The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has proposed a $150,000 fine for Florida Power & Light after several of its employees falsified maintenance records at the Turkey Point nuclear power plant.
The violations did not endanger the public, according to the report.
NRC announced Thursday it was proposing the fine in response to a series of investigations ending in 2020. The completed probe found that FPL mechanics falsified information in a work order and technicians deliberately provided inaccurate details related to specific components at the Turkey Point site.
A supervisor and a department head also were found to have influenced others within the department to conceal this maintenance error. The investigations uncovered misdeeds related to inspection and maintenance of a safety-related check valve, as well as a mis-positioned plant component, according to the NRC.
Following meetings with FPL, the NRC determined that the actions merited a Severity Level 3 violation under the agency’s enforcement policy. FPL accepted the results of the probe and was informed of the civil penalty two days ago. It has 30 days to pay the fine or protest it.
FPL already has initiated corrective actions to prevent the events leading to the violations happening again, according to the NRC. The violations, as noted, did not result in increased risks to the public and, in fact, the NRC rated Turkey Point in the top performance category in its most recent review.
Located south of Miami, Turkey Point’s two generating units began operations in the early 1970s. Together they total close to 1.6 GW of electricity at capacity, enough to supply 900,000 homes, according to FPL.
They received NRC re-licensing approval two years ago, making Turkey Point the first U.S. nuclear power plant to gain licensing up to 80 years of lifespan.
