ML090720037

Operator License Exam Report 05000327-09-301 and 05000328-09-301 on 01/20/09 - 01/29/09 for Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Units 1 & 2

ML090720037
Person / Time
Site:	Sequoyah
Issue date:	03/13/2009
From:	Widmann M NRC/RGN-II/DRS/OLB
To:	Swafford P Tennessee Valley Authority
References
Download: ML090720037 (10)

See also: IR 05000327/2009301

Text

UNITED STATES

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

REGION II

SAM NUNN ATLANTA FEDERAL CENTER

61 FORSYTH STREET, SW, SUITE 23T85

ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30303-8931

March 13, 2009

Mr. Preston D. Swafford

Chief Nuclear Officer and Executive Vice President

Tennessee Valley Authority

3R Lookout Place

1101 Market Street

Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801

SUBJECT: SEQUOYAH NUCLEAR PLANT - NRC OPERATOR LICENSE EXAMINATION

REPORT 05000327/2009301 AND 05000328/2009301

Dear Mr. Swafford:

During the period January 20 - 29, 2009, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

administered operating tests to employees of your company who had applied for licenses to

operate the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant. At the conclusion of the tests, the examiners discussed

preliminary findings related to the operating tests with those members of your staff identified in

the enclosed report. The written examination was administered by your staff on

February 4, 2009.

One Reactor Operator (RO) and three Senior Reactor Operator (SRO) applicants passed both

the operating test and written examination. Two RO and two SRO applicants failed the written

examination. There were no post-administration comments concerning the written examination.

A Simulator Fidelity 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 the NRCs document

system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-

rm.adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room). If you have any questions concerning

this letter, please contact me at (404) 562-4550.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Malcolm T. Widmann, Chief

Operations Branch

Division of Reactor Safety

Docket Nos.: 50-327, 50-328

License Nos.: DPR-77, DPR-79

Enclosures: 1. Report Details

2. Simulator Fidelity Report

cc w/encl: (See page 2)

TVA 2

cc w/encl:

Ashok S. Bhatnagar Fredrick C. Mashburn, Acting Manager

Senior Vice President Corporate Nuclear Licensing and Industry

Nuclear Generation Development and Affairs

Construction Tennessee Valley Authority

Tennessee Valley Authority Electronic Mail Distribution

Electronic Mail Distribution

Beth A. Wetzel, Acting Manager

Preston D. Swafford Licensing and Industry Affairs

Chief Nuclear Officer and Executive Vice Tennessee Valley Authority

President Electronic Mail Distribution

Tennessee Valley Authority

Electronic Mail Distribution Senior Resident Inspector

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Christopher R. Church Sequoyah Nuclear Plant

Plant Manager 2600 Igou Ferry Road

Sequoyah Nuclear Plant Soddy Daisy, TN 37379-3624

Tennessee Valley Authority

Electronic Mail Distribution Lawrence Edward Nanney, Director

Division of Radiological Health

Thomas Coutu TN Dept. of Environment & Conservation

Vice President Electronic Mail Distribution

Nuclear Support

Tennessee Valley Authority County Mayor, Hamilton County

Electronic Mail Distribution Hamilton County Courthouse

Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801

Michael J. Lorek

Vice President Larry E. Nicholson, General Manager

Nuclear Engineering & Projects Performance Improvement

Tennessee Valley Authority Tennessee Valley Authority

Electronic Mail Distribution Electronic Mail Distribution

Timothy P. Cleary Michael A. Purcell

Site Vice President Senior Licensing Manager

Sequoyah Nuclear Plant Nuclear Power Group

Tennessee Valley Authority Tennessee Valley Authority

Electronic Mail Distribution Electronic Mail Distribution

John C. Fornicola James H. Bassham, Director

General Manager Tennessee Emergency Management

Nuclear Assurance Agency

Tennessee Valley Authority Electronic Mail Distribution

Electronic Mail Distribution

Ann Harris

General Counsel 341 Swing Loop

Tennessee Valley Authority Rockwood, TN 37854

Electronic Mail Distribution

Tennessee Valley Authority

ATTN: Mr. Tom Wallace

Training Manager

Sequoyah Nuclear Plant

P.O. Box 2000 Soddy-Daisy, TN 37384-2000

TVA 3

Letter to Preston D. Swafford from Malcolm T. Widmann dated March 13, 2009

SUBJECT: SEQUOYAH NUCLEAR PLANT - NRC OPERATOR LICENSE EXAMINATION

REPORT 05000327/2009301 AND 05000328/2009301

Distribution w/encl:

RIDSNRRDIRS

PUBLIC

R. Pascarelli, NRR ((Regulatory Conferences Only))

B. Moroney, NRR (PM: SEQ)

_________________________ X SUNSI REVIEW COMPLETE

OFFICE RII:DRS RII:DRS RII:DRS RII:DRS RII:DRP RII:DRS

SIGNATURE /RA/ RSB /RA/ for RSB /RA/for /RA/ HGepford /ra/ for

NAME R BALDWIN M RICHES S ROSE K SCHAAF E GUTHRIE M WIDMANN

DATE 03/06/09 3/11/2009 3/11/2009 3/10/2009 3/10/2009 3/ 122009

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

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

REGION II

Docket No.: 50-327, 50-328

License No.: DPR-77, DPR-79

Report Nos.: 05000327/2009301, 05000328/2009301

Licensee: Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

Facility: Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Units 1 & 2

Location: Sequoyah Access Road

Soddy-Daisy, TN 37379

Dates: Operating Test - January 20 - 29, 2009

Written Examination - February 4, 2009

Examiners: Richard S. Baldwin, Chief Examiner, Senior Operations Engineer

Steven D. Rose, Senior Reactor Inspector

Mark J. Riches, Operations Engineer

Kenneth D. Schaaf, Operations Engineer (In-Training)

