Exelon’s And Pentas Controls’s Fake Nuclear Plant Parts

I doubt he would do this without instructions from Peach Bottom and Brunswick.   

Misrepresentation – Display Serial Numbers - Pentas Controls, LLC (Pentas) - In 2010, the owner/president of Pentas directed one of his employees to switch a broken display on a Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station steam leak detector monitor with a working display unit from the Brunswick Nuclear Plant site. Before its shipment, the owner/ president also instructed an employee to file down the serial number on the substitute display to conceal its identity and to ship the working display to Peach Bottom without informing that site of the switch. On March 15, 2011, the owner/president made false statements to NRC investigators by repeatedly denying that the unrepairable Peach Bottom display had been substituted with a working display from Brunswick site.

Because of the egregiousness of the owner/president’s actions, the U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecuted the case in Federal district court in Phoenix, AZ. The president pled guilty to making false statements to NRC investigators, a felony, and was sentenced on February 11, 2013. In exchange for his guilty plea, the president will serve a 5-year probation during which time he will complete several conditions that the NRC developed and included in the DOJ’s global settlement agreement. The NRC will monitor these conditions. As part of the agreement, the owner/president was required to notify his employees of his violation and its consequences and Pentas was required to conduct training on safety-related activities and hire an outside contractor to conduct employee protection training. The owner/president was banned from safety-related decision making for 1 year and from quality-assurance oversight activities indefinitely. Additional information is available in Judgment in Department of Justice prosecution of President of Pentas Controls, Inc., including Terms of Probation (ADAMS Accession No. ML13213A376) and in the NRC Enforcement Program Annual Report, Calendar Year 2012, on page 16; (ADAMS Accession No. ML13079A446).

"The company specializes in nuclear reactor and power plant equipment repairs and refurbishments."

 

This is the model of these monstrous nuclear repair parts/refurbishment vendors or contractors. They sand papered the serial numbers of the nuclear plant component and a whistleblower brought it to the attention of the NRC.

I give you an example in the Brunswick nuclear power plants with their Nordberg DG manufacturer. Their emergency Diesel Generators are no longer supported by a large manufacturer. Nordberrg has long gone bankrupt. Duke has purchased the paperwork ruminant of Nordberg. They got them patents. The major repair parts, parts refurbishment partial owner or vendors basically goes to the commercial ship fleet graveyard where many obsolete Norberg diesel generators now reside. These dgs propelled the screws of the ship. We are talking WW II vintage here. It is a really dirty business. These venders collect parts of the obsolete dgs and refurbish them into nuclear grade parts. They had a lot of troubles with these parts. Duke planed to replace all eight emergency diesel generators on the two plants...but the project was cancelled. The DG job at the two plants was more expensive than actually the value of the two sites. I believe these guys are two plant sites...meaning at least eight diesel generator. Duke thought these guys needed to be replace, but the value of the sites and price of electricity got them backed into a corner nobody wants to be in.
      
Basically the utilities are pretty tough on these small companies. Its provide us what we need or perish. It is a dirty business. In the old days their own employees would do this dirty work. Getting a private company to do it, its a barrier that protects the nuclear plant credibility with the NRC.    

  Originally post on 12/7/12

What a disgusting April 30 letter the NRC wrote to the Pentas president...the letter included at the end of this article.

Can you believe this guy ever had the trustworthiness to work on critical nuclear safety equipment... 

And "United Controls International inc" of Tucker Georgia is all wrapped up in the South Korean fraudulent certification of nuclear power plant replacement parts...

 

This guy wasn't a low level guy...he was the owner of the company. ..you can assume he taught all his employees how to lie to high up NRC officials. Sounds like he was use to getting away with NRC lying?

Phoenix business owner pleads guilty to lying about nuclear power plant repairs

Phoenix Business Journal by Mike Sunnucks, Senior Reporter

The owner of a Phoenix company faces prison time and a $250,000 fine after pleading guilty to making false statements to federal investigators regarding repairs to a Pennsylvania nuclear power plant.

