Word: debarba
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...NORTHeast Utilities in June 1982 with a degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and experience with a top manufacturer of nuclear components. At Northeast, he started in the division that oversees the utility's 15 fossil-fuel plants, then moved to the nuclear group, specializing in performance and reliability. Eric DeBarba, Northeast's vice president of technical services, describes him as a solid engineer. "Nobody here ever questioned his honesty or motives," DeBarba says...
Galatis sent a memo to DeBarba, then vice president of nuclear engineering, in May 1993. Galatis was threatening to go to the NRC, so DeBarba created a task force to address "George's issues," as they were becoming known. The aim seems to have been to appease Galatis and keep him from going public. DeBarba says the calculations that Holtec and Galatis used were overly conservative and that experience told him there was no problem. The pool hadn't boiled, so it wouldn't boil. If a problem ever developed, there would be plenty of time to correct it before...
...DeBarba and Kacich created another task force but did not modify the cooling system. Kacich began having conversations with Jim Andersen, the NRC's project manager for Millstone 1, about Galatis' concerns and how to get through the spring 1994 off-load. Andersen, who works at NRC headquarters in Washington, has told the inspector general that he knew all along Millstone was off-loading its full core but didn't know until June 1993 that it was a problem. Even then he did not inform his superiors. In a bow to Galatis, Millstone modified its off-load procedure, moving...
Galatis told DeBarba and Kacich that he was going to the NRC. He continued to experience what he calls "subtle forms of harassment, retaliation and intimidation." His performance evaluation was downgraded, his personnel file forwarded to Northeast's lawyers. DeBarba "offered" to move him out of the nuclear group. He would walk into a meeting, and the room would go suddenly silent. DeBarba says he is unaware of any such harassment...
...requesting a license amendment--a cumbersome process that requires NRC review and public comment--or by filing an internal form updating the plant's safety reports. This was the easier path, but it could be used only if the issue didn't constitute an unreviewed safety question. Andersen told DeBarba and Kacich that the license amendment "is the cleaner way to go," but they weren't sure there was enough time to get an amendment approved before the next off-load, scheduled for October...