IR 05000440/2002301

Er 05000440/2002-301, on 03/05-03/13/2002, Firstenergy Nuclear Operating Company, Perry, Unit 1. the Announced Operator Licensing Initial Examination Was Conducted by Regional Examiners in Accordance with the Guidance of NUREG-1021

ML020990219
Person / Time
Site:	Perry
Issue date:	04/05/2002
From:	Dave Hills Division of Reactor Safety III
To:	Campbell G FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co
References
ER-02-301
Download: ML020990219 (11)

Text

ril 5, 2002

SUBJECT:

PERRY NUCLEAR POWER PLANT INITIAL LICENSE EXAMINATION REPORT 50-440/02-301(DRS)

Dear Mr. Campbell:

On March 13, 2002, the NRC completed initial operator licensing examinations at your Perry Nuclear Power Plant. The enclosed report presents the results of the examination.

Perry Nuclear Power Plant training department personnel administered the written examination on March 13, 2002, and NRC examiners administered the operating examination during the weeks of March 4 and March 11, 2002. Two reactor operator and five senior reactor operator applicants were administered license examinations. The results of the examinations were finalized on March 25, 2002. All seven applicants passed all sections of their respective examinations resulting in the issuance of two reactor operator licenses and five senior reactor operator licenses.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRCs 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 the NRCs document control system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/ADQAMS/index.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room). We will gladly discuss any questions you have concerning this examination.

Sincerely,

/RA/

David E. Hills, Chief Operations Branch Division of Reactor Safety Docket No. 50-440 License No. NPF-58

Enclosures:

1. Operator Licensing Examination Report 50-440/02-301(DRS)

2. Simulation Facility Report 3. Written Examinations and Answer Keys (RO & SRO)

REGION III==

Docket No: 50-440 License No: NPF-58 Report No: 50-440/02-301(DRS)

Licensee: FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC)

Facility: Perry Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1 Location: P.O. Box 97 A200 Perry, OH 44081 Dates: March 5 through March 13, 2002 Examiners: David L. Pelton, Chief Examiner Jay A. Hopkins, Examiner Rene Vogt-Lowell, Examiner Approved by: David E. Hills, Chief Operations Branch Division of Reactor Safety

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS ER 05000440-02-301, on 03/05-03/13/2002, FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company, Perry, Unit 1. The announced operator licensing initial examination was conducted by regional examiners in accordance with the guidance of NUREG-1021, Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors, Revision 8, Supplement 1.

Examination Summary:

• Two reactor operator applicants and five senior reactor operator applicants were administered written and operating examinations for initial operator licensing. All seven applicants passed all sections of their respective examinations resulting in the issuance of two reactor operator licenses and five senior reactor operator licenses (Section 4OA5.1).

Report Details 1. OTHER ACTIVITIES (OA)

4OA5 Other

.1 Initial Licensing Examinations a. Inspection Scope The NRC examiners conducted announced operator licensing initial examinations during the weeks of March 4 and March 11, 2002. The facilitys training staff used the guidance established in NUREG-1021, Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors, Revision 8, Supplement 1, to prepare the examination outline and to develop the written and operating examinations. The facility's training staff administered the written examination on March 13, 2002. The NRC examiners administered the operating examination the weeks of March 4 and March 11, 2002. Two reactor operator applicants and five senior reactor operator applicants were examined.

b. Findings Written Examination The NRC examiners determined that the written examination, as originally submitted by the licensee, was outside the acceptable quality range expected by the NRC. This determination was based on the fact that 30 written questions (23.4%)

required replacement or significant modification when reviewed in accordance with NUREG-1021. The problems identified with the written examination included, but were not limited to: questions that contained multiple correct answers, questions on the senior reactor operators examination that did not test at the appropriate license level (i.e., did not require the applicant to posses a senior reactor operators level of knowledge in order to answer the question), and questions that did not match the referenced knowledge and ability statement (K/A). The licensee has entered this issue into their corrective actions program and would be expected to incorporate any lessons learned into future examination submittals.

Examination changes, agreed upon between the NRC and the licensee, were made according to NUREG-1021. The licensee provided no post-examination comments on the written examination questions that were administered to the applicants.

Operating Test The NRC examiners determined that the operating test, as originally submitted by the licensee, was within the range of acceptability expected for a proposed examination.

Examination changes, agreed upon between the NRC and the licensee, were made according to NUREG-1021. The licensee provided no post-examination comments on the operating examination that was administered to the applicants.

Examination Results Two reactor operator applicants and five senior reactor operator applicants were administered written and operating examinations for initial operator licensing. All seven applicants passed all sections of their respective examinations resulting in the issuance of two reactor operator licenses and five senior reactor operator licenses.

.2 Examination Security a. Scope The examiners reviewed and observed the licensees implementation of examination security requirements during the examination preparation and administration.

b. Findings The NRC examiners determined that the licensees examination security practices associated with the development and administration of the operator license examinations were satisfactory.

4OA6 Management Meetings Exit Meeting Summary The chief examiner presented the examination teams preliminary observations and findings to Mr. Guy Campbell and other members of the licensee management on March 12, 2002. The licensee acknowledged the observations and findings presented and did not identify any proprietary information.

KEY POINTS OF CONTACT Licensee B. Boles, Operations Manager G. Campbell, Site Vice-President D. Johnson, Initial License Examination Lead J. Kelly, Initial License Training Lead J. McHugh, Operations Training Supervisor K. Ostrowski, Nuclear Services Director D. Pierson, Training Instructor and Simulator Operator R. Sochia, Operations Department Examination Representative R. Strohl, Operations Superintendent NRC R. Powell, Perry Senior Resident Inspector J. Ellegood, Perry Resident Inspector LIST OF ITEMS OPENED, CLOSED AND DISCUSSED Opened None Closed None Discussed None LIST OF ACRONYMS ADAMS Agency-Wide Document Access and Management System DRS Division of Reactor Safety NRC Nuclear Regulatory Commission PARS Publicly Available Records RO Reactor Operator SRO Senior Reactor Operator

Enclosure 2 Simulation Facility Report Facility Licensee: Perry Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1 Facility Docket No.: 50-440 Operating Tests Administered: March 05 - 13, 2002 The following documents observations made by the NRC examination team during the initial operator license examination. These observations do not constitute audit or inspection findings and are not, without further verification and review, indicative of non-compliance with 10 CFR Part 55.45(b). These observations do not affect NRC certification or approval of the simulation facility other than to provide information which may be used in future evaluations. No licensee action is required in response to these observations.

During the conduct of the simulator portion of the operating tests, the following items were observed:

ITEM DESCRIPTION Intermediate Range Meter/Average Power Range Meter B/F chart 1. recorder failed to operate during all simulator scenarios. A simulator work request item was generated for this malfunction.

Indication for control rod 42-19, on the full core display, turned 2. magenta at position notch 12. A simulator work request item was generated for this malfunction.

Low pressure condenser HI/LOW alarm (on panel P680) was alarming although condenser conditions did not warrant either the high or low 3. level alarms. This alarm occurred sporadically until power was stable at 100 percent. A simulator work request item was generated for this malfunction.

Enclosure 3 Written Examinations and Answer Keys (RO/SRO)

Reactor Operator Initial Examination ADAMS Accession # ML020930791 Senior Reactor Operator Initial Examination ADAMS Accession # ML020930807 7