Kevin A. Doyle, 47, of Scottsdale, owns Pentas Controls LLC. The company specializes in nuclear reactor and power plant equipment repairs and refurbishments.

Doyle entered his guilty plea Nov. 30 in federal court in Phoenix.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Arizona said Pentas was not able to repair measurements display equipment at the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Federal prosecutors said Doyle then lied to investigators from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission about the repair and the shipment of a substitute display panel from the Brunswick Nuclear Generating Station in North Carolina.

Nuclear power plants have a wide array of rules, regulations and laws governing their owners, operators, contractors and repair firms.

Doyle will be sentenced Feb. 11. He faces as much as five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

Pentas Controls

Constellation Nuclear
Tennessee Valley Authority
Duquesne Light
Progress Energy
Texas Utilities
Niagara Mohawk
Exelon
Entergy
Florida Power & Electric
First Energy
Union Electric
Pennsylvania Power & Light
Carolina Power & Light
South Carolina Electric & Gas

Progress Energy

Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant

IES-Duane Arnold

Texas Utilities.

 

Kevin Doyle

General Manager

Value added services to the  Nuclear Power Utilities Industry 

Pentas Controls was founded in 1992 with the specific objective of supplying quality printed circuit board replacements to the nuclear, fossil fuel, and hydro-electric utilities as well as other industrial customers. Pentas has since developed the specialized capability to troubleshoot, reverse engineer, perform failure analysis, manufacture, repair/refurbish and thoroughly test instrument modules and power supplies as well as printed circuit board assemblies.

Pentas' combined nuclear engineering management experience exceeds 80 years. This, coupled with our in-house assembly and troubleshooting, testing and manufacturing capabilities positions Pentas to handle all customers' needs for refurbishing/repairing or replacing like-for-like instrument and control boards, instrument modules, power supplies and other control devices.

One example of this support would be the total refurbishment of 39 Bailey Modules. This project included replacement of all aluminum electrolytic capacitors (including 100% component receipt testing, Substitution, Evaluations, 48 hour burn-ins, Full Functional Testing and all supporting documentation). This project was completed in 6 days from receipt to the ship date. The utility furnished Pentas all the applicable bills of material, test specifications and Model type/quantities. With this data Pentas was able to order the applicable components and perform receipt testing prior to the Module receipts. This particular project required continuous communication with the utility prior to the start of the project and continually throughout the project. A COMPLETE SUCCESS!!!!!

PENTAS CONTROLS QUALITY IS #1.

Pentas demands quality and integrity in all its interactions, internal and external, to maintain the highest possible reputation within the business community and to promote inter-company unity. Each person is individually responsible for and is expected to maintain quality, integrity and ethics in all corporate activities.

"10CFR50" Appendix B Qualified

Pentas Controls has successfully passed 10CFR50, Appendix B audits and quality servers performed by Progress Energy, Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, IES-Duane Arnold, and Texas Utilities.

Pentas Controls can assist you in lowering your maintenance cost.

With today's rapid growth and advancements in the electronics technology and manufacturing methods can renders many instrument designs obsolete shortly after production is complete. This situation presents a unique challenge, especially to industries that require strict control of configuration to maintain equipment qualification or who are trying to contain costs. Often, circuit board and instrumentation and control devices are obsolete long before the life expectancy of their host equipment. At best, new replacements are expensive and require long lead times. In some cases, equipment owners are forced to complete expensive modifications, redesign, and document updates to accommodate the new replacement parts and keep the equipment and/or plant operable. As a result, Operations and Maintenance costs increase significantly.
 

Pentas controls can help you meet your repair and refurbishment requirements.

Pentas can assist our customers in becoming more cost competitive. Pentas' utility or industrial customers can no longer afford to continue paying the high costs demanded by the Original Equipment Manufacturers (if they are still in business) for printed circuit board assemblies or electronic modules, controllers, power supplies, etc. or the costs associated with system or component modifications (i.e., equipment costs, technical specification/procedure changes, downtime, re-training, etc.) By maintaining the existing system configurations, Pentas will lower our customers' Operating and Maintenance Budgets significantly.

