IR 05000413/2021301

Operator Licensing Examination Report 05000413/2021301 and 05000414/2021301

ML21312A534
Person / Time
Site:	Catawba
Issue date:	11/08/2021
From:	Gerald Mccoy Division of Reactor Safety II
To:	Simril T Duke Energy Carolinas
References
50-413/21-301, 50-414/21-301 50-413/OL-21, 50-414/OL-21
Download: ML21312A534 (9)

Text

November8, 2021

SUBJECT:

CATAWBA NUCLEAR STATION - OPERATOR LICENSING EXAMINAT ION REPORT 05000413/2021301 AND 05000414/2021301

Dear Mr. Simril:

During the period September 20 - 23, 2021, the Nuclear Regulato ry Commission (NRC)

administered operating tests to emp loyees of your company who h ad applied for licenses to operate the Catawba Nuclear Station. At the conclusion of the tests, the examiners discussed preliminary findings related to the operating tests and the wri tten examination submittal with those members of your staff identified in the enclosed report. The written examination was administered by your staff on September 30, 2021.

Two Reactor Operator (RO) and seven Senior Reactor Operator (SR O) applicants passed both the operating test and written examination. There were no pos t-administration comments concerning the written exam or the operating test. A Simulator Fidelity Report is included in this report as Enclosure 2

The initial examination submittal was within the range of accep tability expected for a proposed examination. All examination changes agreed upon between the N RC and your staff were made according to NUREG-1021, Operator Licensing Examination S tandards for Power Reactors, Revision 11.

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 inspecti on in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of the NRCs document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is acce ssible 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 contac t me at (404) 997-4551.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Gerald J. McCoy, Chief Operations Branch 1 Division of Reactor Safety

Docket Nos: 50-413, 50-414 License Nos: NPF-35, NPF-52

Enclosures:

1. Report Details 2. Simulator Fidelity Report

ML21312A534: SUNSI REVIEW COMPLETE FORM 665 ATTACHED

OFFICE RII:DRS RII:DRS RII:DRS RII:DRS RII:DRS NAME KKIRCHBAUM G. McCoy DATE 11/0 8/2021 11/ 8 /2021

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

REGION II

Examination Report

Docket No.: 50-413, 50-414

License No.: NPF-35, NPF-52

Report No.: 05000413/2021301, 05000414/2021301

Licensee: Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC

Facility: Catawba Nuclear Station, Units 1 & 2

Location: York, SC 29745

Dates: Operating Test - September 20-23, 2021 WrittenExamination-September30, 2021

Examiners: K. Kirchbaum, Chief Examiner, Operations Engineer M.Bates,SeniorOperationsEngineer A. Goldau, Operations Engineer

Approved by: Gerald J. McCoy, Chief OperationsBranch1 Division of Reactor Safety

Enclosure 1

SUMMARY

ER 05000413/2020301, 05000414/2020301; operating test September 20-23, 2021 & written exam September 30, 2021; Catawba Nuclear Station; Operator Lice nse Examinations.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) examiners conducted an init ial examination in accordance with the guidelines in Revision 11, of NUREG-1021, " Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors." This examination im plemented the operator licensing requirements identified in 10 CFR §55.41, §55.43, and §55.45, as applicable.

The NRC developed the written examination outline. Members of the Catawba Nuclear Station staff developed both the operating tests and the written examin ation. The initial operating test, written Reactor Operator (RO) examination, and written Senior R eactor Operator (SRO)

examination submittals met the quality guidelines contained in NUREG-1021.

The NRC administered the operating tests during the period Sept ember 20-23, 2021. Members of the Catawba Nuclear Station training staff administered the written examination on September 30, 2021. Two Reactor Operator (RO) and seven Senior Reactor Operator (SRO)

applicants passed both the operating test and written examinati on. Nine applicants were issued licenses commensurate with the level of examination administere d.

There were no post-examination comments.

No findings were identified.

