IR 05000335/2006301

NRC Examination Report 05000335/2006301 and 05000389/2006301

ML061590270
Person / Time
Site:	Saint Lucie
Issue date:	05/23/2006
From:	Moorman J Division of Reactor Safety II
To:	Stall J Florida Power & Light Co
References
50-335/06-301, 50-389/06-301
Download: ML061590270 (8)

Text

SUBJECT:

ST. LUCIE NUCLEAR PLANT - NRC EXAMINATION REPORT 05000335/2006301 AND 05000389/2006301

Dear Mr. Stall:

During the period of March 20 - 29, 2006, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

administered operating tests to employees of your company who had applied for licenses to operate the St. Lucie Nuclear Plant. At the conclusion of the tests, the examiners discussed preliminary findings with those members of your staff identified in the enclosed report. The written examination was administered by your staff on April 6, 2006.

Eleven senior reactor operator (SRO) applicants passed both the written examinations and operating tests. There were no post examination comments. A Simulation Facility Report is included in this report as Enclosure 2.

The NRC determined that the overall written examination submittal was outside the acceptable quality range expected by the NRC. Future examination submittals should incorporate any lessons learned from this effort.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "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 NRC's 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).

Should you have any questions concerning this letter, please contact me at (404) 562-4647.

Sincerely,

/RA By R. Aiello for/

James H. Moorman, III, Chief Operations Branch Division of Reactor Safety Docket Nos.: 50-335, 50-389 License Nos.: DPR-67, NPF-16

Enclosures:

(See page 2)

FPL 2 Enclosures: 1. Report Details 2. Simulation Facility Report

REGION II==

Docket Nos.: 05000335, 05000389 License Nos.: DPR-67, NPF-16 Report No.: 05000335/2006301, 05000389/2006301 Licensee: Florida Power and Light Company (FP&L)

Facility: St. Lucie Nuclear Plant, Units 1 & 2 Location: 6351 S. Ocean Drive Jensen Beach, FL 34957 Dates: Operating Tests - March 20 - 29, 2006 Written Examination - April 6, 2006 Examiners: G. Laska, Chief Examiner, Senior Operations Examiner R. Baldwin, Senior Operations Engineer R. Walton, Operations Engineer, RIII Approved by: James H. Moorman, III, Chief Operations Branch Division of Reactor Safety Enclosure 1

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS ER 05000335/2006301, 05000389/2006301; 3/20 - 3/29/2006 and 4/6/2006; St. Lucie Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2; Licensed Operator Examination.

The NRC examiners conducted operator licensing initial examinations in accordance with the guidance in NUREG-1021, Revision 9, Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors. This examination implemented the operator licensing requirements of 10 CFR

§55.41, §55.43, and §55.45.

The NRC administered the operating tests during the period of March 20 - 29, 2006. Members of the St. Lucie Nuclear Plant training staff administered the written examination on April 6, 2005. The written examination outlines were developed by the NRC. The written examination questions, operating test outlines, and the operating test details were developed by the St. Lucie Nuclear Plant training staff.

Eleven senior reactor operators (SRO) passed both the operating test and written examination.

All of the applicants were issued operator licenses commensurate with the level of examination administered. There were no post examination comments.

The initial written examination submittal was evaluated and found to be outside of the acceptable quality range expected by the NRC. Twenty-five out of 75 questions on the RO exam were significantly modified or replaced and 15 out of 25 questions on the SRO exam were significantly modified or replaced as a result of the NRCs review of the submittal.

Report Details 4. OTHER ACTIVITIES 4OA5 Operator Licensing Initial Examinations a. Inspection Scope The NRC developed the written examination outlines and the licensee developed the written examinations and operating tests in accordance with NUREG-1021, Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors, Revision 9. 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 eleven SRO applicants who were being assessed under the guidelines specified in NUREG-1021. The examiners administered the operating tests during the period of March 20 - 29, 2006. Members of the St. Lucie Nuclear Plant training staff administered the written examination on April 6, 2006. The evaluations of the applicants and review of documentation were performed to determine if the applicants, who applied for licenses to operate the St. Lucie Nuclear Plant, met requirements specified in 10 CFR 55, Operators Licenses.

b. Findings The initial written examination submittal was evaluated and found to be outside of the acceptable quality range expected by the NRC. Twenty-five out of 75 questions on the RO exam were significantly modified or replaced and 15 out of 25 questions on the SRO exam were significantly modified or replaced as a result of the NRCs review of the submittal. Question flaws included non-plausible distractors, questions not testing knowledge required by the knowledge and ability random sample, SRO exam questions not written to test knowledge that is only required of the SRO, and unauthorized knowledge and abilities replacements. Future exam submittals should incorporate lessons learned from this effort.

Eleven SRO applicants passed both the operating test and written examination.

The combined RO and SRO written examinations with knowledge and abilities (K/As)

question references/answers and examination references may be accessed in the ADAMS system (ADAMS Accession Numbers, ML061370187 and ML061370167).

There were no licensee post examination comments.

The exam team identified two generic weaknesses during the performance of job performance measures. The first weakness was related to manual completion of the Equipment Out of Service documentation. Applicants had difficulty locating the appropriate procedure for this task. The second weakness was related to the performance of the surveillance procedure for starting an emergency diesel generator.

Several applicants performed a step that was not applicable. Details of the job performance measure and performance inadequacies were discussed with the facility Training Manager for evaluation and determination of remedial training.

4OA6 Meetings Exit Meeting Summary On March 29, 2006, the examination team discussed generic issues with Mr. D. K. Albritton, Acting Plant Manager and members of his 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 D. Albritton, Acting Plant Manager M. Lacal, Nuclear Operations Services L. Edwards, Training Manager D. Lauterbur, Operations Training Supervisor J. Hessling, Operations T. Patterson, Manager Licensing D. Cocchett, Licensing T. Morales, Training NRC personnel T. Hoeg, Senior Resident Inspector

SIMULATION FACILITY REPORT Facility Licensee: St. Lucie Nuclear Plant Facility Docket Nos.: 05000335 and 05000389 Operating Tests Administered on: March 20 -29, 2006 This form is to be used only to report observations. These observations do not constitute audit or inspection findings and, without further verification and review in accordance with IP 71111.11, are not indicative of noncompliance with 10 CFR 55.46. No licensee action is required in response to these observations.

While conducting the simulator portion of the operating tests, examiners observed several light bulbs that were not on when required. Applicants treated these as blown out light bulbs and attempted to replace them. The lights would illuminate while the applicant was attempting to remove the bulb, and the lens cover was then placed back in place. This appeared to be a distraction at times, but did not appear to hamper the efforts of the applicants.

Enclosure 2