ML12159A083
| ML12159A083 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Quad Cities  |
| Issue date: | 06/06/2012 |
| From: | Tamara Bloomer Operations Branch III |
| To: | Pacilio M Exelon Generation Co, Exelon Nuclear |
| References | |
| IR-12-301 | |
| Download: ML12159A083 (11) | |
See also: IR 05000254/2012301
Text
UNITED STATES
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
REGION III
2443 WARRENVILLE ROAD, SUITE 210
LISLE, IL 60532-4352
June 6, 2012
Mr. Michael J. Pacilio
Senior Vice President, Exelon Generation Company, LLC
President and Chief Nuclear Officer (CNO), Exelon Nuclear
4300 Winfield Road
Warrenville, IL 60555
SUBJECT:
QUAD CITIES NUCLEAR POWER STATION, UNITS 1 AND 2;
NRC INITIAL LICENSE EXAMINATION REPORT 05000254/2012301(DRS);
Dear Mr. Pacilio:
On May 8, 2012, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) completed the initial
operator licensing examination process for license applicants employed at your Quad Cities
Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2. The enclosed report documents the results of those
examinations. An exit meeting was conducted by telephone on May 24, 2012, between
Mr. K. Moser, Site Training Director, and Mr. B. Palagi, Chief Operator Licensing Examiner, to
review the conduct of the examination.
The NRC examiners administered an initial license examination operating test during the week
of April 23, 2012. The written examination was administered by the Quad Cities Nuclear Power
Station training department personnel on April 30, 2012. Seven Senior Reactor Operator and
three Reactor Operator applicants were administered license examinations. The results of the
examinations were finalized on May 14, 2012. The applicants passed all sections of their
respective examinations and seven senior operator licenses and three operator licenses were
issued.
The written examination and other related written examination documentation will be withheld
from public disclosure for 24 months per your request.
In accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 2.390, the NRC's "Rules
of Practice," a copy of this letter and its enclosure will be available electronically for public
inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records System
M. Pacilio
-2-
(PARS) component of NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS), accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the
Public Electronic Reading Room).
Sincerely,
/RA/
Tamara E. Bloomer, Acting Chief
Operations Branch
Division of Reactor Safety
Docket Nos. 50-254; 50-265
Enclosures:
1. Operator Licensing Examination Report 05000254/2012301(DRS);
w/Attachment: Supplemental Information
2. Simulation Facility Report
cc w/encl:
Distribution via ListServ'
1
Enclosure 1
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
REGION III
Docket Nos:
50-254; 50-265
License Nos:
Report Nos:
05000254/2012301(DRS); 05000265/2012301(DRS)
Licensee:
Exelon Generation Company, LLC
Facility:
Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2
Location:
Cordova, Illinois
Dates:
April 23 - May 24, 2012
Inspectors:
B. Palagi, Chief Examiner
M. Bielby, Examiner
C. Moore, Examiner
R. Walton, Examiner
Approved by:
Tamara E. Bloomer, Acting Chief
Operations Branch
Division of Reactor Safety
2
Enclosure 1
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
IR 05000254/2012301(DRS); 05000265/2012301(DRS); 04/23/2012 - 05/24/2012;
Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2;
Initial License Examination Report.
The announced initial operator licensing examination was conducted by regional Nuclear
Regulatory Commission examiners in accordance with the guidance of NUREG-1021,
AOperator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors,@ Revision 9 - Supplement 1.
Examination Summary
Ten of ten applicants passed all sections of their respective examinations. Seven applicants
were issued senior operator licenses and three applicants were issued operator licenses.
(Section 4OA5.1).
A.
NRC-Identified and Self-Revealed Findings
No findings of significance were identified.
B.
Licensee-Identified Violations
A violation of very low safety significance that was identified by the licensee has been
reviewed by the inspectors. Corrective actions planned or taken by the licensee have
been entered into the licensee's corrective action program. This violation and corrective
action tracking numbers are listed in Section 4OA7 of this report.
3
Enclosure 1
REPORT DETAILS
4OA5 Other Activities
.1
Initial Licensing Examinations
a.
