IR 05000271/1997009
| ML20217J628 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Vermont Yankee File:NorthStar Vermont Yankee icon.png |
| Issue date: | 04/01/1998 |
| From: | Conte R NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | Reid D VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER CORP. |
| References | |
| 50-271-97-09, 50-271-97-9, NUDOCS 9804060340 | |
| Download: ML20217J628 (3) | |
Text
April 1, 1998
SUBJECT:
NRC INSPECTION REPORT NO. 50-271/97-09-REPLY
Dear Mr. Reid:
This letter refers to your February 6,1998 correspondence, in response to our November 20,1997 letter.
Thank you for informing us of your corrective actions regarding the applicants' weak performance in the fall 1997 operator exam. As evidence by the successful retake exam documented in report 50-271/98-02(OL),some progress has been achieved based on your actions. We will continue to assess your success based on future exams. Your actions related to emergency operating procedures will be examined during a future inspection of your licensed program.
Your cooperation, ith us is appreciated.
Sincerely, Richard J. Conte, Chief Operator Licensing and Human Performance Branch Division of Reactor Safety Docket No. 50-271
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PDR ADOCK 05000271 V
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,j Mr. Donald,
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R. McCullough, Operating Experience Coordinator - Vermont Yankee G. Sen, Licensing Manager, Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation D. Rapaport, Director, Vermont Public Interest Research Group, Inc.
D. Tefft, Administrator, Bureau of Radiological Health, State of New Hampshire Chef, Safety Unit, Office of the Attorney General, Commonwealth of Massachusetts D. Lewis, Esquire G. Bisbee, Esquire J. Block, Esquire T. Rapone, Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety
. State of New Hampshire, SLO Designee State of Vermont, SLO Designee Commonwealth of Massachusetts, SLO Designee D. Katz, Citizens Awareness Network (CAN)
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Mr. Donald Distribution w/ encl:
Region i Docket Room (with concurrences)
PUBLIC Nuclear Safety information Center (NSIC)
NRC Resident inspector D. Screnci, PAO (2)
G. Morris, DRS D. Florek, DRS R. Conte, DRS C. Cowgill, DRP R. Summers, DRP C. O'Daniell, DRP B. McCabe, OEDO C. Thomas, NRR (COT)
K. Jabbour, NRR R. Correia, NRR F. Talbot, NRR inspection Program Branch, NRR (IPAS)
DOCDESK DRS File l
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OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
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i VERMONT YANKEE
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.- y NUCLEAR POWER CORPORATION 185 Old Ferry Road, Brattleboro, VT 05301-7002
(802) 257-5271
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February 6,1998 j
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United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission ATTN: Document Control Desk Washington, DC 20555 Reference:
(a)
Letter, USNRC to VYNPC, NVY 97-170, dated November 20,1997 I
Subject:
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station j
License No. DPR-28 (Docket 50-271)
j Response to Vermont Yankee Examination Report 50-271/97-09 in response to Vermont Yankee Examination Report 50-271/97-09 [ Reference (a)), we are informing you of our perspectives and conclusions regarding the candidates'
performance on the last Senior Reactor Operator (SRO) exam administered at Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation.
Our perspectives and conclusions are as follows:
Previous experiences with the operators' successful use of the Emergency Operating
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Procedures (EOPs) in the Control Room and Simulator indicate that they are not the primary cause for the candidates' performance. We do agree that their format and l
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usability can be improved.
Training and management focused the candidates on technical bases and execution.
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Additional emphasis should have been placed on the Control Room management skills, i.e., command and control.
The candidate selection process did not focus on all the elements that would have
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resulted in a successful examination outcome. For example, it was anticipated that the training process would address one of the candidates' problems with exam-taking, however, this did not occur.
Following are the corrective actions that would alleviate the above identified weaknesses:
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. A guideline for the conduct of crew updates has been developed to standardize the method and content of how information is provided to the operators during simulated plant transients. Simulator instructors and management observers will routinely assess performance to this standard.
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A variety of activities and exercises have been established for the candidate who will
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be retaking the exam, which will focus on improvement in:
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VERMONT YANKEc NUCLEAR POWER CORPORATION L United States Nuclear Regulatory Cornmission License No. DPR-28 (Docket 50-271)
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BW 98-12 Page 2
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- Er EOP place keeping
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Directing crew actions
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Crew updates
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EOP utilization
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Management observations are being perfomied routinely to verify that these standards are being met and that corrections are made when necessary.
Future enhancements are being developed and will be implemented in coordination
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with the deployment of the Severe Accident Management Guidelines; a re5ent L revision to the EOPs has improved their usability.
Physical enhancements to the EOP laydown area have been evaluated and
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corresponding changes made for trial in the simulator. Additional changes are being evaluated to achieve long term improvements.
Additional management support will be scheduled into all future license classes.
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Emphasis will be placed on supervisory oversight and the command and control function.
we would like to inform you that one of the two candidates who did not pass Furthermo :
the opera "r portion of the examination is undergoing remediation. He will retake that portion of the examination in the future. The other candidate will not be retested.
We trust that this response is satisfactory; however, should you have any questions or desire additional information, please contact this office.
Sincerely, VERMONT YANKEE NUCLEAR POWER CORPORATION
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Donald Senior Vice President, Operations
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