IR 05000424/2009301

IR 05000424-09-301; IR 05000425-09-301, on 06/01/09 - 06/08/09, Vogtle Electric Generating Plan, Units 1 and 2

ML092190443
Person / Time
Site:	Vogtle
Issue date:	08/07/2009
From:	Widmann M NRC/RGN-II/DRS/OLB
To:	Tynan T Southern Nuclear Operating Co
References
IR-09-301
Download: ML092190443 (10)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REGION II SAM NUNN ATLANTA FEDERAL CENTER 61 FORSYTH STREET, SW, SUITE 23T85 ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30303-8931 August 7, 2009 Mr. Tom Vice President Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc.

Vogtle Electric Generating Plant 7821 River Road Waynesboro, GA 30830 SUBJECT: VOGTLE ELECTRIC GENERATING PLANT - NRC OPERATOR LICENSE EXAMINATION REPORT 05000424/2009301 AND 05000425/2009301

Dear Mr. Tynan:

During the period June 1 - 8, 2009, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) administered operating tests to employees of your company who had applied for licenses to operate the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant. At the conclusion of the tests, the examiners discussed preliminary findings related to the operating tests and the written examination submittal with those members of your staff identified in the enclosed report. The written examination was administered by your staff on June 26, 2009.

All applicants passed both the operating test and written examination. There were no post-examination comments. A Simulator Fidelity Report is included in the report as Enclosure 2 The draft written examination submitted by your staff failed to meet the guidelines for quality contained in NUREG-1021, Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors, Revision 9, Supplement 1, as described in the enclosed report.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of 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 (PARS) component of the NRC's 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.: 50-424, 50-425 License Nos.: NPF-68 and NPF-81 cc w/Encl.: (See page 2)

Enclosure:

1. Report Details 2. Simulator Fidelity Report

_________________________

G SUNSI REVIEW COMPLETE OFFICE RII:DRP RII:DRS RII:DRS RII:DRS RII:DRS SIGNATURE SMS /RA/ EXL /RA/ PGC /RA/ CRK /RA/ MTW /RA/ NAME SShaeffer ELea PCapehart CKontz MWidmann DATE 08/07/2009 08/07/2009 08/06/2009 08/07/2009 08/07/2009 E-MAIL COPY? YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO SNC 2

REGION II==

Docket Nos.: 50-424, 50-425 License Nos.: NPF-68, NPF-81

Report No.: 05000424/2009301 and 05000425/2009301 Licensee: Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc.

Facility: Vogtle Electric Generating Plant Location: 7821 River Road Waynesboro, GA 30830 Dates: Operating Tests - June 1 - 8, 2009 Written Examination - June 26, 2009

Examiners: E. Lea, Chief, Senior Operations Engineer P. Capehart, Operations Engineer C. Kontz, Operations Engineer Approved by: Malcolm T. Widmann, Chief Operations Branch Division of Reactor Safety Enclosure 1 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS ER 05000424/2009301, ER 05000425/2009301; operating test June 1- 8, 2009 & written exam June 26, 2009; Vogtle Electric Generating 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 the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant staff developed both the operating tests and the written examination. The draft written examination submittal did not meet the quality guidelines contained in NUREG-1021.

The NRC administered the operating tests during the period June 1 - 8, 2009. Members of the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant training staff administered the written examination on June 26, 2009. All Reactor Operator (RO) and Senior Reactor Operator (SRO) applicants passed both the operating test and written examination. All applicants were issued licenses commensurate with the level of examination administered. 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 Vogtle Electric Generating Plant staff 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 licensee's examination security measures while preparing and administering the examinations in order to ensure compliance with 10 CFR §55.49, "Integrity of examinations and tests."

The NRC examiners evaluated two Reactor Operator (RO) and eight Senior Reactor Operator (SRO) applicants using the guidelines contained in NUREG-1021. The examiners administered the operating tests during the period June 1 - 8, 2009. Members of the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant training staff administered the written examination on June 26, 2009. Evaluations of applicants and reviews of associated documentation were performed to determine if the applicants, who applied for licenses to operate the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, met the requirements specified in 10 CFR Part 55, "Operators' Licenses."

b. Findings The NRC determined that the licensee's draft written examination submittal was outside the range of acceptable quality specified by NUREG-1021. The draft written examination was outside the range of acceptable quality because more than 20% (24) of the 100 questions reviewed contained unacceptable flaws. Individual questions were evaluated as unsatisfactory for the following reasons:

• 14 questions on the RO examination contained two or more implausible distractors.

• 10 questions on the SRO examination were not written at the SRO license level.

There were also several other questions, although not identified as unsatisfactory, that contained unacceptable flaws. The NRC regional office notified the licensee of the issues identified as a result of the examination review. The NRC requested the licensee to perform a review of the draft written examination for rework and correction in accordance with NUREG-1021. Administration of the final written examination was delayed, in part, because the quality of the licensee's draft examination submittal was unacceptable. Future examination submittals need to incorporate lessons learned.

4 Enclosure 1 All applicants passed both the operating test and written examination and were issued licenses.

The licensee did not submit any post-examination comments. A copy of the final written examination and answer key may be accessed in the ADAMS system (ADAMS Accession Numbers ML092160863 and ML092170365.

4OA6 Meetings, Including Exit Exit Meeting Summary On June 8, 2009, the NRC examination team discussed generic issues associated with the operating test and written examination with members of your staff. The examiners asked the licensee if any of the examination material was proprietary. No proprietary information was identified.

On August 6, 2009, Malcolm Widmann, Chief, Operations Branch, discussed the initial written examination development issues and lessons learned with Robert Brown, Training Manager, and Rick Brigdon, Operations Training Manager.

KEY POINTS OF CONTACT

Licensee personnel J. Acree, Shift Supervisor - Nuclear R. Brigdon, Nuclear Operations Training Supervisor A. Parton, Operations Support Superintendent D. Scukanec, Nuclear Operations Plant Instructor - Lead T. Thompson, Nuclear Operations Plant Instructor P. Tucker, Nuclear Operations Plant Instructor - Lead T. Tynan, Vice President Vogtle Electric Generating Plant D. Vineyard, Operations Manager J. Williams, Site Support Manager

Enclosure 2 SIMULATOR FIDELITY REPORT Facility Licensee: Vogtle Electric Generating Plant

Facility Docket No.: 05000424 and 05000425 Operating Test Administered: June 1-8, 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.