IR 05000261/2008301
| ML082800376 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Robinson  |
| Issue date: | 10/06/2008 |
| From: | Widmann M Division of Reactor Safety II |
| To: | Walt T Carolina Power & Light Co |
| References | |
| IR-08-301 | |
| Download: ML082800376 (9) | |
Text
October 6, 2008
SUBJECT:
REACTOR AND SENIOR REACTOR OPERATOR INITIAL EXAMINATIONS -
H. B. ROBINSON STEAM ELECTRIC PLANT UNIT NO. 2 05000261/2008301
Dear Mr. Walt:
During the period August 18 - 21, 2008, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
administered operating tests to employees of your company who had applied for licenses to operate the H. B. Robinson Steam Electric Plant Unit No. 2. At the conclusion of the tests, the examiners discussed preliminary findings related to the operating tests with those members of your staff identified in the enclosed report.
All applicants passed both the operating test and written examination. There were no post-examination comments.
The draft written examination submitted by your staff was considered unsatisfactory because they failed to meet the guidelines for quality contained in NUREG-1021, Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors, Revision 9, Supplement 1, as described in the enclosed report.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRCs Rules of Practice, a copy of this letter and its enclosure 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) 562-4550
Sincerely,
/RA/
Malcolm T. Widmann, Chief
Operations Branch
Division of Reactor Safety Docket Nos: 261 License Nos: 23
Enclosure:
1. Report Details
_________________________
XG SUNSI REVIEW COMPLETE OFFICE RII:DRS RII:DRS RII:DRP RII:DRS
SIGNATURE
/RA/
/RA/
/RA/
/RA/
NAME Edwin Lea Malcolm Widmann Randy Musser Mark Riches
DATE 10/06/2008 10/06/2008 10/06/2008 10/06/2008 10/ /2008 10/ /2008 10/ /2008 E-MAIL COPY?
YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO
REGION II==
Docket No.:
50-261
License No.:
Report No.:
Licensee:
Carolina Power & Light (CP&L)
Facility:
H. B. Robinson Steam Electric Plant
Location:
3581 West Entrance Road
Hartsville, SC 29550
Dates:
Operating Test - August 18 - 21, 2008
Written Examination - August 26, 2008
Examiners:
E. Lea, Chief, Senior Operations Engineer
G. Laska, Senior Operations Engineer
M. Riches, Operations Engineer
Approved by:
Malcolm T. Widmann, Chief
Operations Branch
Division of Reactor Safety
Enclosure 1
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
ER 050000261/2008301; 8/18 - 21/2008 and 8/26/2008; H. B. Robinson Steam Electric Plant Unit No. 2; Licensed Operator Examinations.
The NRC examiners conducted operator licensing initial examinations in accordance with the guidance of NUREG-1021, Revision 9, Supplement 1 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.
The NRC administered the operating test August 18 - 21, 2008. The Robinson training staff administered the written examination on August 26, 2008. The written examination outlines were developed by the NRC. The operating test outlines, the written examination, Job Performance Measures (JPMs) and scenarios were developed by the Robinson training staff.
All applicants, two Reactor Operators (RO) and five Senior Reactor Operators (SRO), passed both the operating and written examinations. All applicants were issued operator licenses commensurate with the level of examination administered.
The initial written examination submittal was determined to be outside of the acceptable quality range as outlined in NUREG-1021. Fifteen of the SRO and 22 of RO questions contained unacceptable flaws. Individual questions were evaluated as unsatisfactory because they did not test the knowledge required by the selected topic, contained implausible distractors, did not test at the appropriate license level and/or contained other psychometric flaws. The NRC regional office returned the examination to the licensee for rework and correction in accordance with NUREG-1021. Future examinations need to incorporate lessons learned.
Enclosure 1
Report Details
4. OTHER ACTIVITIES (OA)
4OA5. Operator Licensing Initial Examinations
a. Inspection Scope
The licensee developed the operating tests and written examinations. The NRC examination team reviewed the proposed examination material to determine whether it was developed in accordance with NUREG-1021, Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors, Revision 9, Supplement 1. Examination changes agreed upon between the NRC and the licensee were made according to NUREG-1021 and incorporated into the final version of the examination materials.
The examiners reviewed the licensees examination security measures while preparing and administering the examinations to ensure examination security and integrity complied with 10 CFR 55.49, Integrity of Examinations and Tests.
The examiners evaluated two Reactor Operator (RO) applicants and five Senior Reactor Operator (SRO) applicants who were being assessed under the guidelines specified in NUREG-1021. The examiners administered the operating tests during the period of August 18 - 21, 2008. Members of the H. B. Robinson training staff administered the written examination on August 26, 2008. The evaluations of the applicants and review of documentation were performed to determine if the applicants, who applied for licensees to operate the H. B. Robinson Nuclear Power Plant, met requirements specified in 10 CFR Part 55.
b. Findings
The initial written examination submittal was determined to be outside of the acceptable quality range as outlined in NUREG-1021. Fifteen of the SRO and 22 of RO questions contained unacceptable flaws. Individual questions were evaluated as unsatisfactory because they did not test the knowledge required by the selected topic, contained implausible distractors, did not test at the appropriate license level and/or contained other psychometric flaws. The NRC regional office returned the examination to the licensee for rework and correction in accordance with NUREG-1021. Future examinations need to incorporate lessons learned. There were no post examination comments.
All applicants passed both the operating test and written examination.
The final combined RO and SRO written examination and answer key may be accessed in the ADAMS system (ADAMS Accession Number ML082680192,).
4OA6 Meetings
Exit Meeting Summary
On August 21, 2008, the Chief Examiner discussed generic applicant performance and examination development issues with members of your staff. The inspectors asked the licensee whether any materials examined during the inspection should be considered proprietary. No proprietary information was identified.
PARTIAL LIST OF PERSONS CONTACTED
Licensee Personnel
T. Walt, Site Vice President L. Beller, Superintendent, Operator Initial Training, Brunswick D. Foster, Manager, Shift Operations J. Jones, Lead Instructor and Exam Writer K. Jones, Manager, Operations E. Roberts, Operator Training Supervisor K. Smith, Manager, Training