ML072560002

Er 05000325-07-301, Er 05000324-07-301; 7/16 - 22/2007 and 08/3/2007; Brunswick Steam Electric Plant, Units 1 & 2; Licensed Operator Examinations

ML072560002
Person / Time
Site:	Brunswick
Issue date:	09/12/2007
From:	Haag R NRC/RGN-II/DRS/OLB
To:	Scarola J Carolina Power & Light Co
References
50-324/07-301, 50-325/07-301 50-324/07-301, 50-325/07-301
Download: ML072560002 (9)

See also: IR 05000324/2007301

Text

September 12, 2007

Carolina Power & Light Company

ATTN: Mr. James Scarola

Vice President

Brunswick Steam Electric Plant

P. O. Box 10429

Southport, NC 28461

SUBJECT: BRUNSWICK STEAM ELECTRIC PLANT - NRC EXAMINATION REPORT

05000325/2007301 AND 05000324/2007301

Dear Mr. Scarola:

During the period of July 16-22, 2007, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) administered

operating examinations to employees of your company who had applied for licenses to operate

the Brunswick Steam Electric Plant. The examiners discussed examination questions and

preliminary findings related to the operating test with those members of your staff identified in

the enclosed report on July 23, 2007. The written examination was administered by your staff

on August 3, 2007. The Chief Examiner discussed questions and preliminary findings related to

the written examination with members of your staff on September 12, 2007.

Three Reactor Operator (RO) applicants passed both the operating test and written

examination. Four RO applicants failed the written examination and two Senior Reactor

Operator (SRO) applicants failed the walkthrough portion of the operating test. There were no

post examination comments. A Simulation Facility Report is included in this report as

Enclosure 2.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRCs Rules of Practice, a copy of this letter and its

enclosures will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room

or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRCs document system (ADAMS).

ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the

Public Electronic Reading Room).

Sincerely,

\\RA\\

Robert C. Haag, Chief

Operations Branch

Division of Reactor Safety

Docket Nos.: 50-325, 50-324

License Nos.: DPR-71, DPR-62

Enclosures: (See page 2)

CP&L 2

Enclosures: 1. Report Details

2. Simulation Facility Report

Benjamin C. Waldrep, Director Annette H. Pope, Supervisor

Site Operations Licensing/Regulatory Programs

Brunswick Steam Electric Plant Carolina Power and Light Company

Carolina Power & Light Company Electronic Mail Distribution

Electronic Mail Distribution

David T. Conley

James W. Holt, Manager Associate General Counsel - Legal Dept.

Performance Evaluation and Progress Energy Service Company, LLC

Regulatory Affairs PEB 7 Electronic Mail Distribution

Carolina Power & Light Company

Electronic Mail Distribution James Ross

Nuclear Energy Institute

Terry Hobbs, Plant Manager Electronic Mail Distribution

Brunswick Steam Electric Plant

Carolina Power & Light Company John H. O'Neill, Jr.

P. O. Box 10429 Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge

Southport, NC 28461 2300 N. Street, NW

Washington, DC 20037-1128

Paul Fulford, Manager

Performance Evaluation and Beverly Hall, Chief, Radiation

Regulatory Affairs PEB 5 Protection Section

Carolina Power & Light Company N. C. Department of Environment

P. O. Box 1551 and Natural Resources

Raleigh, NC 27602-1551 Electronic Mail Distribution

Edward T. O'Neil, Manager Peggy Force

Training Assistant Attorney General

Carolina Power & Light Company State of North Carolina

Brunswick Steam Electric Plant Electronic Mail Distribution

Electronic Mail Distribution

Chairman of the North Carolina

Randy C. Ivey, Manager Utilities Commission

Support Services c/o Sam Watson, Staff Attorney

Carolina Power & Light Company Electronic Mail Distribution

Brunswick Steam Electric Plant

Electric Mail Distribution Robert P. Gruber

Executive Director

Garry D. Miller, Manager Public Staff NCUC

License Renewal 4326 Mail Service Center

Progress Energy Raleigh, NC 27699-4326

Electronic Mail Distribution

(cc contd - See page 3)

CP&L 3

(cc contd)

Public Service Commission

State of South Carolina

P. O. Box 11649

Columbia, SC 29211

David R. Sandifer

Brunswick County Board of

Commissioners

P. O. Box 249

Bolivia, NC 28422

Warren Lee

Emergency Management Director

New Hanover County Department of

Emergency Management

P. O. Box 1525

Wilmington, NC 28402-1525

_ ML072560002 ______

OFFICE RII:DRS RII:DRS RII:DRS RII:DRP

SIGNATURE MAB7 BLC2 RCH RM1

NAME MBates BCaballero RHaag RMusser

DATE 9/12/2007 9/12/2007 9/12/2007 9/12/2007

E-MAIL COPY? YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

REGION II

Docket Nos.: 50-325, 50-324

License Nos.: DPR-71, DPR-62

Report Nos.: 05000325/2007301, 05000324/2007301

Licensee: Carolina Power and Light (CP&L)

Facility: Brunswick Steam Electric Plant, Units 1 & 2

Location: 8470 River Road SE

Southport, NC 28461

Dates: Operating Tests - July 16-22, 2007

Written Examination - August 3, 2007

Examiners: M. Bates, Chief Examiner

R. Aiello, Senior Operations Engineer

B. Caballero, Operations Engineer

Approved by: R. Haag, Chief

Operations Branch

Division of Reactor Safety

Enclosure 1

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

ER 05000325/2007301, ER 05000324/2007301; 7/16 - 22/2007 and 08/3/2007; Brunswick

Steam Electric Plant, Units 1 & 2; Licensed Operator Examinations.