About Us

Our Engineering Experience

Pentas' combined nuclear engineering management experience exceeds 80 years. Our in-house assembly and troubleshooting, testing, and manufacturing capabilities position Pentas to handle all customer needs for refurbishing, repairing, or replacing like-for-like instrument and control boards, instrument modules, power supplies, and other control devices.

Our expertise encompasses all areas relevant to electronic device manufacturing and repair for nuclear and commercial industries. Our many years of nuclear experience include dedication testing of various commercial grade electronics for use in safety-related applications; performing numerous equivalency evaluations, developing dedication testing plans for circuit boards, power supplies, and instrumentation and control devices; and performing component and system level troubleshooting and start-up evaluations.

Additionally, our personnel have served on various Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Plant Support Engineering (PSE) and Nuclear Management Resources (NUMARC) committees. Pentas Controls has successfully passed "10CFR50," Appendix B audits, and Quality Surveys performed by Progress Energy, Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, IES - Duane Arnold, and Texas Utilities.

Our customer base includes the following electric utilities:

Constellation Nuclear
Tennessee Valley Authority
Duquesne Light
Progress Energy
Texas Utilities
Niagara Mohawk
Exelon
Entergy
Florida Power & Electric
First Energy
Union Electric
Pennsylvania Power & Light
Carolina Power & Light
South Carolina Electric & Gas

David Hignite
QA Manager

· The Quality Control Program of Pentas Controls LLC. meets Appendix B of 10 CFR Part 50, "Quality Assurance Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants and Fuel Reprocessing Plants" audit has successfully undergone Quality audits."

· The intent of the Program is to also meet the requirements of the International Standard (ISO) 9001 "Quality Systems - Model for quality assurance in design/development, production, installation and servicing."

· Pentas Controls, LLC. intends to strictly comply with the Quality Control Program and all lower tier documents to assure our customers the highest standards of quality and integrity.

Pentas demands quality and integrity in all its interactions, internal and external, to maintain the highest possible reputation within the business community and to promote inter-company unity. Each person is individually responsible for and is expected to maintain quality,integrityand ethics in all corporate activities.

RICHARD HENNE
Director of Engineering Services

Pentas Controls - Mission Statement:

"To Assist our Customers in achieving Maximum production output while Minimizing Operating and Maintenance Expenses." 

Achievable by:

Supporting our customers in maintaining existing systems to facilitate the customers needs to be more cost competitive by reducing maintenance costs. 

Enter into long term strategic alliance or partnership arrangements to maintain existing plant configurations throughout plant life.

Partake or assist in any possible future system needs (i.e., new design, enhancements, modifications, etc.). 

Assist in areas of Inventory Control and Warehousing to minimize excessive costs of maintaining inventory and any associated costs ultimately passed on to O&M budgets.

Director of Engineering Services Pentas Controls - Mission Statement: "To Assist our Customers in achieving Maximum production output while Minimizing Operating and Maintenance Expenses."

Achievable by: Supporting our customers in maintaining existing systems to facilitate the customers needs to be more cost competitive by reducing maintenance costs. Enter into long term strategic alliance or partnership arrangements to maintain existing plant configurations throughout plant life. Partake or assist in any possible future system needs (i.e., new design, enhancements, modifications, etc.). Assist in areas of Inventory Control and Warehousing to minimize excessive costs of maintaining inventory and any associated costs ultimately passed on to O&M budgets.

Products

 

All reverse engineering manufactured for identical fit, form and function to original OEM product specification.

Please request Quote for pricing.

Power Supply
Reverse Engineering
PCI-2-04-A

Reverse engineering of Lamda LCS-2-04 Power Supply.

 

Sub Assembly

Reverse Engineering

PCI-101070506-A

Reverse engineering of Yusa Exide Current model.

PCI's in stock and Quick Turn PCB's

Many in stock replacement PCB's and Quick turned manufactured PCB's.

 

Services
 

Value added services include:

Ability for customers to maintain existing system configurations. Repair and refurbishment of printed circuit board assemblies. Repair and refurbishment of power supplies, instrument modules, controllers, etc.

