ML071660271

Er 05000327-07-301, 05000328-07-301; 4/9-5/9/2007; Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 and 2; Licensed Operator Examinations

ML071660271
Person / Time
Site:	Sequoyah
Issue date:	06/15/2007
From:	Haag R Division of Reactor Safety II
To:	Campbell W Tennessee Valley Authority
References
50-327/07-301, 50-328/07-301 50-327/07-301, 50-328/07-301
Download: ML071660271 (8)

See also: IR 05000327/2007301

Text

June 15, 2007

Tennessee Valley Authority

ATTN: Mr. William R. Campbell

Chief Nuclear Officer and

Senior Vice President

6A Lookout Place

1101 Market Street

Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801

SUBJECT: SEQUOYAH NUCLEAR PLANT - NRC EXAMINATION REPORT

NOS. 05000327/2007301 AND 05000328/2007301

Dear Mr. Campbell:

During the period of April 9-11, 2007, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) administered

operating examinations to employees of your company who had applied for licenses to operate

the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant. The examiners discussed examination questions and preliminary

findings related to the operating test with those members of your staff identified in the enclosed

report on April 12, 2007. The written examination was administered by your staff on May 9,

2007. The Chief Examiner discussed questions and preliminary findings related to the written

examination with members of your staff on May 23, 2007.

Three Senior Reactor Operator applicants passed both the written and operating examinations.

There were no post examination comments. A Simulation Facility Report is included in this

report as Enclosure 2.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 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 NRCs document system (ADAMS).

ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the

Public Electronic Reading Room).

Sincerely,

\\RA\\

Robert C. Haag, Chief

Operations Branch

Division of Reactor Safety

Docket Nos.: 50-327, 50-328

License Nos.: DPR-77, DPR-79

Enclosures: (See page 2)

TVA 2

Enclosures: 1. Report Details

2. Simulation Facility Report

Ashok S. Bhatnagar Glenn W. Morris, Manager

Senior Vice President Licensing and Industry Affairs

Nuclear Generation Development Sequoyah Nuclear Plant

and Construction Tennessee Valley Authority

Tennessee Valley Authority Electronic Mail Distribution

Electronic Mail Distribution

Robert H. Bryan, Jr., General Manager

Preston D. Swafford Licensing and Industry Affairs

Senior Vice President Sequoyah Nuclear Plant

Nuclear Support Tennessee Valley Authority

Tennessee Valley Authority 4X Blue Ridge

Electronic Mail Distribution 1101 Market Street

Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801

Walter M. Justice, II

Interim Vice President David A. Kulisek, Plant Manager

Nuclear Engineering & Sequoyah Nuclear Plant

Technical Services Tennessee Valley Authority

Tennessee Valley Authority Electronic Mail Distribution

Electronic Mail Distribution

Lawrence E. Nanney, Director

Randy Douet TN Dept. of Environment & Conservation

Site Vice President Division of Radiological Health

Sequoyah Nuclear Plant Electronic Mail Distribution

Electronic Mail Distribution

County Mayor

General Counsel Hamilton County Courthouse

Tennessee Valley Authority Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801

Electronic Mail Distribution

Ann Harris

John C. Fornicola, General Manager 341 Swing Loop

Nuclear Assurance Rockwood, TN 37854

Tennessee Valley Authority

Electronic Mail Distribution James H. Bassham, Director

Tennessee Emergency Management

Beth A. Wetzel, Manager Agency

Corporate Nuclear Licensing and Electronic Mail Distribution

Industry Affairs

Tennessee Valley Authority Mr. Thomas Wallace

4X Blue Ridge Training Manager

1101 Market Street Sequoyah Training Center

Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801 Igou Ferry Road

Soddy-Daisy, TN 37379

_________________________

OFFICE RII:DRS RII:DRS RII:DRP

SIGNATURE MAB7 RCH SMS\For

NAME MBates RHaag MWidmann

DATE 6/13/2007 6/13/2007 6/13/2007 6/ /2007 6/ /2007 6/ /2007 6/ /2007

E-MAIL COPY? YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

REGION II

Docket Nos.: 50-327, 50-328

License Nos.: DPR-77, DPR-79

Report Nos.: 05000327/2007301 and 05000328/2007301

Licensee: Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

Facility: Sequoyah Nuclear Plant Units 1 & 2

Location: Sequoyah Access Road

Soddy-Daisy, TN 37379

Dates: Operating Tests - April 9-11, 2007

Written Examination - May 9, 2007

Examiners: M. Bates, Chief Examiner

R. Aiello, Senior Operations Engineer

B. Caballero, Operations Engineer

Approved by: R. Haag, Chief

Operations Branch

Division of Reactor Safety

Enclosure 1

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

ER 05000327/2007301, 05000328/2007301; 4/9-5/9/2007; Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant,

Units 1 and 2; Licensed Operator Examinations.

The NRC examiners conducted operator licensing initial examinations in accordance with the

guidance of NUREG-1021, Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors,

Rev. 9. This examination implemented the operator licensing requirements of 10 CFR §55.41,

§55.43, and §55.45.