Approved by: Malcolm T. Widmann, Chief

Operations Branch

Division of Reactor Safety

Enclosure 1

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

ER 05000327/2009301, 05000328/2009301, 01/20-29/2009 & 02/04/2009; Sequoyah Nuclear

Plant; Operator License Examinations.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) examiners conducted an initial examination in

accordance with the guidelines in Revision 9, Supplement 1, of NUREG-1021, "Operator

Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors." This examination implemented the

operator licensing requirements identified in 10 CFR §55.41, §55.43, and §55.45, as applicable.

Members of Sequoyah Nuclear Plant training staff developed both the operating tests and the

written examination.

The NRC administered the operating tests during the period January 20 - 29, 2009. Members

of the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant training staff administered the written examination on

February 4, 2009. One Reactor Operator (RO) and three Senior Reactor Operator (SRO)

applicants passed both the operating test and written examination. Two RO applicants and two

SRO applicants failed the written examination. Two SRO applicants were issued licenses. One

RO applicant and one SRO applicant received pass letters pending results of any appeals.

There were no post-examination comments.

No findings of significance were identified.

Enclosure 1

REPORT DETAILS

4. OTHER ACTIVITIES

4OA5 Operator Licensing Examinations

a. Inspection Scope

Members of the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant developed both the operating tests and the

written examination. All examination material was developed in accordance with the

guidelines contained in Revision 9, Supplement 1, of NUREG-1021, "Operator Licensing

Examination Standards for Power Reactors." The NRC examination team reviewed the

proposed examination. Examination changes agreed upon between the NRC and the

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

examination materials.

The NRC reviewed the licensees examination security measures while preparing and

administering the examinations in order to ensure compliance with 10 CFR Part 55.49,

Integrity of examinations and tests.

The NRC examiners evaluated three Reactor Operator (RO) and five Senior Reactor

Operator (SRO) applicants using the guidelines contained in NUREG-1021. The

examiners administered the operating tests during the period January 20 - 29, 2009.

Members of the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant training staff administered the written

examination on February 4, 2009. Evaluations of applicants and reviews of associated

documentation were performed to determine if the applicants, who applied for licenses

to operate the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, met the requirements specified in 10 CFR Part

55, Operators Licenses.

b. Findings

The NRC determined that the details provided by the licensee for the walkthrough and

simulator tests were within the range of acceptability expected for a proposed

examination.

Enclosure 1

4

One RO applicant and three SRO applicants passed both the operating test and written

examination. Two RO applicants and two SRO applicants passed the operating test but

did not pass the written examination. Two SRO applicants were issued licenses.

One RO applicant passed the operating test, but passed the written examination with

overall scores between 80% and 82%. One SRO applicant passed the operating test,

but passed the SRO-only portion of the written examination with scores between 70%

and 74%. Each of these applicants was issued a letter stating that they passed the

examination and issuance of their license has been delayed pending any written

examination appeals that may impact the licensing decision for their application.

Copies of all individual examination reports were sent to the facility Training Manager for

evaluation of weaknesses and determination of appropriate remedial training.

The licensee did not submit any post-examination comments. A copy of the final RO

and SRO written examinations, handouts and answer keys, with all changes

incorporated may be accessed in the ADAMS system (ADAMS Accession Number(s)

ML090690060, and ML09690051).

4OA6 Meetings, Including Exit

Exit Meeting Summary

On January 30, 2009, the NRC examination team discussed generic issues associated

with the operating test with Mr. Timothy Cleary, Sequoyah Nuclear Plant Site Vice

President, and members of the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant staff. The examiners asked the

licensee if any of the examination material was proprietary. No proprietary information

was identified.

Enclosure 1

KEY POINTS OF CONTACT

Licensee personnel

T. Cleary, Site Vice President

C. Church, Plant Manager

R. Proffitt, Licensing Engineer

K. Jones, Site Engineering Manager

V. Ford, Operations Superintendent

D. Bodine, Chemical Environmental Manager

B. Picchiottino, Training Manager

N. Eggemeyer, Site Security Manager

J. Carden, III, Site Procurement Manager

D. Boone, RP Manager

R. Kerwin NA Manager

R. Thompson, EP Manager

T. Niessen Corporate NA Manager

J. Dvorak, O& SS Manager

NRC personnel

M. Speck, RI

Enclosure 1

SIMULATOR FIDELITY REPORT

Facility Licensee: Sequoyah Nuclear Plant

Facility Docket No.: 05000327, & 05000328

Operating Test Administered: January 20 - 29, 2009

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 Inspection

Procedure 71111.11 are not indicative of noncompliance with 10 CFR 55.46. No licensee

action is required in response to these observations.

No simulator fidelity or configuration issues were identified.

Enclosure 2