yourclaimof
employment maytakeup to 18 monthsto complete.
discrimination

Thestaffmaydetermine thatthe concernyouraisedmayaffecta numberof facilities andis

considered generic.Becausethe resolution of thisconcernwouldrequirea reviewof multiple
the timenecessary
facilities to resolvethisconcernmaybe extended.However, pleasebe
assuredthat the NRCwilltake appropriateand necessary
actionto maintainpublichealthand
safety.

The NRCbrochure, "Reporting SafetyConcerns to the NRC,"previouslysentto youin early

September 1999,containsinformation thatyou mayfindhelpfulin understanding our
processfor reviewof safetyconcerns.lt includesan important (on pages5-7)of our
discussion
procedures
identityprotection andlimitations. Pleasereadthatsection The brochurealso
includes of the rightof an individual
a discussion withthe U.S.Department
to filea complaint of
Labor(DOL)if the individualbelieveshe or shehasbeendiscriminated againstfor raising
safetyconcernsandthe individual desiresa personalremedy.

The NRCis responsible for enforcement actionsagainstutilities,vendors,or individualswho

discriminateagainstindividualswho raisesafetyconcerns.The DOLreviewis a public
process.DOLis responsible personalremedies,
for providing suchas reinstatement, backpay,
andso forth,The NRCcannotprovideyouwithpersonalremedies. Thistypeof remedycan
onlycomefromDOL.ForDOLto accepta complaint, it mustbe in writingand it mustbe
submitted to DOLwithin180daysof the discriminatory actor the dateyou receivedanywritten
noticeof an adversepersonnel action(e.9.,layoffor suspension), whichever occursfirst.
(Pleaseseepages8-10of the brochure.)Shouldyoudecideto file,the officefor processing
yourDOLcomplaint is as follows:

U.S.Department of Labor- OSHA

230SouthDearbornStreet,Room3244
lllinois
Chicago, 60604
Phonenumber:312-353-2220

withDOL,pleasesenda copyto us also.

lf youfilea complaint

Complainant Exhibit

fr n sst|
I 7- / Page:;
Mr.M. Kelly -3- Allegation
No.NRR-1999-A-0057

Thankyoufor notifyingus of yourconcerns.We willadviseyouwhenwe havecompleted our

reviewof thismatter.However, shouldyouhaveanyquestions or commentsduringthe interim
regarding thismatter,pleasecallme toll-freeat 1-800-368-5642.

Sincerely,

M, tzV trl
L71/tb* / / nfifi,t
FionaT. Tobler,SeniorAllegations
Coordinator
Officeof NuclearReactorRegulation

Enclosure:As stated

Exhibit
ComPlainant
Page:
6
73

b lxt)fl{1
 | 7'l_
ALLEGATION
NRR-1 999.4-0057
CONCERNS 1 THRU3
TEXTUREANALYSESOF ZIRCONIUMALLOY

CONCERN
{

X-raydiffraction
textureanalysesof zirconiumalloytubingperformedat LambdaResearch
Laboratoryare in question.The allegerbelievesthat analysesperforrnedat Lambdaarein error
and distortedresultsmay have beenreportedto clientslikeGE Nuclear.He also suspectsother
clientslikeWestinghouse BettisandWesternZirconiummay be involved.Writtenprocedures at
the laboratorywere notfollowed,andsomesimplycannotbe followed,becauseof the problems
withthe procedure,training,and software.

N R CR ES P ON S E :

The areaof textureanalysisis veryspecialized and requiresthat propersamplepreparation,

procedures, personneltrainingandequipment are utilized to produceaccurateresults.As
loted in a 1982 paper,
"Texture Measurement TechniQues for ZircaloyCladding:A Round-
RobinStudy,"whichwas published by J,E.,Lewis,et al. in the FifthCbnference on Zirconium in
the NuclearIndustry,thereare manyareasthat requirecarefulconsideration when performing
textureanalyses,Theseareasincludeproperspecimenpreparation with.particular
attention
to
the flatnessof the specimen,properspecimenalignment on the goniometer axis,diffraction
focusingcircle,andselection of the correct20-peak,amongotherthings.