The NRC administered the operating tests during the period of April 9-11, 2007. Members of

the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant training staff administered the written examination on May 9, 2007.

The operator licensing initial written examinations and operating tests were developed by the

licensee. Three Senior Reactor Operator (SRO) applicants passed both the written and

operating examinations and were issued SRO licenses.

The initial written examination submittal was determined to be outside of the acceptable quality

range as outlined in NUREG-1021. Twenty-nine out of 75 questions on the RO examination

were significantly modified or replaced and 9 out of 25 questions on the SRO examination were

significantly modified or replaced as a result of the NRCs review of the submittal. Question

flaws, which caused questions to be rated as unsatisfactory, included non-plausible distractors,

questions not testing knowledge required by the selected topic, and SRO questions not written

to test knowledge that is unique to the SRO position. Future examination submittals should

incorporate lessons learned from this effort.

Report Details

4. OTHER ACTIVITIES (OA)

4OA5 Operator Licensing Initial Examinations

a. Inspection Scope

The licensee developed the operating tests and written examinations. The NRC

examination team reviewed the proposed to determine whether it was developed in

accordance with NUREG-1021, Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power

Reactors, Revision 9. Examination changes agreed upon between the NRC and the

licensee were made according to NUREG-1021 and incorporated into the final version of

the examination materials.

The examiners reviewed the licensees examination security measures while preparing

and administering the examinations to ensure examination security and integrity

complied with 10 CFR 55.49, Integrity of examinations and tests.

The examiners evaluated three SRO applicants who were being assessed under the

guidelines specified in NUREG-1021. The examiners administered the operating tests

during the period of April 9-11, 2007. Members of the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant training

staff administered the written examination on May 9, 2007. The evaluations of the

applicants and review of documentation were performed to determine if the applicants,

who applied for licensees to operate the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, met requirements

specified in 10 CFR Part 55.

b. Findings

The initial written examination submittal did not include adequate reference material, as

requested in NRC correspondence from Robert C. Haag to Karl W. Singer, dated

November 9, 2006, to allow the NRC Chief Examiner to adequately review the

examination. Additional reference material was subsequently provided on April 12,

2007. Also, the initial written examination submittal was evaluated to be outside of the

acceptable quality range as outlined in NUREG-1021. Twenty-nine out of 75 questions

on the RO examination were significantly modified or replaced and 9 out of 25 questions

on the SRO examination were significantly modified or replaced as a result of the NRCs

review of the submittal. Question flaws, which caused questions to be rated as

unsatisfactory, included non-plausible distractors, questions not testing knowledge

required by the selected topic, and SRO questions not written to test knowledge that is

unique to the SRO position. Future examination submittals should incorporate lessons

learned from this effort.

A portion of the written examination was developed by the licensee and submitted for

preliminary NRC review prior to the agreed upon submittal date. The licensee then

removed the initial examination developer from examination development activities in

order for the individual to instruct the applicants who were scheduled to take the

examination. All examination material that had been developed up to that point was

required to be discarded due to examination security requirements contained in

NUREG-1021. Examination development was re-commenced with a new examination

development team and a revised agreed upon written examination date of May 3, 2007.

The written examination was further delayed until May 9, 2007, due to the revisions that

were required due to the examination submittal being outside the acceptable quality

range as outlined in NUREG-1021.

Three SROs passed both the operating test and written examination. The licensee

submitted no post examination comments concerning the written or operating

examinations. The written examination, and examination references may be accessed

in the ADAMS system (ADAMS Accession Number ML071490433, ML071440462,

ML071440467).

4OA6 Meetings

Exit Meeting Summary

On April 12, 2007, the Chief Examiner discussed generic applicant performance and

examination development issues with members of licensee management. The

inspectors asked the licensee whether any materials examined during the inspection

should be considered proprietary. No proprietary information was identified.

On May 23, 2007, the Chief Examiner discussed written examination development

issues with members of licensee management.

PARTIAL LIST OF PERSONS CONTACTED

Licensee

R. Douet, Site Vice President

G. Morris, Site Licensing Manager

T. Wallace, Training Manager

D. Boone, Radiation Protection Manager

B. Picchiottino, Operations Training Manager

R. Proffitt, Licensing Supervisor

M. Reese, Operations Training

D. Truong, Nuclear Assurance

T. Whitten, Operations

NRC

M. Speck, Resident Inspector

SIMULATION FACILITY REPORT

Facility Licensee: Sequoyah Nuclear Station

Facility Docket No.: 05000327/05000328

Operating Tests Administered on: April 9-11, 2007

This form is to be used only to report observations. These observations do not constitute audit

or inspection findings and, without further verification and review in accordance with IP 71111.11, are not indicative of noncompliance with 10 CFR 55.46. No licensee action is

required in response to these observations.

While conducting the simulator portion of the operating tests, examiners did not observe any

simulation fidelity issues.

Enclosure 2