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 |
| Revision: | 0 |
| From: | Grimes C I NRC/NRR/ADRA/DPR |
| To: | |
| Beaulieu, David, NRR/DLPM, 415-3243 | |
| References | |
| TAC MC8904 IN-06-009 | |
| Download: ML060110024 (6) | |
April 11, 2006
NRC INFORMATION NOTICE 2006-09:PERFORMANCE OF NRC-LICENSEDINDIVIDUALS WHILE ON DUTY WITH RESPECT TO CONTROL ROOM ATTENTIVENESS
ADDRESSEES
All holders of operating licenses for nuclear power reactors, except those who havepermanently 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 informaddressees of recent instances in which on-duty control room operators were inattentiv ThisIN serves to reaffirm the necessity for high standards of control room professionalism and operator attentiveness to ensure safe operation of nuclear power facilitie It is expected thatrecipients will review the information for applicability to their facilities and consider actions, asappropriate, to avoid similar problem 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 dutie In one case, the NRC determined that an on-duty licensed senior operator was asleep for approximately 4 minutes inthe control room and was neither alert nor attentive to dutie 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 ofthe occurrence and complete a fitness-for-duty (FFD) evaluation. In a separate case, the NRC determined that several on-duty licensed operators at anotherfacility were inattentive when engaged in the non-business-related use of control roomcomputer This distracting activity could compromise their ability to monitor and respond toplant 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 theon-duty licensed operators was unacceptable control room behavio The NRC and thelicensees 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 facilit The operatorat the controls of a nuclear power unit has many responsibilities that include, but are not limitedto: (1) adhering to the unit's 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 condition In order for the operator at the controls of anuclear power unit to be able to carry out these and other responsibilities in a timely fashion,the operator's attention must be given to the condition of the unit at all time The operatormust 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 alltimes when a nuclear power unit is in an operational mode other than cold shutdown or refueling as defined by the unit's technical specification The staffing rule requires the continuous presence of a senior operator in the control room to ensure that (1) an individual isavailable who can provide the oversight function of the supervisor so that the probability ofcorrectly 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 operator's extra experience, training, andknowledge can be used to act promptly to mitigate that event; and (3) the operator at thecontrols 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 thesenior operator had been absent from the control roo In order to fulfill these responsibilities,the senior operator must be attentive and alert.The NRC has previously issued the following generic communications involving inattentiveon-duty control room operators: *NRC Office of Inspection and Enforcement (IE) IN 79-20, Revision 1, "NRCEnforcement Policy - NRC Licensed Individuals" (Agencywide Document Access andManagement System (ADAMS) Accession Number ML031180160) *NRC IE Circular 81-02, "Performance of NRC-Licensed Individuals While on Duty"(ADAMS Accession Number ML031220537) *NRC IE IN 85-53, "Performance of NRC-Licensed Individuals While on Duty" (ADAMSAccession Number ML031180229) *NRC IN 87-21, "Shutdown Order Issued Because Licensed Operators Asleep While onDuty" (ADAMS Accession Number ML031180011)
DISCUSSION
As described above, 10 CFR 50.54 states that an operator or senior operator licensed pursuantto 10 CFR Part 55 shall be present at the controls at all times during the operation of the facilityand that the continuous presence of a senior operator in the control room is required to ensurethat the operator at the controls is able to perform the actions necessary to prevent or mitigatean acciden 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 totheir responsibilities to ensure the continued safe operation of nuclear facilities. A positive relationship exists between the professionalism of operating personnel at a nuclearpower plant and the degree to which the health and safety of the public are protecte Nuclearpower plant operators have a professional responsibility to ensure that the facility is operatedsafely and within the requirements of the facility's license, including its technical specificationsand the regulations and orders of the NR Mechanical and electrical systems andcomponents required for safety can and do fai However, the automated safety features of the plant, together with the operator, can identify at an early stage degradation in plant systemsthat could affect reactor safet 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 workingenvironment free of distractions, and should be alert to prevent or mitigate any operational problem 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 thisbehavior 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 confidenc The NRCEnforcement Policy, Supplement I.C.3, lists inattentiveness to duty on the part of licensedpersonnel as an example of a Severity Level III violatio The deliberate failure to takeimmediate corrective actions to awaken a sleeping on-duty licensed operator and immediately relieve the operator of their duties is also a violation involving unacceptable behavio Although licensees have established policies to prohibit or minimize distracting activities, thefollowing measures could reduce the possibility of such occurrences: (1) review and revise, asnecessary, 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 administrativecontrols are not compromised by other corporate policie IN 2006-09