REPORT DETAILS

4. OTHER ACTIVITIES

4OA5 Operator Licensing Examinations

a. Inspection Scope

The NRC evaluated the submitted operating test by combining the scenario events and Job Performance Measures (JPMs) to determine the percentage of submitted test items that required replacement or significant modification. The NRC also evaluated the submitted written examination questions (Reactor Operator (RO) and Senior Reactor Operator (SRO) questions considered separately) to determine th e percentage of submitted questions that required replacement or significant mo dification, or that clearly did not conform with the intent of the approved knowledge and a bility (K/A) statement.

Any questions that were deleted during the grading process, or for which the answer key had to be changed, were also included in the count of unacc eptable questions. The percentage of submitted test items that were unacceptable was c ompared to the acceptance criteria of NUREG-1021, Operator Licensing Standard s for Power Reactors.

The NRC reviewed the licensees examination security measures w hile preparing and administering the examinations to ensure compliance with 10 CFR §55.49, Integrity of examinations and tests.

The NRC administered the operating tests during the period of S eptember 20-23, 2021.

The NRC examiners evaluated two RO and seven SRO applicants usi ng the guidelines contained in NUREG-1021. Members of the Catawba Nuclear Statio n training staff administered the written examination on September 30, 2021. Ev aluations of applicants and reviews of associated documentation were performed to deter mine if the applicants, who applied for licenses to operate the Catawba Nuclear Station, met the requirements specified in 10 CFR Part 55, Operators Licenses.

The NRC evaluated the performance or fidelity of the simulation facility during the preparation and conduct of the operating tests.

b. Findings

No findings were identified.

The NRC developed the written examination sample plan outline. Members of the Catawba Nuclear Station training staff developed both the opera ting tests and the written examination. All examination material was developed in accordance with the guidelines contained in Revision 11, of NUREG-1021. The NRC ex amination 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 determined that the licensees initial examination submittal was within the range of acceptability expected for a proposed examination.

Two Reactor Operator (RO) and seven Senior Reactor Operator (SR O) applicants passed both the operating test and written examination. Nine a pplicants were issued licenses commensurate with the level of examination administere d.

Copies of all individual examination reports were sent to the f acility Training Manager for evaluation of weaknesses and determination of appropriate remed ial training.

The licensee submitted no post-examination comments concerning the operating test and or the written examination. A copy of the final written exa mination and answer key, with all changes incorporated, may be accessed not earlier than November 1, 2023, in the ADAMS system (ADAMS Accession Numbers ML21286A363 and ML21286A525).

4OA6 Meetings, Including Exit

Exit Meeting Summary

On September 24, 2021, the NRC examination team discussed gener ic issues associated with the operating test with Mr. Tom Simril, Site Vi ce President, and members of the Catawba Nuclear Station staff via video conferen ce. The examiners asked the licensee if any of the examination material was propr ietary. No proprietary information was identified.

On November 1, 2021, the NRC examination team discussed the res ults of the examination with B. Webster, Operations Training Supervisor, vi a telephone.

KEY POINTS OF CONTACT

Licensee personnel

Tom Simril, Site Vice President Jon Huecker, Plant Manager Steven Andrews, Operations Manager Scott Milton, Assistant Operations Manager Shift Brian Haynes, Assistant Operations Manager Support Donald Griffith, Site Training Manager Brandon Webster, Operations Training Superintendent Mandy Hare, Nuclear Support Services Manager Sherry Andrews, Senior Nuclear Engineer Ari Tuckman, Lead Nuclear Engineer Bruce Boyette, Nuclear Station Instructor Rusty Miller, Nuclear Station Instructor

NRC personnel

Joe Austin, Senior Resident Inspector SIMULATOR FIDELITY REPORT

Facility Licensee: Catawba Nuclear Station

Facility Docket No.: 05000413, 05000414

Operating Test Administered: September 20 - 23, 2021

This form is to be used only to report observations. These obs ervations do not constitute audit or inspection findings and, without further verification and re view 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.

One simulator fidelity issue was identified. The simulator all owed resetting of the Turbine Driven Feed Pumps (CFPT) with a loss of vacuum. This was contr ary to expected simulator response and plant operations. A simulator Work Request (W/R), FTC-019, has been written to investigate the issue.

Enclosure 2