ML20140C268
| ML20140C268 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Browns Ferry, Sequoyah, 05000000 |
| Issue date: | 03/10/1986 |
| From: | Brock L, Hornstra, Stevens W TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML082340275 | List: |
| References | |
| I-85-734-SQN, NUDOCS 8603250305 | |
| Download: ML20140C268 (7) | |
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4 TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY NUCLEAR SAFETY REVIEW STAFF NSRS INVESTIGATION REPORT NO. I-85-734-SQN
. EMPLOYEE CONCERN:
XX-85-102-012
SUBJECT:
TRAINING OF HEALTH PHYSICS TECHNICIANS DATES OF INVESTIGATION: NOVEMBER 4-15, 1985 INVESTIGATOR:
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. HORNSTRA D' ATE' REVIEWED BY:
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BACiGROUND A Nuclear Safety Review Staff (NSRS) investigation was conducted to l
determine the validity of an expressed omployee concern as received by the Quality Technology Company (QTC)/ Employee Response Team (ERT). The concern of record, as summarized on the Employee Concern Assignmont Roquest Form from QTC and identified as XX-85-102-012, stated:
l Sequoyah:
The permanent plant Health Physics personnel are poorly trained. CI (concerned individual) does not feel the present HP staff has an adequate knowledge of
- working in radiated areas. Nuclear Power Dept. concern.
CI has no additional information.
I I
On November 13, 1985, the investigator requestod additional information from QTC to define " knowledge of working in radiated areas." As of January 6, 1986, QTC had made two unsuccessful attempts to perform follow-up interviews with the CI, including a note left at the CI's.iome.
II.
SCOPE Without any specific concerns identified by the CI, the scope of this investigation was determined from t he concern of record to ontail a general evaluation of the adequacy of the SQN Health Physics (HP)
Technician training.
The investigation included a roview of procedures for training personnel, identification of results of previous internal and external reviews of the training program, and interviews with Hp personnel in management, training, and senior technician positions, and with Modifications personnel.
III.
SUMMARY
OF FINDINGS A.
Requirements and Commitments 1.
SQN Technical Specifications 6.3.1 (Ref. 1) requires that each member of the unit staff shall moet or exceed the minimum qualifications of ANSI N18.1-1971 for comparable positions.
2.
ANSI N18.1-1971 (Rof. 2) providos the following standards, Section 5.3.4 states that technicians shall be trained by a.
on-tho-job training (0JT) or by related technical training to moet the qualification requirements of Section 4.5.
b.
Section 4.5.2 statos that technicians in responsible positions shall have a minimum of two years' working experience in their spociality.
Thoso personnel should have a minimum of ono year of related technical training in addition to their experience.
1
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.=
l (1) Section 4.1 states that OJT may qualify as equivalent to nuclear power plant experionco on a one-for-ono basis for up to a maximum of one year's credit toward the nuclear power plant oxperience.
(2) Section 2.2.7 defines OIT as participation in nuclear power plant startup, oporation, maintenanco, or technical services under the direction of appropriately experienced personnol.
3.
NUC PR Nuclear Training Program Area Plan 3, Procedure 0202.12 (Ref. 3), has the stated objective of providing training and experience in nuclear power plant health physics fundamentals and methods.
It states that its training program will provide the background necessary for the employee to monitor and ovaluate radiological conditions in accordance with ANSI N18.1-1971.
The training program identified by Procedure 0202.12 consists of an approximate 4-month classroom and related laboratory training phase at Power Operations Training Conter (POTC) followed by an in-plant phaso for an additional 20 months of OJT.
During this period, the individual is designated as a Health Physics Technician - Trainoo, SE-4.
The in-plant phase includes the following clomonts.
a.
The initial six months of OJT is conducted to complate tasks as identified on the performance verification sheet, b.
After successful completion of each section of the performanco verification sheet, including an oral oxam by one or more members of the Health Physics Staff, the trainee is considered qualified to perform indopondant work in that section, except for those tasks specifically identified in plant proceduros which must be parformed by a qualified SE-S technician.
B.
Findings 1.