Examination Scope
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) examiners and members of the facility
licensees staff used the guidance prescribed in NUREG-1021, Operator Licensing
Examination Standards for Power Reactors, Revision 9 - Supplement 1, to develop,
validate, administer, and grade the written examination and operating test. Members of
the facility licensees staff prepared the outline and developed the written examination
and operating test. The NRC examiners validated the proposed examination during the
week of April 2, 2012, with the assistance of members of the facility licensees staff.
During the on-site validation week, the examiners audited two license applications for
accuracy. The NRC examiners, with the assistance of members of the facility licensees
staff, administered the operating test, consisting of job performance measures (JPMs)
and dynamic simulator scenarios, during the period of April 23 through 27, 2012.
The facility licensee administered the written examination on April 30, 2012.
b.
Findings
(1) Written Examination
The NRC examiners determined that the written examination, as proposed by the
licensee, was within the range of acceptability expected for a proposed examination.
Less than 20 percent of the proposed examination questions were determined to be
unsatisfactory and required modification or replacement. All changes made to the
proposed examination, were made in accordance with NUREG-1021, "Operator
Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors, and documented on
Form ES-401-9, Written Examination Review Worksheet, which will be available in
24 months electronically in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Agencywide
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS).
On May 8, 2012, the licensee submitted documentation noting that there were no post-
examination comments for consideration by the NRC examiners when grading the
written examination. The final as-administered written examination and answer key will
be available in 24 months electronically in the NRC Public Document Room or from
The NRC examiners graded the written examination on May 9, 2012, and conducted a
review of each missed question to determine the accuracy and validity of the
examination questions.
(2) Operating Test
The NRC examiners determined that the operating test, as originally proposed by the
licensee, was within the range of acceptability expected for a proposed examination.
Changes made to the operating test, documented in a document titled, AOperating Test
Comments,@ as well as the final as administered dynamic simulator scenarios and JPMs,
are available electronically in the NRC Public Document Room or from ADAMS.
4
Enclosure 1
The NRC examiners completed operating test grading on May 14, 2012.
(3) Examination Results
Seven applicants at the Senior Reactor Operator (SRO) level and three applicants at the
Reactor Operator (RO) level were administered written examinations and operating
tests. Each of the applicants passed all portions of their examinations and was issued
their respective operating license.
.2
Examination Security
a.
Scope
The NRC examiners reviewed and observed the licensee's implementation of
examination security requirements during the examination validation and administration
to assure compliance with 10 CFR 55.49, AIntegrity of Examinations and Tests.@
The examiners used the guidelines provided in NUREG-1021, "Operator Licensing
Examination Standards for Power Reactors,@ to determine acceptability of the licensee=s
examination security activities.
b.
Findings
The licensee identified that, during examination development, the control room
simulators plant process computer was saving sequence of events files on a routine
basis. Therefore, had these files been accessed, the integrity of the examination could
have been compromised. Although the examination sequence of events files were
stored on the simulator process computer, the licensee was able to demonstrate that the
files were not readily viewable and required interpretation. Therefore, it was determined
that no individuals had an unfair advantage in taking the examination. The inspectors
determined that this finding impacted the Mitigating Systems Cornerstone and consulted
Inspection Manual Chapter 0609, Appendix I, to assess the impact of this issue on
examination security. (4OA7)
4OA6 Meetings
.1
Exit Meeting
The chief examiner conducted an exit meeting on May 24, 2012, with Mr. K. Moser,
Site Training Director, by telephone. The chief examiner asked the licensee whether
any of the material used to develop or administer the examination should be considered
proprietary. No proprietary or sensitive information was identified.
4OA7 Licensee-Identified Violations
The following violation of very low significance (Green) was identified by the licensee
and is a violation of NRC requirements, which meet the criteria of Section VI of the
NRC Enforcement Policy, NUREG-1600, for being dispositioned as a Non-Cited
Violation (NCV):
Title 10 CFR 55.49, "Integrity of Examinations and Tests, requires, in part, that the
licensee shall not engage in activities that compromises the integrity of any
application, test, or examination required by 10 CFR Part 55. Contrary to the above,
5
Enclosure 1
on March 30, 2012, at the Clinton Power Station, the licensee identified that the
control room simulators plant process computer model was saving sequence of
events files on a routine basis. A licensee investigation determined that the same
condition existed at Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station. The licensee determined
that some of the files contained examination materials related to examinations
required by 10 CFR Part 55. The integrity of a test or examination is considered
compromised if any activity, regardless of intent, affected, or, but for detection, would
have affected the equitable and consistent administration of the test or examination.
