IR 05000317/2008301
| ML082700331 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Calvert Cliffs  |
| Issue date: | 09/26/2008 |
| From: | Hansell S Operations Branch I |
| To: | Spina J Calvert Cliffs |
| Shared Package | |
| ML073040307 | List:
|
| References | |
| 50-317/08-301, 50-318/08-301 | |
| Download: ML082700331 (77) | |
Text
September 26, 2008
SUBJECT:
CALVERT CLIFFS NUCLEAR POWER PLANT - NRC EXAMINATION REPORT 05000317/2008301 AND 05000318/2008301
Dear Mr. Spina:
On June 25, 2008, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) completed an examination at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant (CCNPP) Units 1 and 2. The enclosed report documents the examination findings, which were discussed on September 3, 2008, with Mr. W. Holston and other members of your staff.
The examination included the evaluation of four applicants for reactor operator licenses, four applicants for instant senior operator licenses and three applicants for upgrade senior operator licenses. The written and operating examinations were developed using NUREG-1021,
"Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors," Revision 9, Supplement 1.
The license examiners determined that five of the eleven applicants satisfied all of the requirements of 10 CFR Part 55, and the appropriate licenses have been issued.
No findings of significance were identified during this examination. However, it was determined that the quality of the submitted examination material was not within the range of acceptability expected by the NRC. Greater than 20% of the written and operating test items were considered to be unsatisfactory.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "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 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/
Samuel L. Hansell, Jr., Chief Operations Branch
Division of Reactor Safety
Docket Nos.
50-317, 50-318 License Nos. DPR-53, DPR-69
Enclosure: NRC Examination Report 05000317/20008301 and 05000318/2008301
p
,
Mr. James
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
ER 05000317/2008301, 05000318/2008301; June 16 - August 22, 2008; Calvert Cliffs Nuclear
Power Plant, Units 1 and 2; Initial Operator Licensing Examination Report.
NRC examiners evaluated the competency of four applicants for reactor operator licenses, four applicants for instant senior operator licenses and three applicants for upgrade senior operator licenses at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant Units 1 and 2. The facility licensee developed the examinations using NUREG-1021, "Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors," Revision 9, Supplement 1. The written examination was administered by the facility on June 25, 2008. NRC examiners administered the operating tests on June 16 - 20, 2008.
The license examiners determined that five of the eleven applicants satisfied the requirements of 10 CFR Part 55, and the appropriate licenses have been issued.
NRC-Identified and Self-Revealing Findings
No findings of significance were identified.
Licensee-Identified Violations
None.
REPORT DETAILS
OTHER ACTIVITIES (OA)
4OA5 Other Activities (Initial Operator License Examination)
.1 License Applications
a. Scope
The examiners reviewed all eleven license applications submitted by the licensee to ensure the applications reflected that each applicant satisfied relevant license eligibility requirements. The applications were submitted on NRC Form 398, Personal Qualification Statement, and NRC Form 396, Certification of Medical Examination by Facility Licensee. The examiners also audited one of the license applications in detail to confirm that it accurately reflected the subject applicants qualifications. This audit focused on the applicants experience and on-the-job training, including control manipulations that provided significant reactivity changes.
b. Findings
No findings of significance were identified.
.2 Operator Knowledge and Performance
a. Examination Scope
On June 25, 2008, the licensee proctored the administration of the written examinations to all eleven applicants. The licensee staff graded the written examinations based upon the original answer key, analyzed the results, and presented their analysis to the NRC on July 29, 2008. Due to numerous post-examination comments, the NRC graded the written examinations based upon a revised answer key.
The NRC examination team administered the various portions of the operating examination to all eleven applicants on June 16 - 20, 2008. The four reactor operator applicants participated in two dynamic simulator scenarios, a control room and facilities walkthrough test consisting of eleven system tasks, and an administrative test consisting of four administrative tasks. The four instant senior operator 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 five administrative tasks. The two upgrade senior operator applicants participated in two dynamic simulator scenarios, a control room and facilities walkthrough test consisting of five system tasks, and an administrative test consisting of five administrative tasks. A third upgrade applicant was administered the same test items as the other two upgrade applicants except for the in-plant portion of the facilities walkthrough. At the time of the operating examination this upgrade applicant did not have access to the protected area.
b. Findings
Ten of the eleven applicants achieved passing scores on all parts of the operating test.
Due to the protected area access issue, the one upgrade applicant was not able to complete all portions of the operating test. This individual was not able to achieve an overall passing score of the operating examination based upon the test items that he was able to take. Therefore, this applicant still needs to complete the in-plant portion of the operating test. The SRO upgrades license application status will be held in suspension until the in-plant portion of the exam is completed, or it is determined that this portion of the exam cannot be administered in a reasonable time frame.
