ML19331B586
| ML19331B586 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Point Beach  |
| Issue date: | 08/07/1980 |
| From: | Fay C WISCONSIN ELECTRIC POWER CO. |
| To: | Harold Denton, Novak T Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| References | |
| TASK-1.A.2.1, TASK-2.B.4, TASK-TM TAC-44188, TAC-44189, TAC-44538, TAC-44539, NUDOCS 8008120465 | |
| Download: ML19331B586 (3) | |
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I Wisconsin Electnc mcoum 231 W. MICHIGAN, P.O. BOX 2046, MILWAUKEE, WI 53201 August 7, 1980 Mr. H. R. Denton, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Washington, D.
C.
20555 Attention:
Mr. Thomas M. Novak, Assistant Director for Operating Reactors Division of Licensing Gentlemen:
DOCKET NOS. 50-266 AND 50-301 QUALIFICATION OF REACTOR OPERATORS POINT BEACH NUCLEAR PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2 We wish to clarify our letter to you dated June 4, 1930, and comment upon your letter to us dated July 8, 1980, in order to reach full understanding between'ts with respect to our problems in qualifying Reactor Oper'ators to the latest NRC requirements.
With respect to Item ( A.2.a) of the H.
R.
Denton letter dated March 28, 1980, Point Beach Nuclear Plant has a unique promotional and personnel deployment situation in which only experienced, licensed Control Operators are promoted to the Operating Supervisor position.
In the Operating Supervisor position, these personnel perform shift supervisory functions under direct supervision of the SRO qualified Shift Supervisor for considerable time (in excess of three months) before they aspire to SRO licensing.
Therefore, for these people to be required to spend three additional months on shift as an " extra man" is obviously unnecessary.
We believe telephone discussions between Messrs. Ross, Wahl, Reed and Fay of Wisconsin Electric and Messrs. Buzy, Collins, Trammel and Guldemond of the NRC have established the validity and appropriateness of this arrangement.
Therefore, persons from Point Beach Nuclear Plant can qualify for SRO licensing by having served three months or more in the regular Operating Supervisor position.
On the aspect of conforming to Item A.2.b. of Mr. Denton's letter of March 28, 1980 Ly August 1, 1980, we desire to achieve delay of this implementation date until August 1, 1981.
[ O 03 s
800 8120 z/6 E
.s Mr. H. R.
Denton August 7, 1980 In this post-TMI period, Point Beach Nuclear Plant, like other operating facilities, is attempting to increase its total staff.
Although we have committed substantial resources to recruiting both professional and operator personnel, our progress has been slow particularly as we seek to maintain high levels of competence in competition with many other utilities, suppliers, and the NRC itself.
The result is that we are pre-sently short a substantial number of plant staff in respect to our newly established personnel quotas, quotas which reflect NRC, post-TMI requirements or impending requirements for adding plant personnel.
In this shortage situation, we find we cannot program or assure compliance with the three-month " extra man" on shift requirement for an Auxiliary Operator preparing for Reactor Operator licensing.
We do, however, require our Control Operator Trainees
( COT 's) to spend considerable time in the control room on the boards prior to their applying for license.
For example, during elack workload periods of normal power operation, an Auxiliary Operator designated as a Control Operator Trainee may spend several hours on the control board during his shift, under the direct supervision of the Operating Supervisor or Control Opera-tor while his routine turbine hall duties are performed as necessary by the other Auxiliary Operator assigned to the turbine halls.
Furthermore, while on relief shift, the Control Operator Trainee may be assigned to the control board for four or more hours each day as an extra man in training on shift.
When Auxiliary Operator staffing is sufficient to allow removal of the Control Operator Trainee from shift for extended training, then more extensive board experience may be obtained, for example, by assigning four hours per day as an extra man on shift and the remaining four hours for formal classroom training.
This will span a period of several months.
In addition, for special activities such as tests, plant startups and shutdowns, the Control Operator Trainee may be assigned to a shift to partici-pate in that activity.
In this way, the Control Operator Trainee can achieve thorough control room familiarity without the necessity for being an " extra man" on shift for a consecutive three-month period.
The total time a Control Operator Trainee may spend in the control room, including time functioning as an active member of the shift crew can equal or exceed the three-month requirement, typically 400 hours0.00463 days <br />0.111 hours <br />6.613757e-4 weeks <br />1.522e-4 months <br /> or more, that you have set forth.
Since we must apparently also conform to newly man-dated hours per day and hours per week work limits and additional operators per shift, we must ask for relief from providing the
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Mr. H.
R.
Denton August 7, 1980
" extra man" on shift in order to qualify our Auxiliary Operators for Reactor Operator licensing.
However, the Control Operator Trainee (Auxiliary Operator in training) will receive lengthy and appropriate control room training; as in our organizational structure (and in conformance with our Technical Specifications) a Control Operator Trainee can function in the control room under the direct supervision, and under the license, of an Operating Supervisor.
In summary, we request relief until August 1, 1981 from the " extra man" on shift qualification requirement for an Auxiliary Operator in thn Control Operator Trainee position.
For any other Reactor Operator candidates we will conform to the three months " extra man" on shift requirement.
The above paragraphs address our exceptions and requested relief from the H.
Denton letter of March 28, 1980.
We are conforming or have scheduled conformance to all other items of that letter.
Very truly yours,
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Y wW C. W. Fay,. Director Nuclear Power Department Copy to NRC Resident Inspector Point Beach Nuclear Plant
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