As notedin yourSeptember 12, 1999,lettertoNRCandothersupporting documents,Lambda

Research seemsto havehad someproblems controlling
the flatnessof tihespecimenand
identifying
the correct20-peakpositionpriorto conductingtextureanalyses.Thesedeficiencies
.gglerqP-o$9jl-v,*tf9,allg"q"e*lo=hgyg resulted in "distorteo"..i$ensity
F e b n s n b S t a i i 1 i a t a C i . G i Y i 6 d e r a | o c c a s i o n s w h i cdjsitiblr.tlqn-
--FlF-'||-
h
WereindlcatiVeofE30-degreespecimenrotationproblem.However,it seemsthat Lambda,s
clientswerecognizantof thistype of errorand requestedthat Lambdarepeatthe analysis.
Overall,theseproblemsare indicativeof the needfor bettertrainingof LambdaReseaich's
personnel who preparethe specimens, runthe equipment and acquirethe data.

Withrespectto the deficiencies in specimenpreparation andthe textureanalysis technique(i.e.,

identification
of the correct2O-peakposition), we believethatthe allegeris makingeveryattempt
to correctthe situationand producemoreaccurate,consistentdata. Adherenceto the most
recentASTMStandardE B1-96,"standard TestMethodfor PreparingQuantitative pole
Figures," whichcontainsup-to-date proceduresfor conducting textureanalysis withmodern
: x-ray diffraction
equipment, may help to prevent
these typesof problems in thefuture.Further,
-
the references provided at the end of thisdocumentmaybe usefulfor making.orp.riron,
betweenLambdaResearch's dataandotherdatasetsregarding thetextureof various
zirconium materials.

ComplainantExhibit
p.dse:t
j
79

CX73
Enclosure
fi tl9o4
 '-<
l-z

Sincetheareaof textureanalysis is veryspecialized, we consulted

one of the interviews withtwoexpertsin thisfield
wasconducted wiina materiais science and engineering professor
haspublished manypapersonthetexture who
analysis ofiirconium-basei ,itoy.. The second
interviewwasconducted witha seniorengineei of oneof the majornuclearfuelfabrication
companies whohasexperience in textureanalysis froma ruerclaloinJJ"rignperspective.
Thesetwoexpertsstatedthatthegeneration of "baddata,,and/or,,distorted
attributed
to manysources, results,,
canbe
including poorsamplepreparation, inexperienced
technicians, andinadequate analysts or
controloi thedata'acqri.,lion equipment and procedures.
However' theybelieved thatthetechniques emplov.Jll,.t"*iure analysis
be usedto qualifysubstandard cannotinadverten'y
materiai.ln otherworos,the datafroma properlyprepared
specirnen, usingequipment thathasbeen. adeqrri"ivpr"paredfortextureanalysis,
resultsthatarerepresentative of thespecimen's willproduce
(ormlteriat's)texture.Forexample, one
expertconcluded that,usingthebasaldire.ct polefigri", ruortandardmaterialcouldbe
identified
if thepeakintensiiies and/orthelocations'of the peakrnaxima were
acceptable ranges'Thus,if thetextureanalyses wereconducted on ,,good outsidetheir
specirnen waspoorlyprepared (e.g.,the.1rig." i. rorih or wavy),thJterture material,,
butthe
wouldtendto havecharacteristics analysis results
thatcouldindicate tf,ematerial may be "unacceptable.,,
Alternatively, if thetextureanalysis is performeJ ;;';;;;quarity materiar,
thedatawouldshowthe material thecharacteristics of
is poor.Bothexpertsbelievedthattexiureanalysis,
cannotbe usedto deterrnine theintrinsic alone.
mechanical properties of zirconiuil..i];';;ffi
material'Rather'as oneexpertsuggeste.d, texture
properties ,irrvrit can beuseoio estimate mechanical
relative to certaindirections,ofthetubing1.ti, il't. resultsof a textureanalysis
showthatthetensilestrength of thetubein theaxLr'oiiection may
tensilestrength is larger, or sma'er, than the
in theradijldirection).