Although the examination materials were compromised, the licensee was able to
demonstrate that the files were not readily viewable and required interpretation.
Therefore, no individuals had an unfair advantage in taking any NRC-related
examinations. This issue was documented in the facilitys corrective action program
as IR1348733. Corrective actions for this issue included revising the simulators
software to delete data from the sequence of events files being generated by the
simulator until a longer term fix is decided. The licensees corporate procedure
TQ-QC-201-0113, Simulator Examination Security Actions Checklist, will add steps
to delete data after simulator resets.
The inspectors determined that the failure to control sequence of event files
generated by the facilitys simulator was a performance deficiency that required
a Significance Determination Process evaluation. The inspectors determined that
this finding impacted the Mitigating Systems Cornerstone and consulted IMC 0609,
Appendix I, to assess the impact of this issue on examination security. The
inspectors concluded that a potential examination compromise had occurred and the
facility had taken immediate compensatory actions to prevent recurrence of this
condition. Based on circumstances described above and the licensees corrective
actions, the inspectors concluded that this finding was of very low safety significance
(Green). (NCV 05000254/2012301-01; NCV 05000301265/2012301-01)
ATTACHMENT: SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
1
Attachment
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
KEY POINTS OF CONTACT
Licensee
K. Moser, Training Director
E. Pannell, Operations Training Manager
C. Burkhart, Examination Lead
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
B. Palagi, Chief Examiner
M. Bielby, Senior Examiner
R. Walton, Senior Examiner
ITEMS OPENED, CLOSED, AND DISCUSSED
Opened, Closed, and Discussed
Opened 05000254/2012301-01
Failure to Control Sequence of Event Files Generated by
the Facilitys Simulator
Closed 05000254/2012301-01
Failure to Control Sequence of Event Files Generated by
the Facilitys Simulator
Discussed
None
2
Attachment
LIST OF DOCUMENTS REVIEWED
The following is a partial list of documents reviewed during the inspection. Inclusion on this list
does not imply that the NRC inspector reviewed the documents in their entirety, but rather that
selected sections or portions of the documents were evaluated as part of the overall inspection
effort. Inclusion of a document on this list does not imply NRC acceptance of the document or
any part of it, unless this is stated in the body of the inspection report.
None.
LIST OF ACRONYMS USED
Agencywide Document Access and Management System
CFR
Code of Federal Regulations
Division of Reactor Safety
NRC
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Publicly Available Records System
Reactor Operator
Senior Reactor Operator
1
Enclosure 2
SIMULATION FACILITY REPORT
Facility Licensee:
Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2
Facility Docket Nos:
50-254; 50-265
Operating Tests Administered:
April 23 - 27, 2012
The following documents observations made by the NRC examination team during the initial
operator license examination. These observations do not constitute audit or inspection findings
and are not, without further verification and review, indicative of non-compliance with
10 CFR 55.45(b). These observations do not affect NRC certification or approval of the
simulation facility other than to provide information which may be used in future evaluations.
No licensee action is required in response to these observations.
During the conduct of the simulator portion of the operating tests, the following items were
observed:
ITEM
DESCRIPTION
SBLC Switch
When Standby Liquid Control was actuated the system failed to start.
Rod Select Push
Button
When a rod was selected on the rod select matrix the push button stuck
in the down position.
M. Pacilio
-2-
(PARS) component of NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS), accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the
Public Electronic Reading Room).
Sincerely,
/RA/
Tamara E. Bloomer, Acting Chief
Operations Branch
Division of Reactor Safety
Docket Nos. 50-254; 50-265
Enclosures:
1. Operator Licensing Examination Report 05000254/2012301(DRS);
w/Attachment: Supplemental Information
2. Simulation Facility Report
cc w/encl:
Distribution via ListServ'
DISTRIBUTION w/encl:
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RidsNrrDirsIrib Resource
Chuck Casto
Cynthia Pederson
DRPIII
DRSIII
Patricia Buckley
ROPreports.Resource@nrc.gov
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OFFICE
RIII
RIII
RIII
RIII
NAME
RWalton for
BPalagi:cs
TBloomer
DATE
06/06/12
06/06/12
OFFICIAL RECORD COPY