IR 05000461/2021301

NRC Initial License Examination Report 05000461/2021301

ML21118B030
Person / Time
Site:	Clinton
Issue date:	04/29/2021
From:	Patricia Pelke NRC/RGN-III/DRS/OLB
To:	Rhoades D Exelon Generation Co, Exelon Nuclear
Roach G
Shared Package
ML20136A305	List: IR 05000461/2021301 ML20245E202 ML21081A289
References
Download: ML21118B030 (10)

Text

April 29, 2021

SUBJECT:

CLINTON POWER STATION NRC INITIAL LICENSE EXAMINATION REPORT 05000461/2021301

Dear Mr. Rhoades:

On April 13, 2021, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) completed the initial operator licensing examination process for license applicants employed at your Clinton Power Station. The enclosed report documents the results of those examinations. Preliminary observations noted during the examination process were discussed on April 5, 2021, with Mr. T. Chalmers, Site Vice President, and other members of your staff. An exit meeting was conducted by telephone on April 16, 2021, with Mr. T. Chalmers, Site Vice President, other members of your staff, and Mr. G. Roach, Chief Operator Licensing Examiner, to review the final grading of the written examination for the license applicants. The NRC also confirmed that the station submitted documentation noting that there were no post-examination comments for consideration during NRC grading of the examination.

The NRC examiners administered an initial license examination operating test during the week of March 29, 2021. The written examination was administered by Clinton Power Station training department personnel on April 8, 2021. Six Senior Reactor Operator and three Reactor Operator applicants were administered license examinations. The results of the examinations were finalized on April 16, 2021. Nine applicants passed all sections of their respective examinations. Six applicants were issued senior operator licenses and three applicants were issued operator licenses.

The written examination, administered operating test, as well as documents related to the development and review (outlines, review comments and resolution, etc.) of the examination will be withheld from public disclosure until April 13, 2023. This letter, its enclosure, and your response (if any) will be made available for public inspection and copying at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html and at the NRC Public Document Room in accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 2.390, Public Inspections, Exemptions, Requests for Withholding.

Sincerely, Patricia Digitally signed by Patricia J. Pelke J. Pelke Date: 2021.04.29 16:03:49 -05'00'

Patricia J. Pelke, Chief Operations Branch Division of Reactor Safety Docket No. 50-461 License No. NPF-62

Enclosures:

1. OL Examination Report 05000461/2021301 2. Simulator Fidelity Report

REGION III==

Docket No: 05000461 License No: NPF-62 Report No: 05000461/2021301 Enterprise Identifier: L-2021-OLL-0021 Licensee: Exelon Generation Company, LLC Facility: Clinton Power Station Location: Clinton, IL Dates: March 29, 2021, through April 13, 2021 Examiners: G. Roach, Senior Operations Engineer, Chief Examiner B. Bartlett, Senior Operations Engineer, Examiner D. Reeser, Operations Engineer, Examiner B. Bergeon, Operations Engineer, Examiner Approved By: P. Pelke, Chief Operations Branch Division of Reactor Safety Enclosure 1

SUMMARY

Examination Report 05000461/2021301; 03/29/2021-04/13/2021; Exelon Generation Company,

LLC; Clinton Power Station; Initial License Examination Report.

The announced initial operator licensing examination was conducted by regional Nuclear Regulatory Commission examiners in accordance with the guidance of NUREG-1021,

Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors, Revision 11.

Examination Summary Nine applicants passed all sections of their respective examinations. Six applicants were issued senior operator licenses and three applicants were issued operator licenses. (Section 4OA5.1)

REPORT DETAILS

4OA5 Other Activities

.1 Initial Licensing Examinations

a. Examination Scope

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) examiners and members of the facility licensees staff used the guidance prescribed in NUREG-1021, Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors, Revision 11, to develop, validate, administer, and grade the written examination and operating test. The written examination outlines were prepared by the NRC staff and were transmitted to the facility licensees staff. Members of the facility licensees staff prepared the operating test outlines and developed the written examination and operating test. The NRC examiners validated the proposed examination during the week of March 1, 2021, with the assistance of members of the facility licensees staff. During the onsite validation week, the examiners audited four license applications for accuracy. The NRC examiners, with the assistance of members of the facility licensees staff, administered the operating test, consisting of job performance measures and dynamic simulator scenarios, during the period of March 29, 2021, through April 2, 2021. The facility licensee administered the written examination on April 8, 2021.

b. Findings

(1) Written Examination The NRC examiners determined that the written examination, as proposed by the licensee, was within the range of acceptability expected for a proposed examination.