SQN Health Physics Section Instruction Letter, ASIL-3 (Ref. 4),
delineates the SQN program to moot NUC PR Proceduro 0202.12.
ASIL-3 was found to adoquately imposo Proceduro 0202.12 requirements.
2.
Internal and external reviews have boon conducted of the Health Physics Training Program, with no deficiencios noted that would relato directly to the quality of the training received by the HP technicians.
Tho following roviews havo boon conducted on the SQN Health Physics Training Program, a.
The Nuclear Training Oranch complotod a solf-ovaluation in 1983 (Ref. 5) in preparation for an Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) review.
2
i e
e b.
The SQN HP technician training roccived INPO accreditation in 1984 (Ref. 6).
c.
INPO evaluated SQN (including HP technician training) in 1985 (Ref. 7).
d.
The Quality Audit Branch, DQA, performed an audit (Ref. 8) on the Health Physics Training and Staff Qualification in 1985.
3.
In response to a request from the Nuclear Training Dranch for bionnial foedback on tho quality of training, SQN Health Physics Section submitted feedback (Ref. 9) identifying the following areas for improvements.
a.
Airborno radionndido origin and behavior, b.
Maximum Pormissible Concontrations (MPCs) and MPC hours.
c.
Familiarity with 10CFR20.
d.
Application of radiation limits to real lifo situations.
e.
Operational theory of instrumentation.
An interview with one individual who had provided an input into this SQN training feedback (Individual A) revealed that deficiencios in those areas woro minor and did not indicato any degradation in the overall quality of the HP technician training.
Based upon a review of the 1985 foodbacks rocoived by the Nuclear Training Branch for SQN (Ref. 9) and DLN (Ref. 10) and the 1983 foodbacks for BFN (Rof. 11) and SQN (Ref. 12), the HP staffs at the plants have boon critically evaluating the training program and havo found only minor deficioncios.
4.
HP management (individuals A through E), TVA senior HP technicians (individuals F through M), contract sonior HP technicians (individuals N and 0), and Nuclear Training management (individual P) woro intarviewed.
The following training weaknessos/ areas of improvement woro identified from thoso interviews, a.
The basic phase (at POTC) received few comments from the senior HP technicians.
Goveral would have proforrod moro laboratory work or an early transfer to the plant for OJT.
Ono technician would have proforred additional information on the sources of the irradiated materials in the plant.
Ono of the contract HP technicians (individual N) considered the TVA basic phase to no above the average of thoso plants he had worked at, 3
?
b.
Most individuals found the six-month initial in-plant phaso l
to be comprehensivo.
Although some suggestions woro made to l
the investigator on ways to improve the quality of training during this period (i.e., rotation to other crows to obtain different approachos, spending more time in containment during outagos), no areas of inadoquacy in the initial in-plant phase woro found.
5.
Procedure 0202.12 states that "tho in-plant phase is detailed in Appendix 2 (Ref. 3) and consists of 20 months of on-tho-job training in a TVA nuclear plant." Appendix 2 provides only the Performanco Verification Shoot which is to be completed within the first 6 months of the in-plant phase.. The investigator datormined that the remaining 14 months of in-training status was not "on-tho-job training" as definod by ANSI N18.1-1971 but was independent work that mot the ANSI N18.1 requirement for "experienco" needed to becomo a qualified technician.
Although an inconsistency exists betwoon the uso of the torn "on-the-job training" by TVA and the ANSI N18.1 for health physics training, the qualification process for HP technicians, as described in Proceduro 0202.12 and ASIL-3, was consistant with that in ANSI N18.1.
6Property "ANSI code" (as page type) with input value "ANSI N18.1.</br></br>6" contains invalid characters or is incomplete and therefore can cause unexpected results during a query or annotation process..
Modifications management (individuals Q, R, and S) stated that they considered the qualified HP technicians to be technically adequato.
Individual Q noted that the inconsistencies in l
protectivo clothing requiromonts among technicians had decreased over recent years, indicating more rigorous training in this area.
IV.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS A.
Conclusions l
The concern of record was not substantiated.
