BRATTLEBORO — A supervisor in the maintenance department at the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor was suspended from work Monday after alcohol was found in the employee's system while on the job.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission made the announcement Tuesday that the unidentified employee had failed a fitness-for-duty test and had been banned from the Vernon reactor for two weeks after a random test revealed alcohol.

According to Entergy Nuclear spokesman Larry Smith, the employee's blood alcohol content was over the limit of 0.04, although he said he didn't know what the employee's test results were.

For comparison's sake, in Vermont one is considered under the influence while driving with a blood alcohol content above 0.08.

"The performance in this particular case is unacceptable," said Stephen Wark, spokesman for the Department of Public Service, which acts as the ratepayers' advocate in utility matters. "Fortunately, operations in nuclear facilities have built-in redundancies and backups, and employee fitness for duty is no exception. The fact that this employee was identified demonstrates how this type of random testing has value."

Neil Sheehan, spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said nuclear plants devise their own fitness-for-duty programs, and they are reviewed by the NRC.

Sheehan said the supervisor was involved in plant maintenance, not janitorial services.

In addition to random testing, employees can report unusual behavior to supervisors and employees can then be tested for alcohol or drugs.

The employee must also go through a mandated employee-assistance program and, depending on the results of that program, the employee could be back on the job in two weeks, Smith said.

It was the employee's first offense, Smith said. Smith said he didn't know how long the employee had worked at Vermont Yankee.

The maintenance supervisor is one of about a dozen supervisors in the 100-person maintenance department, which is in charge of keeping the Vernon reactor in top operating condition.

Maintenance at the Vernon reactor has been a top issue in the past couple of years, most notably in August 2007 because of the partial collapse of one of the reactor's two cooling towers. Since the cooling tower collapse, there have been a number of high-profile maintenance issues, including several leaks involving radioactive water.

Smith said he didn't know what area of plant maintenance the supervisor was in charge of, noting there were many different maintenance areas at the plant, such as mechanical, electrical and facilities.

Monday's suspension is the third known incident in the past two years where an Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee employee tested positive for banned substances.

The two other incidents involved a control room operator who tested positive for THC, the active drug ingredient in marijuana. The control room operator said he had unknowingly eaten pot-laced brownies at a holiday party. His test showed up in a random sample.

The second incident involved the employee, an administrative assistant in charge of conducting the employee tests for the fitness-for-duty program. That employee also tested positive for alcohol, exceeding the 0.04 limit, and was also banned from the plant for two weeks as well as ordered to undergo counseling.

susan.smallheer@rutlandherald.com