Repair and Refurbished parts OEM's to include:

ABS/PCI	ACDC Electronics	Acopian	Adtech Power
Aipax	Alison Controls	Altec Lansing	AMG Electronics
Analog Devices	Armistead	ASI	Astec
Bell & Howell	Bentley-Nevada	Berkleonics	BW/IP
C & D	Calex	Canberra	CE
CE ACDC Electronics	Chemetron	Computer Products	Condor Inc.
Controlotron	Cooper	Cooper Electronics	CPI
Deltron	Devar	Diamond Electronics	Dressen-Barnes
Eaton	Ederer	Electro Devices	Electronique
Encore	Encore Elec.	ESFAS	Esterline Angus
F & P	Factron	Federal Signal Corp.	Fiber Options
Fire Systems Inc.	Fluid Components	Foxboro	GA Technologies
Gamma-Metrics	GE	GEMAC	General Atomic
Gulf Electronics	Hathaway Corp.	Hathaway/PCI	HC Power Inc.
Honeywell	HV	Hydro Products	Ingersoll-Rand
ITT Barton	Kaman	Kaman/AIS	KaY-Ray
Kemco	Kepco	L & N	Lambda
LH Research	Louis Allis	Love Controls	National Sonics
Newport	Nine Mile	NLI	NMC
NRC	Optron	Panalarm	Pentas Controls LLC
PCI/ASI	PCI/Hathaway	PCI/National Sonics	PCI/Teledyne
Pentas Controls/Teledyne	Pioneer Magnetics	PMC	Polyphase Instruments
Power Design	Power One	Pyrotonics	RFL
Riley	RIS	Robicon	Ronan
Rosemount	RTP	S & K	Schlumberger
SCI	S-E-Co.	Sentry	Sentry Equi, Inc.
Seimens	Simmonds	Percesion	SIMPLEX
SKF	Sola	Solidstate Controls	Sorrento
Speedomax	SPS	Struthers-Dunn	TEC
Technical Novations	Thermon	TI	Todd
Topaz	Tracor Westronics	Transistor Devices	Transmation
Triumph Controls, Inc.	Trygon	Validyne	Victoreen
Vitro Corp.	Wanless	Weathermeasure	Westinghouse
Westronics	Woodward	Yuasa Exide	Zenith

Failure Analysis Capabilities:

Pentas Controls can provide all levels of module, PCB and component level root cause failure analysis reporting. Pentas Controls possesses the ability to analyze and test almost any electrical component, PCB assembly or Module assembly.

We have a multi-million dollar laboratory at our disposal to analyze performance, root cause of failure, or operating characteristics of circuit board assemblies or electronic modules, controllers, power supplies, etc., as well as their component parts

Sophisticated test equipment allows us to directly observe electrical device semiconductor junctions and additional capabilities range up to and include layer-by- layer die analysis to determine cause of failure in integrated circuits.

Our laboratory is also capable of performing material analysis and testing.

With access to these formidable capabilities, Pentas Controls can determine root cause of failure for frequently replaced "trouble" printed circuit boards or electronic modules, controllers, power supplies, etc., and suggest corrective action which will improve the reliability of these components.

April 30, 2013

Mr. Kevin Doyle, President

Pentas Controls, LLC

20650 N 29

th Place

Suite 106
Phoenix, AZ 85050

Dear Mr. Doyle:

We have reviewed the information you included in your various email submissions. As noted in our April 4, 2013, email response, please be aware that Pentas Controls, LLC (hereinafter

referred to as Pentas Controls) is subject to Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC inspections, which will determine whether Pentas Controls is meeting all applicable NRC regulations and requirements as well as the Terms of Probation contained in your sentencing document. NRC requirements that apply to Pentas Controls include, for example, that Pentas Controls shall comply with NRC regulations 10 CFR §§ 50.5, Deliberate Misconduct; 50.7, Employee Protection; 50.9, Completeness and Accuracy of Information; 10 CFR Part 21, Reporting of Defects and Noncompliance; and Appendix B of 10 CFR Part 50, Quality Assurance Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants and Fuel Reprocessing Plants. The Terms of Probation are additional requirements that Pentas Controls must complete as it engages in activities as a vendor of nuclear services and repairs.