NSRS could find no substantiativo ovidonce that the permanontly assigned SQN HP technicians woro poorly trainod.
Evidence was found, in the form of both external and internal reviews of tho training program, that an adequate training program oxists.
B.
Rocommendations l
None.
05520 l
1 4
t o
j DOCUMENTS REVIEWED IN INVESTIGATION OF I-85-734-SQN l
AND REFERENCES 1.
SQN Technical Specification 6.3.1, " Unit Staff Qualifications" 2.
ANSI N18.1-1971, "Solection and Training of Nuclear Power Plant Personnol" 3.
NUC PR Program Manual, Program Area 2, Nuclear Training Program, Proceduro No. 0202.12, " Health Physics Training (Non-GET) Proceduros," RO, dated May 6, 1985 4.
SQN Health Physics Section Instruction Lottor, ASIL-3, " Orienting and Qualifying of Scientific Aidos and Health Physics Technicians for
' In-Plant Work at Sequoyah Nuclear Plant," dated May 21, 1984 5.
"The Training of Health Physics Technicians and Radiochemical Laboratory Analysts for the Tennessee Valley Authority Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant - A Self-Evaluation Prepared for the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations by the Nuclear Training Dranch, Yonnessee Valley Authority," dated August 29, 1993 6.
Letter from E. P. Wilkinson (INPO) to H. G. Parris dated January 13, 1984 (L47 840120 723) 7.
Letter from P. M. Board (INPO) to J. P. Darling dated May 23, 1985 (Limited Distribution) 8.
Memorandum from G. W. Killian to Thcae listed, " Transmittal of QAB Report No. QSS-A-85-0012" (L17 850905 000) 9.
SQN Section Supervisor, "Hoalth Physics Technician Training Program Eval-uation Questionnaire" (for 1985, but undated) 10.
TVA 450, S. R. Howard to M. H. Martin, " Health Physics Technician Training Program," dated May 21, 1985 11.
8FN Section Supervisor, " Health Physics Technician Training Program Eval-uation Questionnalro," (recoived at POTC October 25, 1983) with HPfU Actions Taken 12.
Memorandum from C. C. Mason to N. E. Scott, " Health Physics Technician l
(HPT) and Radiochomical Laboratory Analyst (RLA) Training Program Evaluation," dated June 23, 1983 (L53 830621 954) 13.
Health Physics Training Unit (HPTU), " Actions Takon to SQN Suporvisce Foodback Questionnalro" (no transmittal) l 14.
Lottor from D. M. Vorrolli (NRC) to H. G. Parris, " Report Nos.
50-327/84-34 and 50-320/84-34," dated November 21, 1984 (A02 841130 005) 15.
POTC Chemistry, Hoalth Physics and Safety Training Section Instruction Lottor T-6, "RLA/ifT Training Program Content Foodback Memorandum,"
dated November 11, 1983 5
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" L*NITED STATES GOVERNS!ENT i
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Memorandum TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY TO: H. L. Abercrombio, Site Director Sequoyah Nuclear Plant FROM: K. W. Whitt. Director of Nuclear Safety Review Staff, E3A8 C-K
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blAR 1 11986
SUBJECT:
NUCLEAR SAFETY REVIEW STAFF INVESTICATION REPORT TRANSMITTAL Transmitted herein is NSRS Report No.
T-85-734-SON Subject TRAINING OF HEALTH PHYSICS TECHNICIANS Concern No.
XX-85-102-012 No response or corrective action is required for this report.
It is being transmitted to you for information purposes only. Should you have any questions, please contact W. D. Stevens at telephone 6231 Recommend Reportability Determination: Yes No
_X 1
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((N
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irector, NSRS/ Designee 1
WDS:CDM Attachment ec (Attachment):
W. C. Bibb, BFN W. T. Cottle, WBN James P. Darling, BLN R. P. Denice, LP6N40A-C b I 3 [fhb
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C. B. Kirk, SQN
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D. R. Nichols, E10A14 C-K QTC/ERT, Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Eric Sliger, LP6N48A-C J. H. Sullivan, SQN 05920 y,
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