ffi.-Yl:.g,l9y",.g$ Jlyglgg;.-g r ! gg bdaResearch,sother cIi

-"- -'rrY' rv vrq\vv
lsllluse thetextureanal
-rrE u rcr( r ilD r;uiltpany g_oEs n_ol-cong
lTjv,"^ l^ll.:ll'::1 qoluIsy'".s'ol a*Lg,g$&g.p,e-'Jp
tq";aruit5char;ci;;i;i;
text
ure a
tsz\tl'..
e drnrcrrvseu
aIvses are
areconoucteo
condu-cte
o typically
tvpicar r??tlifi,{bi
as part *:.oJ thetubing The
ofian
it;;evaiuaiiifii-61n'duitt.ffiUaf6lieffi
new manufacturingprocess. Alternatively,
;iiit
panyemploys
his aorprnv emplovs a test
test that
ther revaluates
arrar,
r v d t ura*ao ne "
a t e s *rr^
Ithe

*. Lrfi t*.n''ln,r,.t,rins
il:fil':";m:il:: !?"tP*:,'"i:?::i:i1l_1"ffi
I["Jf?3,ff::ilT:,li:1"::::lf:^1:1i11l
processes
ed+ad'ixJ'#[1'ftiiff,[:'ill,i,i
;;ffi ;.itffili,.J'ilfl:
,.;;H;;1T#;,#,11,ff ll5
'3iJi:Ji,:
;illffl:
:*f;i::,"#*:?^llil,:,.":1,_lrg:lq::1fi
to bg accgnfahle
evaluate
themechanicar
ln arlrlilinn
properties
{a 4r-^ r^or!

ofthecradding ;;itit;:]:
4L^ -

";
In summary,the problemsassociated
withLambdaResearch's
textureanalysis,
we believe,
;[[5:[j"ii,:::'::,lljf::':::,fr:r?:1lti1,;;
proceduret ;H.";,'."ana,vsis
r,Fj;"ft*"=
#**:i^ l;I:yfl,1'
inadvertentty
quaiify ryses
-m;61;;-tif#irdi?opglfdfflor,
arone beused
Qannlt to
mite,iar
Hnses"ep-tebte
zircohidnil-baseio tfninsi'at;rHi-uil;;; d;i;;;#iito,
concluded
thaterrorsresulting
te4ture
alatysiswe have
fromtheteitureanarysis'at
LambdaResearch in the

-2-

u o mplainantExhibit
, 2 Pase,t,, 0 tteos
development
of engineered components is not a safetyconcern,Therefore,the NRC did not
pursuewhetherdistortedresultswerereportedto Lambda'sclients.

C O N C ER N
2:

The ownerof the companyrepeatedly refusedto allowthe allegeror anyoneelseto reviewthe

pastzirconiumalloytextureanalysisreportsand data,whichwoulddetermineif the problems
withthe analyseshavecausedbaddatato be reportedto the clients.

N R CR ES P ON S E :

Baseduponour responseto Concern1 and our determination

that the issuesinvolvedwerenot
safetysignificant
the NRCwill not pursuethisconcern.

C O N G ER N
3:

Fearof Retaliation:

The allegerbelieves,if the ownerof tamtOa Researchwereto find out that he discussedthese
concernswith NRC,GE Nuclear,or otherclients,he wouldprobablymakechanges.

N R CR ES P ON S E :

On September30, 1999,we had a conference callwithyouto gatherinformation relating

to a potentialdiscrimination
specifically issueyou identified to us on September2g, 1ggg.On
October9, 1999,we had a followup conference callto identifythe agentassignedto the
investigation
andto schedulean interview.We explainedthat an investigation by our Officeof
lnvestigations
intoyourallegationof discrimination by LambdaResearchcouldnot be pursued
withoutyourapprovalto releaseyouridentity.Duringour conversation you requestedNRCto
putthe discrimination
investigationon hold,but pursuethe technicalallegations.Basedupon
yourrequestthe Officeof Investigationswill not pursueyourallegationof discrimination.
Therefore,NRCdoesnot planon takingany actionon thisconcern.

ComplainantExhibit
77 Page:tf '

-3-
lv'l fi f,$tg,o6