NRC Generic Letter 1989-05

NRC Generic Letter 1989-005: Pilot Testing Fundamentals Examination

ML031150279
Person / Time
Site:	Beaver Valley, Millstone, Hatch, Monticello, Calvert Cliffs, Dresden, Davis Besse, Peach Bottom, Browns Ferry, Salem, Oconee, Mcguire, Nine Mile Point, Palisades, Palo Verde, Perry, Indian Point, Fermi, Kewaunee, Catawba, Harris, Wolf Creek, Saint Lucie, Point Beach, Oyster Creek, Watts Bar, Hope Creek, Grand Gulf, Cooper, Sequoyah, Byron, Pilgrim, Arkansas Nuclear, Braidwood, Susquehanna, Summer, Prairie Island, Columbia, Seabrook, Brunswick, Surry, Limerick, North Anna, Turkey Point, River Bend, Vermont Yankee, Crystal River, Haddam Neck, Ginna, Diablo Canyon, Callaway, Vogtle, Waterford, Duane Arnold, Farley, Robinson, Clinton, South Texas, San Onofre, Cook, Comanche Peak, Yankee Rowe, Maine Yankee, Quad Cities, Humboldt Bay, La Crosse, Big Rock Point, Rancho Seco, Zion, Midland, Bellefonte, Fort Calhoun, FitzPatrick, McGuire, LaSalle, 05000000, Zimmer, Fort Saint Vrain, Washington Public Power Supply System, Shoreham, Satsop, Trojan, Atlantic Nuclear Power Plant, Clinch River, Crane
Issue date:	04/04/1989
From:	Varga S A Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:
References
GL-89-005, NUDOCS 8903300106
Download: ML031150279 (12)

KJ~-s UNITED STATESNUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSIONWASHINGTON, D. C. 205554' ,April 4, 1989TO: LICENSEES OF ALL POWER REACTORS AND APPLICANTS-FOR A REACTOROPERATOR'S LICENSE UNDER 10 CFR PART 55SUBJECT: PILOT TESTING OF THE FUNDAMENTALS EXAMINATION (Generic Letter 89- 05)This letter is to inform facility licensees and potential applicants under10 CFR Part 55 that the NRC is offering a second pilot test of the fundamentalsexamination for candidates for an NRC operator's license. During this pilottest, examinations will be administered to candidates-for a license to operateboth Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) and Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs).The pilot test will be used to refine the development, administration, andgrading process for the fundamentals examination. Applicants who participatein this pilot test and achieve a passing grade of 70 percent or a higherpercentage will receive a waiver under 10 CFR 55.47 of the applicable sectionof the written examination that is required by 10 CFR 55.41 or 55.43.The sta~ff's review of the content of examinations prepared in accordance with.10 CFR Part 55 and the Examiner Standards 301 and 401 of NUREG-1021, "OperatorLicensing Examiner Standards," Revision 5, indicates that the subject matterpresented in' s6me sections is generic to *all BWRs or all PWRs. The subjectmatter includes reactor' theory, heat transfer, thermodynamics, fluid flow, andcomponent operations. The staff's review of current training programsindicates that these topics are normally presented early in the operator andsenior operator training programs. Mastery of this fundamentals subjectmatter is an important first step of training, which includes systems and plantcharacteristics, on-the-job training, and simulator training.In developing the fundamentals examination, the staff used subject mattercontained in the 291000 through 293000 series of the "Knowledge and Abilities (K/A)Catalog for Nuclear Power Plant Operators: Boiling Water Reactors" (NUREG-1123),and the 191000 through 193000 s'eries of the "Knowledge and Abilities(K/A) Catalog for Nuclear Power Plant Operators: Pressurized Water Reactors"(NUREG-1122)._ The K/As-provided the basis for-the testing objectives fromwhich a bank of multiple choice questions has been developed and screened foruse in this examination. Each examination will contain approximately 50multiple choice questions and will require approximately 3 hours3.472222e-5 days <br />8.333333e-4 hours <br />4.960317e-6 weeks <br />1.1415e-6 months <br /> tocomplete. We plan to administer the pilot examinations at one central locationin each region. As the examinations will be graded by machine, we expect topromulgate the test results within 10 days after the administration of theexamination.Copies of the fundamentals examination test sheets will be returned to eachvolunteer and facility training department for comment. The NRC staff willsummarize any comments received in a Commission paper. After reviewing thissummary, the Commission will evaluate a policy to require passing the fundamentalsexamination as a prerequisite condition to applying for a license to operate anuclear power plant under 10 CFR 55.31.6too, 6ZX;oAND'893

