IR 05000313/2004301

Er 05000313-04-301 on 01/12/2004 - 01/15/2004; Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 1, Initial Operator Licensing Examination

ML040400080
Person / Time
Site:	Arkansas Nuclear
Issue date:	02/09/2004
From:	Gody A Operations Branch IV
To:	Forbes J Entergy Operations
References
50-313/04-301 50-313/04-301
Download: ML040400080 (10)

Text

ary 9, 2004

SUBJECT:

ARKANSAS NUCLEAR ONE, UNIT 1 - NRC EXAMINATION REPORT 05000313/2004-301

Dear Mr. Forbes:

On January 15, 2004, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) completed an initial operator licensing examination at your Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 1. The enclosed report documents the examination findings, which were discussed on January 15, 2004, with Mr. John Miller Jr. and other members of your staff.

The examination included an evaluation of five applicants for operator licenses and four applicants for senior operator licenses. The license examiners determined that all applicants satisfied the requirements of 10 CFR Part 55, and the appropriate licenses have been issued.

No findings of significance were identified.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRCs "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter, its enclosure(s), and your response will be made available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRCs document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).

Sincerely,

/RA/

Anthony T. Gody, Chief Operations Branch Division of Reactor Safety Dockets: 50-313 Licenses: DPR-51

Enclosure:

Examination

Entergy Operations, Inc. -2-Report 05000313/2004-301

REGION IV==

Docket: 50-313 License: DPR-51 Report No.: 05000313/2004-301 Licensee: Entergy Operations, Inc.

Facility: Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 1 Location: Junction of Hwy. 64W and Hwy. 333 South Russellville, Arkansas Dates: January 12 to 15, 2004 Inspectors: P. Gage, Senior Operations Engineer T. McKernon, Senior Operations Engineer M. Murphy, Senior Operations Engineer Accompanying K. Clayton, Operations Engineer Personnel:

Approved By: Anthony T. Gody, Chief Operations Branch Division of Reactor Safety

-2-SUMMARY OF FINDINGS ER 05000313/2004-301 on January 12 to 15, 2004; Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 1, initial operator licensing examination.

NRC examiners evaluated the competency of five applicants for operator licenses and four applicants for senior operator licenses. The licensee and the NRC developed the examination using NUREG-1021, "Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors,"

Revision 8, Supplement 1. The licensee provided proctors for the administration of the written examination to all applicants on January 9, 2004, in accordance with instructions provided by the chief examiner. The NRC examiners administered the operating test on January 12-15, 2004.

No findings of significance were identified.

REPORT DETAILS 4. OTHER ACTIVITIES 4OA4 Initial License Examination

.1 Operator Knowledge and Performance a. Examination Scope The NRC examination team administered the operating test to the nine applicants on January 12-15, 2004. Most of the applicants participated in two dynamic simulator scenarios, a control room and facilities walkthrough test consisting of ten system tasks, and an administrative test consisting of one task or two questions in five areas. The three applicants for upgrading their operator license to a senior operator license participated in two scenarios and took a control room and facilities walkthrough test consisting of five system tasks. The administrative test for the senior operator applicants consisted of performing tasks in five areas.

On January 9, 2004, the licensee proctored the administration of the written examinations to all nine applicants and forwarded the proposed grades together with the performance analysis to the NRC for approval.

b. Findings All applicants passed all parts of the examinations. For the written examinations, the average score for the operator applicants was 90.8 percent, and the average score for senior operator applicants was 92.5 percent. The operator applicant scores ranged from 86 to 95 percent, and the senior operator applicant scores ranged from 89 to 96 percent.

The licensee conducted a performance analysis for the written examinations with emphasis on six questions missed by half or more of the applicants. After reviewing the licensees analysis, the examiners concluded that all questions were valid and that there were no apparent training deficiencies requiring the licensee to address in its corrective action program. There were no post-examination comments on examination questions.

The text of the examination questions and the performance analysis may be accessed in the ADAMS system as noted in the attachment.

.2 Initial Licensing Examination Development The licensee developed their assigned portion of the operating test in accordance with NUREG-1021, Revision 8, Supplement 1. Licensee facility training and operations staff involved in examination development were on a security agreement.

-2-

.2.1 Operating Examination Outline and Examination Package a. Examination Scope The NRC staff completed the operating test outlines on September 17, 2003.

Examiners reviewed the submittal against the requirements of NUREG-1021, Revision 8, Supplement 1. The outlines were reviewed by the licensee staff and minor comments were returned to the NRC on October 1, 2003. The draft examination package was reviewed by the licensee staff on November 24, 2003. Examiners reviewed the licensees comments against the requirements of NUREG-1021, Revision 8, Supplement 1, and provided comments to the licensee on December 4, 2003. The chief examiner conducted an onsite validation of the examinations and provided further comments during the week of December 15, 2003.

b. Findings Examiners approved the initial examination outline with minor comments and advised the licensee to proceed with the operating examination development.

The chief examiner determined that the operating test initially submitted by the licensee staff were within the range of acceptability expected for a proposed examination.

No findings of significance were identified.

.2.2 Simulation Facility Performance a. Scope The examination team observed simulator performance with regard to plant fidelity during the examination validation and administration.

b. Findings No findings of significance were identified.

2.3 Examination Security a. Scope The examiners reviewed examination security both during the onsite preparation and examination administration weeks with respect to NUREG-1021 requirements. Written plans for simulator security and applicant control were reviewed and discussed with licensee personnel.

-3-b. Findings No findings of significance were identified.

4OA6 Meetings, Including Exit On January 15, 2004, the examiners presented the examination results to Mr. John Miller Jr. and other members of your staff who acknowledged the findings. The inspectors confirmed that proprietary information was not provided or reviewed during the examination process.

ATTACHMENT KEY POINTS OF CONTACT Licensee personnel J. Bradford, Training A. Clinkingbeard, Assistant Manager, Operations G. Giles, Supervisor, Operations Training Unit 1 M. Goad, Training P. Harris, Training P. Higgins, Training T. Mayfield, Supervisor, Operations Training Unit 2 J. Miller, Manager, Training S. Pullin, Training D. Smith, Training NRC personnel K. Clayton T. McKernon M. Murphy ADAMS DOCUMENTS REFERENCED Accession No.: ML040340097 - Reactor operator written examination Accession No.: ML040340104 - Senior operator written examination Accession No.: ML040340111 - Written examination performance analysis and applicant questions