Category:NRC Information Notice[Table view]The following query condition could not be considered due to this wiki's restrictions on query size or depth: <code> [[:Beaver Valley]] OR [[:Millstone]] OR [[:Hatch]] OR [[:Monticello]] OR [[:Calvert Cliffs]] OR [[:Dresden]] OR [[:Davis Besse]] OR [[:Peach Bottom]] OR [[:Browns Ferry]] OR [[:Salem]] OR [[:Oconee]] OR [[:Mcguire]] OR [[:Nine Mile Point]] OR [[:Palisades]] OR [[:Palo Verde]] OR [[:Perry]] OR [[:Indian Point]] OR [[:Fermi]] OR [[:Kewaunee]] OR [[:Catawba]] OR [[:Harris]] OR [[:Wolf Creek]] OR [[:Saint Lucie]] OR [[:Point Beach]] OR [[:Oyster Creek]] OR [[:Watts Bar]] OR [[:Hope Creek]] OR [[:Grand Gulf]] OR [[:Cooper]] OR [[:Sequoyah]] OR [[:Byron]] OR [[:Pilgrim]] OR [[:Arkansas Nuclear]] OR [[:Braidwood]] OR [[:Susquehanna]] OR [[:Summer]] OR [[:Prairie Island]] OR [[:Columbia]] OR [[:Seabrook]] OR [[:Brunswick]] OR [[:Surry]] OR [[:Limerick]] OR [[:North Anna]] OR [[:Turkey Point]] OR [[:River Bend]] OR [[:Vermont Yankee]] OR [[:Crystal River]] OR [[:Haddam Neck]] OR [[:Ginna]] OR [[:Diablo Canyon]] OR [[:Callaway]] OR [[:Vogtle]] OR [[:Waterford]] OR [[:Duane Arnold]] OR [[:Farley]] OR [[:Robinson]] OR [[:Clinton]] OR [[:South Texas]] OR [[:San Onofre]] OR [[:Cook]] OR [[:Comanche Peak]] OR [[:Yankee Rowe]] OR [[:Maine Yankee]] OR [[:Quad Cities]] OR [[:Humboldt Bay]] OR [[:La Crosse]] OR [[:Big Rock Point]] OR [[:Rancho Seco]] OR [[:Zion]] OR [[:Midland]] OR [[:Bellefonte]] OR [[:Fort Calhoun]] OR [[:FitzPatrick]] OR [[:McGuire]] OR [[:LaSalle]] OR [[:05000000]] OR [[:Zimmer]] OR [[:Fort Saint Vrain]] OR [[:Shoreham]] OR [[:Satsop]] OR [[:Trojan]] OR [[:Atlantic Nuclear Power Plant]] OR [[:Skagit]] OR [[:Marble Hill]] OR [[:Crane]] </code>.
The purpose of this information notice is to inform recipients of practices
involving the requalification examinations for renewal of reactor operator and
senior reactor operator licenses, that have been found to be contrary to
existing NRC requirements. It is expected that recipients will review this
information for applicability to their operator requalification programs and
consider action as appropriate to preclude similar practices at their facili- ties. However, suggestions contained in this notice do not constitute NRC
requirements; therefore, no specific action or written response is required.
Description of Circumstances
NRC recently identified three nonpower reactor licensees who make a practice of
giving take-home or on-shift requalification examinations. Generic Letter
83-17, issued on April 8, 1983, addressed the use of take-home and on-shift
examinations as a means of determining an applicant's individual performance as
part of the requalification program. This generic letter was issued as a result
of an investigation into a case of cheating, in which an individual had submit- ted another person's work in response to some examination ouestions. The
aeneric letter states, "In particular, unproctored examination(s), take-home
quizzes and on-shift tests allow ample opportunity for cheating which could go
undetected and, therefore, are not an acceptable means for certifying indivi- dual performance." (See Attachment 1.)
Discussion:
The integrity of the requalification examination is essential because it is
used to certify that the operator's performance is adequate to warrant renewal
of his or her license. As a result of the recent discovery of inadequate
examination practices, the NPC initiated detailed reviews of examination
practices at the three facilities. Processing of license renewal requests from
these facilities were held in abeyance pending the completion of these reviews.
8705o1P155 .
IN 87-22 May 22, 1987 No specific action or written response is required by this information notice.
If you have questions about this matter, please contact the Regional Adminis- trator of the appropriate NRC regional office or this office.
Recently, an investigation was completed which determined that a senior offi- cial at a nuclear power plant certified to the NRC that a licensed individual
had successfully completed the licensed operator requalification program, when
in fact, that individual had cheated by submitting another person's work in
response to some examination questions.
Such an individual has not successfully completed the requalification program
and has not discharged his licensed responsibility in a safe and competent
manner, as required by 10 CFR 55. Furthermore, it should be noted that
cheating on examinations which are used to certify individuals to the NRC will
result in an automatic denial of a license application or license renewal and
could result in more severe penalties.
The purpose of this letter is to highlight the need for you to ensure that the
validity of the certifications required by 10 CFR Part 55 and the integrity
and honesty of the requalification program are adequately addressed in
facility procedures. You should review your procedures on this subject to
ensure that an applicant's individual performance can be determined. Your
procedures should include provisions to detect and prevent instances of
cheating.
In particular, unproctored examination, take-home quizzes and
on-shift tests allow ample opportunity for cheating which could go undetected
and, therefore, are not an acceptable means for certifying individual
performance. While some portions of examinations may be conducted in an
open-book format (e.g. use of steam tables on thermodynamics problems or use
of facility procedures and drawings during oral examinations), adequate
monitoring provisions are essential to ensure that the persons being evaluated
are working independently and are using only authorized instructional or
reference materials.
No submittals of procedures or results of your procedure reviews are required
by this letter; however, we will review these procedures as a part of our
audits of the licensed reactor operator and senior reactor operator requalifi- cation programs.