The Brunswick training staff developed the written examination and operating tests. This

included all outlines, written examinations, job performance measures (JPMs) and scenarios.

The NRC examiners conducted operator licensing initial examinations in accordance with the

guidance of NUREG-1021, Revision 9, 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.

The NRC administered the operating tests during the period of July 16 - 22, 2007. The

Brunswick training staff administered the written examination on August 3, 2007. Three RO

applicants passed both the operating test and written examination. One RO applicant was

issued an operating license; however, two of the RO applicants who passed the written

examination and operating test, passed the written examination with overall scores between

80% and 82%. These two applicants were issued a letter stating that they passed the

examination and issuance of their license has been delayed pending any written examination

appeals that may impact the licensing decision for their application. Four RO applicants were

issued denial letters due to failing the written examination and two SRO applicants were issued

denial letters due to failing the walkthrough portion of the operating test.

There were no post examination comments.

No significant issues were identified.

Report Details

4. OTHER ACTIVITIES (OA)

4OA5 Operator Licensing Initial Examinations

a. Inspection Scope

The licensee developed the operating tests and written examinations. The NRC

examination team reviewed the proposed examination to determine whether it was

developed in accordance with NUREG-1021, Operator Licensing Examination

Standards for Power Reactors, Revision 9. Examination changes agreed upon

between the NRC and the licensee were made according to NUREG-1021 and

incorporated into the final version of the examination materials.

The examiners reviewed the licensees examination security measures while preparing

and administering the examinations to ensure examination security and integrity

complied with 10 CFR 55.49, Integrity of examinations and tests.

The examiners evaluated seven RO applicants and two SRO upgrade applicants who

were being assessed under the guidelines specified in NUREG-1021. The examiners

administered the operating tests during the period of July 16-22, 2007. Members of the

Brunswick Steam Electric Plant training staff administered the written examination on

August 3, 2007. The evaluations of the applicants and review of documentation were

performed to determine if the applicants, who applied for licensees to operate the

Brunswick Steam Electric Plant, met requirements specified in 10 CFR Part 55.

b. Findings

The initial written examination submittal, although not determined to be outside the

acceptable quality range as outlined in NUREG-1021, contained flaws that required the

examination administration to be delayed. The original agreed upon examination

administration date was the week of July 9, 2007. The written examination flaws were

corrected and the examination was administered on August 3, 2007. Future

examination submittals should incorporate lessons learned from this effort to allow for

the original agreed upon schedule to be met.

Three RO applicants passed both the operating tests and written examination. One RO

applicant was issued an operating license; however, two of the RO applicants who

passed the written examination and operating test, passed the written examination with

overall scores between 80% and 82%. These two applicants were issued a letter stating

that they passed the examination and issuance of their license has been delayed

pending any written examination appeals that may impact the licensing decision for their

application. Four RO applicants were issued denial letters due to failing the written

examination and two SRO applicants were issued denial letters due to failing the

walkthrough portion of the operating test. The written examinations, and examination

references may be accessed in the ADAMS system (ADAMS Accession Number

ML072550116, ML072550136, ML072550159).

4OA6 Meetings

Exit Meeting Summary

On July 23, 2007, the Chief Examiner discussed generic applicant performance and

examination development issues with members of licensee management. The

inspectors asked the licensee whether any materials examined during the inspection

should be considered proprietary. No proprietary information was identified.

The Chief Examiner discussed questions and preliminary findings related to the written

examination with members of the Brunswick staff on September 12, 2007.

PARTIAL LIST OF PERSONS CONTACTED

Licensee

J. Scarola, Site Vice President

B. Waldrep, Director Site Operations

T. Hobbs, Plant General Manager

S. Howard, Operations Manager

P. Dubroullet, Shift Operations Manager

D. Griffith, Training Manager

R. Ivey, Support Services Manager

L. Beller, Operations Training Supervisor

S. Knotts, Initial Training Supervisor

A. Pope, Licensing Supervisor

T. Sherrill, Licensing

NRC

J. Austin, Senior Resident Inspector

SIMULATION FACILITY REPORT

Facility Licensee: Brunswick Steam Electric Plant

Facility Docket No.: 05000325/05000324

Operating Tests Administered on: July 16-22, 2007

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 IP 71111.11, are not indicative of noncompliance with 10 CFR 55.46. No licensee action is

required in response to these observations.

While conducting the simulator portion of the operating tests, examiners did not observe any

simulation fidelity issues.

Enclosure 2