In light of your submissions to the NRC in response to the Terms of Probation contained in your sentencing document, the NRC has the following responses:

I. Communication:

A. Requirement:

1(a): Within 30 days of sentencing, defendant shall provide a letter or memo to his employees at Pentas Controls, LLC (hereinafter Pentas Controls) involved in any nuclear safety-related activities including, but not limited to, the repair, refurbishment, or replacement of nuclear safety-related items, advising them that he violated NRC requirements and the consequences of his violation.

B. Submission:

You sent an initial letter to Pentas Controls employees within the appropriate time in response to Requirement 1(a) above; however, the first letter failed to capture the basis for this communication as articulated in the Terms of Probation. You subsequently sent a revised letter to your employees addressing most of the issues the NRC raised but concluded the letter with a statement that Pentas Controls employees could bring safety-related concerns to you in addition to the other points of contact. In a subsequent email, the NRC advised you that including yourself as a point of contact was not appropriate.

On March 26, 2013, you sent the NRC an email with an attachment containing a third letter you provided to Pentas Controls employees that removes the offending language, i.e., this revision excludes your name as a point of contact.

C. NRC Response: Your email states that you provided the revised letter attached to your March 26, 2013 email to Pentas Controls employees involved in any nuclear safety-related activities including, but not limited to, the repair, refurbishment, or replacement of nuclear safety-related items. You removed your name as a point of contact for Pentas Controls employees to bring safety-related concerns and appropriately addressed the other information included in Requirement 1(a). The NRC will review Pentas Controls documentation during inspection to verify this.

II. Safety-Related Training:

A. Requirement:

 

2 (a): Pentas Controls will create a written policy, develop training, and train employees
involved in any nuclear safety-related activities including but not limited to the repair, refurbishment, or replacement of nuclear safety-related items, addressing compliance with NRC regulations within 60 days of sentencing.

B. Submission:

You have hired a Quality Assurance (QA) Manager, Mr. Robert Prigmore.

You submitted a document entitled “Pentas Controls, 10 CFR Part 21 Notifications.”

You also submitted QA Procedures for Qualification of Inspection and Testing Personnel and Qualification of Solder Personnel.

C. NRC Response: Mr. Prigmore’s resume indicates that he is qualified to create the written policy, develop training and train employees in areas addressing compliance with NRC regulations specifically focusing on QA processes and procedures that are contained in 10 CFR Part 21 and Appendix B of 10 CFR Part 50.

The NRC is not aware of any written procedures indicating that Pentas Controls has a written policy addressing the requirements in Appendix B of 10 CFR Part 50.

The QA Manager is responsible for evaluating qualification procedures for adequacy. As part of NRC inspection, we will review these procedures and verify their implementation, including training that the QA Manager provides, per the Terms of Probation and Appendix B requirements. However, the NRC does not intend to review Pentas Controls qualification

procedures to provide guidance on how to meet Appendix B requirements.

III. Employee Protection Training:

A. Requirement: 2(b): Within 90 days of sentencing, Pentas Controls shall hire an outside consultant, approved by the NRC, with expertise in NRC employee protection regulations to develop and conduct training modules, and provide recommendations for improvement. The training will include:

1. Information regarding the important role an open and collaborative work environment

plays in a positive safety culture as described in the NRC’s Safety Culture Policy Statement, which applies to vendors and suppliers of nuclear safety-related items;

2. The importance of providing complete and accurate information to the NRC, including a

focus on the actions that led to the subject terms of probation and the lesson-learned from the precipitating event to include a review of the consequences of and the potential actions that NRC may take against an individual for willful violations;

3. A focus on 10 CFR 50.5, “Deliberate Misconduct,” 50.7, “Employee Protection,” and 50.9. “Completeness and Accuracy of Information” to include potential enforcement outcomes when these requirements are violated either by an organization such as Pentas Controls or an individual.

