IR 05000250/2023301
| ML23139A237 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Turkey Point  |
| Issue date: | 05/17/2023 |
| From: | Tom Stephen NRC/RGN-II |
| To: | Coffey B Florida Power & Light Co |
| References | |
| IR 2023301 | |
| Download: ML23139A237 (8) | |
Text
May 17, 2023
SUBJECT:
TURKEY POINT NUCLEAR PLANT - NRC OPERATOR LICENSE EXAMINATION REPORT 05000250/2023301 AND 05000251/2023301
Dear Mr. Coffey:
During the period March 20 - 29, 2023, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
administered operating tests to employees of your company who had applied for licenses to operate the Turkey Point Nuclear Plant. At the conclusion of the tests, the Chief Examiner discussed preliminary findings related to the examination submittal with those members of your staff identified in the enclosed report. The written examination was administered by your staff on April 11, 2023.
Five Reactor Operator (RO) and eleven Senior Reactor Operator (SRO) applicants passed both the operating test and written examination. One applicant passed the operating test but failed the written examination. One applicant passed the operating test but did not take the written examination. There were no post-administration comments concerning the operating test or written examination. A Simulator Fidelity Report is included in this report as Enclosure 2.
The initial RO and SRO written examination submittals failed to meet the guidelines for quality contained in NUREG-1021, Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors, Revision 12. The initial operating test submittal was within the range of acceptability expected for a proposed examination. All examination changes agreed upon between the NRC and your staff were made according to NUREG-1021, Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors, Revision 12.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRCs Rules of Practice, a copy of this letter and its enclosures will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of the NRCs document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room). If you have any questions concerning this letter, please contact me at (404) 997-4703.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Thomas A. Stephen, Chief
Operations Branch 1
Division of Reactor Safety
Docket Nos: 50-250, 50-251 License Nos: DPR-31, DPR-41
Enclosures:
1. Report Details 2. Simulator Fidelity Report
REGION II==
Docket No.:
50-250, 50-251
License No.:
Report No.:
05000250/2023301, 05000251/2023301
EPID No.:
Licensee:
Florida Power & Light Company (FP&L)
Facility:
Turkey Point Nuclear Plant, Units 3 and 4
Location:
Homestead, FL
Dates:
Operating Test - March 20 - 29, 2023
Written Examination - April 11, 2023
Examiners:
M. Bates, Chief Examiner, Senior Operations Engineer
M. Kennard, Senior Operations Engineer
J. Viera, Senior Operations Engineer
D. Bacon, Senior Operations Engineer
K. Kirchbaum, Operations Engineer
P. Meier, Senior Resident Inspection (Trainee)
Approved by:
Thomas A. Stephen, Chief
Operations Branch 1
Division of Reactor Safety
SUMMARY
ER 05000250/2023301,05000251/2023301; March 20 - 29, 2023 & April 11, 2023; Turkey Point Nuclear Plant; Operator License Examinations.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) examiners conducted an initial examination in accordance with the guidelines in Revision 12 of NUREG-1021, "Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors." This examination implemented the operator licensing requirements identified in 10 CFR §55.41, §55.43, and §55.45, as applicable.
Members of the Turkey Point Nuclear Plant staff developed both the operating test and the written examination. The initial written Reactor Operator (RO) and Senior Reactor Operator (SRO) examination submittals did not meet the quality guidelines contained in NUREG-1021.
The initial operating test submittal met the quality guidelines contained in NUREG-1021.
The NRC administered the operating tests during the period March 20 - 29, 2023. Members of the Turkey Point training staff administered the written examination on April 11, 2023. Five RO and eleven SRO applicants passed both the operating test and written examination. One SRO applicant passed the operating test but failed the written exam. One SRO applicant passed the operating test but did not take the written exam. Sixteen applicants were issued licenses commensurate with the level of examination administered.
There were no post-examination comments.
No findings were identified.
REPORT DETAILS
4.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
4OA5 Operator Licensing Examinations
a.
