Information Notice 2006-09, Performance of NRC-Licensed Individuals While on Duty with Respect to Control Room Attentiveness
| ML060110024 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 04/11/2006 |
| From: | Charemagne Grimes NRC/NRR/ADRA/DPR |
| To: | |
| Beaulieu, David, NRR/DLPM, 415-3243 | |
| References | |
| TAC MC8904 IN-06-009 | |
| Download: ML060110024 (6) | |
UNITED STATES
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REGULATORY REGULATION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 April 11, 2006 NRC INFORMATION NOTICE 2006-09: PERFORMANCE OF NRC-LICENSED
INDIVIDUALS WHILE ON DUTY WITH RESPECT
TO CONTROL ROOM ATTENTIVENESS
ADDRESSEES
All holders of operating licenses for nuclear power reactors, except those who have
permanently ceased operations and have certified that fuel has been permanently removed
from the reactor vessel.
PURPOSE
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing this information notice (IN) to inform
addressees of recent instances in which on-duty control room operators were inattentive. This
IN serves to reaffirm the necessity for high standards of control room professionalism and
operator attentiveness to ensure safe operation of nuclear power facilities. It is expected that
recipients will review the information for applicability to their facilities and consider actions, as
appropriate, to avoid similar problems. However, suggestions contained in this information
notice are not NRC requirements; therefore, no specific action or written response is required.
DESCRIPTION OF CIRCUMSTANCES
Recent NRC staff investigations at certain plants identified multiple examples of on-duty
(i.e., on-shift) control room operators inattentive to licensed duties. In one case, the NRC
determined that an on-duty licensed senior operator was asleep for approximately 4 minutes in
the control room and was neither alert nor attentive to duties. This particular issue was further
compounded when other crew members deliberately failed to take immediate action to wake
the sleeping operator and implement procedural requirements to notify station management of
the occurrence and complete a fitness-for-duty (FFD) evaluation.
In a separate case, the NRC determined that several on-duty licensed operators at another
facility were inattentive when engaged in the non-business-related use of control room
computers. This distracting activity could compromise their ability to monitor and respond to
plant indications even though another reactor operator was assigned control panel monitoring
duties, generally termed at-the-controls. The operators engaged in this distracting activity at
various times during their shifts.
In each of these examples, the plant licensees determined that the inattentiveness of the
on-duty licensed operators was unacceptable control room behavior. The NRC and the
licensees took prompt actions to address each occurrence.
BACKGROUND
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Section 50.54, Conditions of Licenses, requires that an operator or senior operator licensed pursuant to 10 CFR Part 55, Operators
Licenses, be present at the controls at all times during the operation of a facility. The operator
at the controls of a nuclear power unit has many responsibilities that include, but are not limited
to: (1) adhering to the units technical specifications, plant operating procedures, and NRC
regulations; (2) reviewing operating data, including data logging and review, in order to ensure
safe operation of the unit; and (3) being able to manually initiate engineered safety features
during various transient and accident conditions. In order for the operator at the controls of a
nuclear power unit to be able to carry out these and other responsibilities in a timely fashion, the operators attention must be given to the condition of the unit at all times. The operator
must be alert to ensure that the unit is operating safely and must be capable of taking action to
prevent any progression toward a condition that may be unsafe.
Additionally, 10 CFR 50.54 requires that a senior operator be present in the control room at all
times when a nuclear power unit is in an operational mode other than cold shutdown or
refueling as defined by the units technical specifications. The staffing rule requires the
continuous presence of a senior operator in the control room to ensure that (1) an individual is
available who can provide the oversight function of the supervisor so that the probability of
correctly detecting abnormal events early enough to mitigate potential adverse consequences is
increased; (2) the senior operator in the control room is aware of plant conditions prior to and
resulting from an abnormal event so that the senior operators extra experience, training, and
knowledge can be used to act promptly to mitigate that event; and (3) the operator at the
controls is able to direct attention to performing the immediate actions necessary to mitigate an
event, rather than having to brief the senior operator about the background of that event, if the
senior operator had been absent from the control room. In order to fulfill these responsibilities, the senior operator must be attentive and alert.
