NRC bans nuke worker who admitted violation at Indian Point

A former Indian Point supervisor who admitted falsifying test data to cover up fuel contamination at the nuclear power plant in Buchanan has been banned from the industry for one year, officials said Tuesday.

Daniel Wilson has been temporarily barred from taking part in activities licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, of NRC, agency officials said.

The agency also said that Entergy Nuclear, owners of the plant, has been issued a Severity Level III Notice of Violation for non-compliant operating practices.

Wilson, 57, was a chemistry manager at the facility in 2011 when diesel fuel for emergency generators was found to contain excessive particulate matter. A federal complaint said Wilson faked a test to show the problem had been solved and then lied about it.

Wilson pleaded guilty last year in federal court to violating NRC regulations. He was sentenced in January to 18 months of probation and fined $500.

He admitted to falsifying test data for diesel fuel after previous tests showed that particulate matter in the fuel, which is used to power backup generators at the plant, exceeded NRC limits in 2011.

Wilson, who worked at the plant for 29 years, also lied in a written report before an NRC inspection.

Wilson's co-workers initially uncovered the falsification and reported it to plant management, who in turn told the NRC.

U.S. District Judge Nelson Roman said January in federal court in White Plains that Wilson was "basically a good employee" who had made a bad mistake.

Staff writer James O'Rourke and The Associated Press contributed to this report.