Inspection Scope
The NRC evaluated the submitted operating test by combining the scenario events and Job Performance Measures (JPMs) in order to determine the percentage of submitted test items that required replacement or significant modification. The NRC also evaluated the submitted written examination questions (RO and SRO questions considered separately) in order to determine the percentage of submitted questions that required replacement or significant modification, or that clearly did not conform with the intent of the approved knowledge and ability (K/A) statement. Any questions that were deleted during the grading process, or for which the answer key had to be changed, were also included in the count of unacceptable questions. The percentage of submitted test items that were unacceptable was compared to the acceptance criteria of NUREG-1021, Operator Licensing Standards for Power Reactors.
The NRC reviewed the licensees examination security measures while preparing and administering the examinations in order to ensure compliance with 10 CFR §55.49, Integrity of examinations and tests.
The NRC performed an audit of license applications during the preparatory site visit in order to confirm that they accurately reflected the subject applicants qualifications in accordance with NUREG-1021.
The NRC administered the operating tests during the period March 20 - 29, 2023.
Members of the Turkey Point training staff administered the written examination on April 11, 2023. The NRC examiners evaluated five Reactor Operator (RO) and twelve Senior Reactor Operator (SRO) applicants on both the written examination and operating test using the guidelines contained in NUREG-1021. Examiners administered the operating test to one additional applicant, but that applicant did not take the written examination.
A review of associated documentation was performed to determine if the applicants met the requirements specified in 10 CFR Part 55, Operators Licenses.
The NRC evaluated the performance, or fidelity, of the simulation facility during the preparation and conduct of the operating tests.
b.
Findings
No findings were identified.
The NRC developed the written examination sample plan outline. Members of the Turkey Point training staff developed both the operating test and the written examination. All examination material was developed in accordance with the guidelines contained in Revision 12 of NUREG-1021. The NRC examination team reviewed the proposed examination. Examination changes agreed upon between the NRC and the licensee were made in accordance with NUREG-1021 and incorporated into the final version of the examination materials.
The NRC determined that the licensees initial operating test submittal was within the range of acceptability expected for a proposed examination. However, the NRC determined that the licensees RO and SRO written examination submittals were outside the range of acceptable quality specified by NUREG-1021. The initial written examination submittals were outside the range of acceptable quality because more than 20% of both the RO and SRO questions contained unacceptable flaws. Individual questions were evaluated as unsatisfactory for the following reasons:
- questions failed to meet the randomly selected K/A statement
- questions contained two or more implausible distractors
- question did not contain one and only one correct answer
- questions did not contain an acceptable level of discrimination validity
Five RO applicants and eleven SRO applicants passed both the operating test and written examination and were issued licenses. One SRO applicant passed the operating test but failed the written exam. One SRO applicant passed the operating test but did not take the written exam.
Copies of all individual examination reports were sent to the facility Training Manager for evaluation of weaknesses and determination of appropriate remedial training.
The licensee submitted no post-examination comments. A copy of the final written examinations and answer keys, with all changes incorporated, may be accessed not earlier than May 14, 2025, in the ADAMS system (ADAMS Accession Numbers ML23123A299 and ML23123A331).
4OA6 Meetings, Including Exit
Exit Meeting Summary
On March 29, 2023, the NRC Chief Examiner discussed generic issues associated with the operating test with Mr. Michael Pearce, Site Vice President, and members of the Turkey Point staff. The examiners asked the licensee if any of the examination material was proprietary. No proprietary information was identified.
KEY POINTS OF CONTACT
Licensee personnel M. Pearce, Site Vice President R. Hess, Training Manager C. Cashwell, Licensing J. McGuiness, Operations Supervisor V. Miklausich, Training Supervisor T. Hodge, Exam Developer E. Socias. Exam Developer
NRC personnel
M. Endress, Senior Resident Inspector
Enclosure 2 SIMULATOR FIDELITY REPORT
Facility Licensee: Turkey Point Nuclear Plant Units 3 and 4
Facility Docket No.: 05000250, 05000251
Operating Test Administered: March 20 - 29, 2023
This form is used only to report observations. These observations do not constitute audit or inspection findings and, without further verification and review in accordance with Inspection Procedure 71111.11 are not indicative of noncompliance with 10 CFR §55.46. No licensee action is required in response to these observations.
No simulator fidelity or configuration issues were identified.