Two reactor operator and three senior reactor operator applicants failed their written examinations. For the written examinations, the reactor operator applicants average scores were 76.5 percent and ranged from 64.7 to 80.9 percent. The senior operator applicants overall average scores were 81.9 percent and ranged from 78.0 to 86.8 percent. The overall written examination average for both license levels was 79.9 percent. Chapter ES-403 and Form ES-403-1 of NUREG 1021 require the licensee to analyze the validity of any written examination questions that were missed by half or more of the applicants. The licensee conducted this performance analysis for 25 questions that met this criterion and submitted the analysis to the chief examiner. The licensee modified lesson plans as appropriate to address applicant performance issues and conducted remediation training.
The licensee submitted post-examination comments for 13 questions. The licensee recommended deleting four questions and accepting two answers for nine questions.
After reviewing the licensees comments, the NRC decided to delete nine questions, accept two responses for two questions, and make no change to the remaining two questions. See Attachment 5 for a summary of the licensee comments and NRC responses. Attachment 6 contains the details of the licensees comments for each question and the NRCs responses. As per ES-501 C.2.c, the examiners reviewed the sample plan in light of the deleted questions. Even with the numerous deletions, every knowledge and ability (K/A) category has been sampled by the remaining questions.
The written examination resulted in a high failure rate (~45%). This issue has been captured in the site corrective action program under Condition Report IRE-032-618. A root cause evaluation was conducted. The root cause analysis team consisted of licensee staff, Constellation fleet personnel, and individuals from other licensees. The root cause was determined to be inadequate supervisory and management oversight in the examination preparation phase. Contributing causes were determined to be:
1) insufficiently systematic validation process, 2) inadequate fundamental knowledge of regulatory standards, and 3) inadequate treatment of existing operating experience. In the fourth quarter of 2008, the NRC has scheduled a problem identification and resolution inspection to review the licensees findings and the corrective actions regarding their root cause analysis report.
.3 Initial Licensing Examination Development
a. Examination Scope
The licensee staff developed the examinations in accordance with NUREG-1021, Revision 9, Supplement 1. All licensee facility training and operations staff involved in examination preparation and validation were listed on a security agreement. The licensee submitted both the written and operating examination outlines on March 24, 2008. The chief examiner reviewed the outlines against the requirements of NUREG-1021, Revision 9, Supplement 1, and provided comments to the licensee. The licensee submitted the draft examination package on April 28, 2008. The chief examiner reviewed the draft examination package against the requirements of NUREG-1021, Revision 9, Supplement 1, and provided comments to the licensee on April 30, 2008, and May 2, 2008, regarding the operating and written examinations, respectively. The NRC conducted an onsite validation of the operating examinations and provided further comments during the week of May 19, 2008. The licensee satisfactorily completed comment resolutions on June 3 and June 12, 2008, for the operating and written examinations, respectively.
b. Findings
The NRC approved the initial examination outline and advised the licensee to proceed with the operating examination development.
The examiners determined that the operating examination initially submitted by the licensee was unsatisfactory as greater than 20% of the job performance measures were replaced and the simulator scenarios required enhancements. Initially, the scenario set was developed so that most applicants would be evaluated in three scenarios. Later, it was decided that only two scenarios were necessary to evaluate the applicants. Thus, the scenarios required additional malfunctions to ensure that each applicant could be properly evaluated. The NRC also determined that the written examination was unsatisfactory as greater than 20% of the questions for both the reactor operator and senior reactor operator examinations were unsatisfactory. See Attachment 4 for details regarding the unsatisfactory test items.
.4 Simulation Facility Performance
a. Examination Scope
The examiners observed simulator performance with regard to plant fidelity during the examination validation and administration.
b. Findings
No findings of significance were identified.
.5 Examination Security
a. Examination Scope
The examiners reviewed examination security for examination development, validation, and administration for compliance with NUREG-1021 requirements. Plans for simulator security and applicant control were reviewed and discussed with licensee personnel.
b. Findings
No findings of significance were identified.
4OA6 Meetings, Including Exit
The chief examiner presented the examination results to Mr. W. Holston, Training Manager, and other members of the licensee's management staff on September 3, 2008. The licensee acknowledged the findings presented.
The licensee did not identify any information or materials used during the examination as proprietary.
ATTACHMENTS ATTACHMENT 1:
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
KEY POINTS OF CONTACT
Licensee Personnel
- J. Holmes, Nuclear Training Instructor
- W. Holston, Training Director
- N. Lavato, Operations Continuing Training Supervisor
- R. Pace, Operations Training Manager
- M. Wasem, Initial Licensed Operator Training Supervisor
NRC Personnel
- S. Kennedy, Senior Resident Inspector
ITEMS OPENED, CLOSED, AND DISCUSSED
Opened
NONE
Closed
NONE
Discussed
NONE