ML19247D502
| ML19247D502 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 02/17/1981 |
| From: | Ahearne J NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| To: | Moffett T HOUSE OF REP., GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19247D503 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8103050883 | |
| Download: ML19247D502 (6) | |
Text
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- ti OFFICE Of THE February 7,1981 1
C H A m t.' A N The Honorable Toby Morfett, Chairman Subcommittee on Environment, Energy, and fiatural Resources Comittee on Government Operations United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Dear Mr. Chairm --
This is in response to your letter concerning the impact of an across the board hiring freeze on the fiuclear Regulatory Comission.
This free:e will have a serious impact on our ability to support high priority programs and on our ability to meet the industry's current construction and operating schedules.
We are particularly concerned about the public health and safety impact of the increasing number of reactor inspector vacancies.
The following statistics illustrate the dimensions of our problem:
O Seven inspectors e month, on the average, resigned their positions during the first four months of FY 1981.
This rate is up from FY 1980, and could result in 100 inspector vacancies by the end of FY 1981.
O Three-fourths of our current 200 vacancies are in our three licensing and inspection offices which have direct responsibility for insuring public health and safety.
Approximately twenty percent of all offers are declined.
O While the previous Administration's one-for-two hiring limitation had a serious impact on some programs, we still had the flexibility to fill our most important functions.
Moreover, the complete exemption of inspectors from the limitation recognized the critical role these people play in assuring the safe operation of nuclear plants.
Major recruiting efforts over the last six months have resulted in our identifying and extending commitments of employment to aoout 300 individuals.
We undertook this recruitment effort only efter months of negotiation with the previous Administration to grant us a partial exemption from hiring restrictions. These commitments, when refusals and attrition are considered, would have brought us to our authorized level by the end of the fiscal year.
Only the requirement to conduct lengthy security reviews has kept many of these people from being on board alreadv.
Due to the highly competitive nature of the nuclear industry, it is likely that a significant number of the individuals we have identified will not be available when the hiring freeze is lifted.
8103050 M 3
The Honorable Toby Moffett 2
In normal hiring circumstances, engineers with nuclear and related training and experiences are difficult to hire and retain in the Federal service.
There exists a universal recognition of a critical shortage of qualified personnel in this field.
Our ability to employ these individ'ials is hartpered by government limitations on salaries, bonus incentives, profit-sharing and benefit packages which are available in the private sector.
NRC supports the objectives of President Reagan's hiring freeze, but we are concerned about our ability to meet our statutory responsibilities.
Consequently, I have requested an exemption from OMB for NRC staff who perform licensing and inspection functions.
Specific responses to your questions are enclosed.
Sin erely, 1
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!L 1 Q John F. Ahearne Chr rman Enclosure As stated
Enclosure The following is provideG in response to your specific questions:
1.
OUESTION:
The number of individuzis whose anticipated hiring will now be blocked by the hiring freeze.
ANSWER:
We currently have 213 vacancies which the freeze prohibits us from filling.
This figure can be expected to grow to about 453 if the freeze lasts through FY 1981.
To fill these current and projected vacancies, we have made 292 jcb offers which we are now unable to honor.
149 of these offers have been accepted.
2.
QUESTION-The Divisions and positions within the NRC and duties for which these individuals would have been hired but for the freeze.
ANSWER:
The following highlights those organizations most adversely impacted by the freez(
Office of Inspection and Enforcement - 98 vacancies.
Office of Nuclear Meterial Safety and Safeguards - 37 vacancies.
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation - 25 vacancies.
Office of Standards Development - 11 vacancies.
Enclosed is a complete listing of all outstanding offers by of fice, division and position type which we are unable to fill due to the freeze and an office by office summary of those statistics.
3.
OUESTION:
An assessment of the impact of this freeze on particular programs, notably any programs having to do with the insoection of operating commercial reactors and any programs specifically initiated or strengthened by the NRC as a result of the analyses of the Three Mile Island accident.
ANSWER:
The impact of the hiring freeze on the inspector program will be significant.
We currently have 34 inspectors vacancies and can expect to lose 7 to 10 inspectors per month.
At this rate, by the end of the fiscal year we estimate there will be 100 inspector vacancies or approximately 25 percent of the inspector workforce.
The specific impacts are hard to identify as they will be a function of where losses occur and to what extent we can realign personnel to high priority programs.
Adjustments will be made to minimize the impact on safety; but, from a purely statistical standpoint, we will miss about 15 to 20 percent of our planned insptctions for the fiscal year.
Some of these inspections will undoubtedly be at operating reactors.
Operating license review scht dules will not ce met.
This means delays in licensing new nucitar power plants when construction is complete, and subsequent delays in plants becoming operational.
Enclosure 2
The Waste Management Program is also imptcted by our inabi',ity to bring on qualified personnel.
In order to minimize the public hea'th and safety impacts of uranium recovery operations, license renewals and amendments for operating facilities will take precedence over the licensing of new facilities.
A continued hiring freez? will result in increasing the licensing time for a major ne-facility from one year to between two or three years.
Should licensi.,g actions in the areas of reprocessing of spent fuel and NFS West Vali2y program be required, further delays in these as well as other ongoing programs can be expected.
As a result of the analyses of the Three Mile Islano Accident, we engaged i^ -
major recruiting effort that required close to one year to staff a Human Factors evaluation group.
Depending on the length of the freeze, the following programs which were specifically initiated or strengthened as a result could be seriousl/ curtailed or deferred:
Implementation of reactor operator annual requalification examinations.
Thic program is critical to ensuring NRC's safety oversight of operating reactors.
Administ,ation of certification examinations to students in operator training programs.
Establishment of the Operator Licensing Regionalization P-ogram.
Implerentation of mcst of the reccmmencations made in the plan'for improving the technical Japabilities of licensee personnel.
Development and implementation of guidelines to uniformly evaluate nuclear power reactor control room designs and both normal ard em_rgency operating procedures.
Evaluation of licensee, state and local emergency pl:ns and procedures.
4 OUESTION:
A reasonable estimate of the cost of hor.oring the freeze by aborting these hiring plans:
e.g. the cost of lost recruitment efforts, sums expended for security clearances on prospective hires that will now be annulled, etc.
ANSWER:
The cost spent in the recent recruiting efforts are significant:
5 92,580 - personnel office expenses 96,000 - invitational travel of applicants 26,222 program of ficials' salary spent in interviewing time 12,000 - recruiting trips
$226,802 - Total Cost This cost figure is conservative.
It represents approximately four months of staff efforts.
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DISTRIBUTION:
Chaii. nan Ahearne Cemnissicter Gilinsky Corr.issioner Hendrie Commissioner Bradford
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