The NRC has previously issued the following generic communications involving inattentive
on-duty control room operators:
Enforcement Policy - NRC Licensed Individuals (Agencywide Document Access and
Management System (ADAMS) Accession Number ML031180160)
- NRC IE Circular 81-02, Performance of NRC-Licensed Individuals While on Duty
(ADAMS Accession Number ML031220537)
Accession Number ML031180229)
- NRC IN 87-21, Shutdown Order Issued Because Licensed Operators Asleep While on
Duty (ADAMS Accession Number ML031180011)
DISCUSSION
As described above, 10 CFR 50.54 states that an operator or senior operator licensed pursuant
to 10 CFR Part 55 shall be present at the controls at all times during the operation of the facility
and that the continuous presence of a senior operator in the control room is required to ensure
that the operator at the controls is able to perform the actions necessary to prevent or mitigate
an accident. It is essential that control room operators are (1) highly trained and qualified, (2)
physically and mentally fit to carry out their duties, and (3) attentive to plant status relevant to
their responsibilities to ensure the continued safe operation of nuclear facilities.
A positive relationship exists between the professionalism of operating personnel at a nuclear
power plant and the degree to which the health and safety of the public are protected. Nuclear
power plant operators have a professional responsibility to ensure that the facility is operated
safely and within the requirements of the facilitys license, including its technical specifications
and the regulations and orders of the NRC. Mechanical and electrical systems and
components required for safety can and do fail. However, the automated safety features of the
plant, together with the operator, can identify at an early stage degradation in plant systems
that could affect reactor safety. The operator can take action to mitigate the situation.
Therefore, nuclear power plant operators on each shift should have knowledge of those
aspects of plant status relevant to their responsibilities, should maintain their working
environment free of distractions, and should be alert to prevent or mitigate any operational
problems. Any behavior, condition, or use of materials that distracts a control room operator
from performing assigned duties and responsibilities would cause them to be inattentive to duty.
Instances of on-duty licensed operators sleeping are of particular concern not only because this
behavior is in violation of required licensee procedures but it may also represent a failure to
recognize the responsibility to operate in a manner that merits public confidence. The NRC
Enforcement Policy, Supplement I.C.3, lists inattentiveness to duty on the part of licensed
personnel as an example of a Severity Level III violation. The deliberate failure to take
immediate corrective actions to awaken a sleeping on-duty licensed operator and immediately
relieve the operator of their duties is also a violation involving unacceptable behavior.
Although licensees have established policies to prohibit or minimize distracting activities, the
following measures could reduce the possibility of such occurrences: (1) review and revise, as
necessary, administrative controls regarding operator performance to ensure that these
documents clearly define acceptable standards of operation and provide specific examples of
activities that are prohibited while licensed personnel are on duty; (2) discuss these recent
incidents with their operations staff to emphasize the importance of alertness, attentiveness, peer checking, and FFD matters; (3) consider applying the on-duty operator administrative
controls to other plant personnel; and (4) confirm that the on-duty operator administrative
controls are not compromised by other corporate policies.
CONTACT
S
This information notice requires no specific action or written response. Please direct any
questions about this matter to the technical contacts listed below or the appropriate Office of
Nuclear Regulation (NRR) project manager.
/RA/
Christopher I. Grimes, Director
Division of Policy and Rulemaking
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Technical Contacts: Steven Dennis, NRR David Desaulniers, NRR
301-415-1349 301-415-1043 E-mail: sxd2@nrc.gov E-mail: drd@nrc.gov
Note: NRC generic communications may be found on the NRC public website, http://www.nrc.gov, under Electronic Reading Room/Document Collections.
ML060110024 TAC# MC8904 OFFICE IOEB:DIRS Tech Ed RI RI IOLB:DIRS
NAME IJung HChang SDennis RConte (By E-mail) Ddesaulniers (w/ comment)
DATE 04/05/2006 01/12/2006 04/05/2006 04/03/2006 04/05/2006 OFFICE IOLB:DIRS BC:IOEB:DIRS LA:PGCB PGCB:DPR BC:PGCB:DPR D:DPR
NAME NOkeefe MJRoss-Lee CHawes DBeaulieu CJackson CIGrimes
DATE 04/05/2006 04/06/2006 04/04/2006 04/05/2006 04/10/2006 04/11/2006