Less than or equal to 20 percent of the proposed examination questions were determined to be unsatisfactory and required modification or replacement.

During the validation of the written examination, several questions were modified or replaced. All changes made to the written examination were made in accordance with NUREG-1021, Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors, and were documented on Form ES-401-9, Written Examination Review Worksheet. The Form ES-401-9, the written examination outlines (ES-401-1 and ES-401-3), and both the proposed and final written examinations, will be available electronically in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records component of NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) on April 13, 2023, (ADAMS Accession Numbers ML20136A303, ML20136A301, ML20136A302, and ML20136A307, respectively).

On April 13, 2021, the licensee submitted documentation noting that there were no post-examination comments for consideration by the NRC examiners when grading the written examination.

The NRC examiners graded the written examination on April 16, 2021, and conducted a review of each missed question to determine the accuracy and validity of the examination questions.

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

Following the review and validation of the operating test, minor modifications were made to several job performance measures, and some minor modifications were made to the dynamic simulator scenarios. All changes made to the operating test were made in accordance with NUREG-1021, Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors, and were documented on Form ES-301-7, Operating Test Review Worksheet. The Form ES-301-7, the operating test outlines (ES-301-1, ES-301-2, and ES-D-1s), and both the proposed and final operating tests, will be available electronically in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records component of NRCs ADAMS on April 13, 2023, (ADAMS Accession Numbers ML20136A303, ML20136A301, ML20136A302, and ML20136A307, respectively).

The NRC examiners completed operating test grading on April 15, 2021.

(3) Examination Results Six applicants at the Senior Reactor Operator level and three applicants at the Reactor Operator level were administered written examinations and operating tests.

Nine applicants passed all portions of their examinations and were issued their respective operating licenses on April 19, 2021.

.2 Examination Security

a. Scope

The NRC examiners reviewed and observed the licensee's implementation of examination security requirements during the examination validation and administration to assure compliance with Title10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 55.49, Integrity of Examinations and Tests. The examiners used the guidelines provided in NUREG-1021, Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors, to determine acceptability of the licensees examination security activities.

b. Findings

None.

4OA6 Management Meetings

.1 Debrief

The chief examiner presented the examination team's preliminary observations and findings on April 5, 2021, to Mr. T. Chalmers, Site Vice President, and other members of the Clinton Power Station staff.

.2 Exit Meeting

The chief examiner conducted an exit meeting on April 16, 2021, Mr. T. Chalmers, Site Vice President, and other members of the Clinton Power Station staff, by telephone.

The chief examiner asked the licensee whether any of the material used to develop or administer the examination should be considered proprietary. No proprietary or sensitive information was identified during the examination or debrief/exit meetings.

ATTACHMENT:

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

KEY POINTS OF CONTACT

Licensee

T. Chalmers, Site Vice President

N. Plumey, Operations Director

T. Krawcyk, Senior Manager Site Training

D. Shelton, Regulatory Assurance Manager

T. Windingland, Operations Facility Representative

M. Beeler, Lead Exam Developer

B. Kaiser, Exam Developer

M. Griffin, Senior Operations Training Instructor

D. Moren, Corporate Regulatory Exam Expert

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

J. Beavers, Senior Resident Inspector

G. Roach, Senior Operations Engineer, Chief Examiner

B. Bartlett, Senior Operations Engineer, Examiner

D. Reeser, Operations Engineer, Examiner

B. Bergeon, Operations Engineer, Examiner

ITEMS OPENED, CLOSED, AND DISCUSSED

Opened, Closed, and Discussed

None

LIST OF ACRONYMS USED

ADAMS Agencywide Document Access and Management System

NRC U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

SIMULATOR FIDELITY REPORT

Facility Licensee: Clinton Power Station

Facility Docket No: 050-461

Operating Tests Administered: March 29, 2021, through April 2, 2021

The following documents observations made by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

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 Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 55.45(b).

These observations do not affect U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 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

During a simulator job performance measures (JPM), three of the

1.

eight applicants who performed the JPM received a spurious

annunciator which was unexpected while taking control board actions.

None of the applicants was prevented from carrying out the critical steps

of the JPM due to the spurious alarm.

2.

During a simulator JPM, inconsistent vibration data was provided by the

simulator to the three Reactor Operator applicants who performed the

JPM. None of the applicants was prevented from carrying out the

critical steps of the JPM due to the flawed data.

2