4. This requirement then lists several items that must be included in this training, including that training records shall be retained consistent with applicable Pentas Controls record retention policies and made available to the NRC upon request.

B. Submission:

To satisfy this requirement, you initially submitted a list of employees that had attended training that was developed and completed by the Pentas Controls QA Manager, Mr. Prigmore. Because Mr. Prigmore is the QA Manager for Pentas Controls, he does not meet the requirement that initial training be developed and provided by an outside consultant. The NRC called this to your attention. In response, in emails dated April 8 and April 9, 2013, you

submitted the resumes of three outside consultants, i.e., Mr. David A. Taggart, Mr. Peter J. Rail, and Mr. Russell Wise, to develop and conduct the training specified in 2(b).

C. NRC Response:

The NRC has reviewed the resumes of the consultants and all three consultants appear qualified to develop and provide this training; however, Mr. Taggart is associated with the NDT Consulting Group, LLC, which is the same consulting company with which Mr. Prigmore has been associated. This association does not provide the independence envisioned by this requirement. While an actual conflict of interest may not exist; the appearance of a conflict of interest does exist. As with the training discussed in item 2(a) above, as part of its inspection, the NRC will review the training records and verify its implementation per the Terms of Probation.

IV. Organizational Changes:

A. Requirements:

3(a): For the first 365 days of probation, defendant is banned from any decision-making authority under the purview of the NRC regulatory authority regarding any nuclear safety-related activities included but not limited to repair, refurbishment or replacement of nuclear safety related tems. 3(b): Defendant shall be removed indefinitely as the individual responsible for QA oversight of activities regarding the repair, refurbishment or replacement of nuclear safety-related items. The NRC, in consultation with the U.S. Probation Office, will have the authority to reduce the restrictive nature of this term as appropriate.

3(d): Pentas Controls will hire a Quality Assurance Manager to provide oversight for the repairs, refurbishment or replacement of all nuclear safety related items. Defendant will not have any authority over the quality assurance activities in order to ensure sufficient independence from cost and schedule when opposed to safety considerations.

B. Submission:

You submitted a “Statement of Authority and Policy” which notes, in pertinent part, that the

Quality Assurance Program is delegated to the Quality Assurance Director; however, this
statement includes language that allows you to act in the place of the QA Manager in his/her
absence.

C. NRC Response:

The Statement of Authority and Policy does not provide the independence specified by the

requirements in paragraph 3. Specifically, the last paragraph of this delegation of authority
indicates that, “In the absence of the Quality Assurance Director, the president may act in his stead. In the absence of the President, the Quality Assurance Director may act in his stead.”

V. Additional Comments:

You asked whether Pentas Controls can use Skype to provide the initial employee protection training. While the method of training is not expressly specified in the Terms of Probation, as noted above, the NRC will review the actions taken to satisfy NRC regulations and the requirements specified in the Terms of Probation to verify that they have been appropriately implemented. The NRC will also review the effectiveness of this training during NRC inspections. While the NRC has provided Ms. Schwartz as a point of contact in the event that you have questions pertaining to the implementation of the Terms of Probation, you are solely responsible for ensuring the implementation of these terms. As noted above in this letter, Pentas Controls is subject to NRC inspections, which will determine whether Pentas Controls is meeting all applicable NRC regulations and requirements as well as the Terms of Probation contained in your sentencing document.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Dave Solorio, Chief

Concerns Resolution Branch

Office of Enforcement

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

K. Doyle - 5 -

While the NRC has provided Ms. Schwartz as a point of contact in the event that you have questions pertaining to the implementation of the Terms of Probation, you are solely responsible for ensuring the implementation of these terms. As noted above in this letter, Pentas Controls is subject to NRC inspections, which will determine whether Pentas Controls is meeting all applicable NRC regulations and requirements as well as the Terms of Probation contained in your sentencing document.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Dave Solorio, Chief

Concerns Resolution Branch

Office of Enforcement

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

DISTRIBUTION:

MLemoncelli, OGC DCopeland, NRO RZimmerman

ERoach, NRO ACampbell RArrighi

OE R/F

ADAMS ACCESSION NO.: ML13115A953