-2-The following conditions will apply to pilot testing of the fundamentalsexamination:° The Commission will waive the usual requirements under 10 CFR 55.31,"Subpart D -Applications." Therefore, Form NRC-398 does not need to besubmitted.o Volunteers should be enrolled in either a facility-sponsored reactoroperator or senior reactor operator training course.o Volunteers who pass the fundamentals examination with a score'of 70 percentor a higher percentage will be granted a waiver under 10 CFR 55.47 of theappropriate-section (1 or 4) of the written examination.o Volunteers who do not achieve a grade of 70 percent will subsequently be ableto take the entire regularly scheduled written examination at the'site. 'Asa formal application under 10 CFR 55.31 is not required, the provisions of10 CFR 55.35, "Re-applications," will not apply.* Pilot testing of these examinations is planned for June 28, 1989. You willbe informed of the exact time, and location of the examinations within60 days after the date of this generic letter.Candidates interested in participating in this program are requested to submitthe enclosed application to Mr. Kenneth E. Perkins, Chief, Operator LicensingBranch, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,Washington, D.C. 20555, with a copy to the appropriate Regional Administrator.These applications must be received by April 21, 1989, to ensure participationin these pilot tests. We appreciate your cooperation. If you have anyquestions concerning this generic letter, please call Mr. Perkins at (301)492-1031.This request is covered by Office of Management and Budget Clearance Number3150-0090 which expires January 31, 1992. The estimated average burden is 2hours per response. Comments on the accuracy of this estimate and suggestions toreduce the burden may be directed to the Office of Management and Budget,Paperwork Reduction Project (3150-0090), Room 3208, New Executive OfficeBuilding, Washington, D.C. 20503, and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,Records and Reports Management Branch, Office of Information ResourcesManagement, Washington, D.C. 20555.Sin eely,A. #Ag ,Associate Director \ ProjectsOffice of Nuclear Reactor RegulationEnclosure:Application for Pilot Testingof Fundamentals Examination IK)-.Enclosure(CL 89-05)I,__ ,employed at the(Name) (Station Name)50- request participation in the Pilot Test Program of.(Facility Docket Number)the Fundamentals Examination for an operator or a senior operator license. -Iagree to the conditions outlined in GL-89-(05).Applicant:-'DateTraining Department Manager DateApproved:

LIST OF RECENTLY ISSUED GENERIC LETTERSGenericLetter No.89-0489-0389-0289-0188-2088-1988-18SubJectGUIDANCE ON DEVELOPINGACCEPTABLE INSERVICETESTING PROGRAMSOPERATOR LICENSING NATIONALEXAMINATION SCHEDULEACTIONS TO IMPROVE TH4EDETECTION OF COUNTERFEITAND FRAUDULENTLY MARKETEDPRODUCTSIMPLEMENTATION OFPROGRAMMATIC CONTROLSFOR RADIOLOGICAL EFFLUENTTECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONSIN THE AD0INISTRATIVECONTROLS SECTION OF THETECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONSAND THE RELOCATION OFPROCEDURAL DETAILS OFRETS TO THE OFFSITE DOSECALCULATION MANUAL OR TOTHE PROCESS CONTROL PROGRAM.INDIVIDUAL PLANTEXAMINATION FOR SEVEREACCIDENT VULNERABILITIES -10 CFR 50.54(f)USE OF DEADLY FORCE BYLICENSEE GUARDS TO PREVENTTHEFT OF SPECIAL NUCLEARMATEPIALPLANT RECORD STORAGE ONOPTICAL DISKSDate ofIssuanceIssued To4/3/89 ALL HOLDERS OF LIGHTWATER REACTOR OPERATINGLICENSES AND CONSTRUCTIONPERMITS3/24/89 ALL POWER REACTORLICENSEES ANDAPPLICANTS FOR ANOPERATING LICENSE3/21/89 ALL HOLDERS OFOPERATING LICENSESAND CONSTRUCTIONPERMITS FOR NUCLEARPOWER REACTORS1/31/89 ALL LICENSEES HOLDINGOPERATING LICENSESAND CONSTRUCTIONPERMITS FOR NUCLEARPOWER REACTOR FACILITIES.11/23/88 ALL LICENSEES HOLDINGOPERATING LICENSESAND CONSTRUCTIONPERMITS FOR NUCLEARPOWER REACTOR FACILITIES10/28/88 ALL FUEL CYCLE FACILITYLICENSEES WHO POSSESS.USE. IMPORT, EXPORT,OR TRANSPORT FORMUILAQUANTITIES OF STRATEGICSPECIAL' NUCLEAR MATERIAL10/20/88 ALL LICENSEES OFOPERATING REACTORSAND HOLDERS OFCONSTRUCTION PERMITSUNITED STATESNUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSIONWASHINGTON, D.C. 20555OFFICIAL BUSINESSPENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE, $300FIRST CLASS MAILPOSTAGE b FEES PAIDUSNRCPERMIT No G67 v)Distribution and concurrence for PM letter RE: GL-89-05 dated April 4, 1989.DISTRIBUTIONCentral FilesOLB RFPVDoyleLAWiensRACooleyKEPerkinsJZwolinskiJWRoeSAVargaFJMiragliaJHSniezek/TEMurleyDW4:PMCOVER.DOC 90SIt~OFC :OLB:DLYQ :OLB:DLPQ

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' >Distribution and concurrence for Second Pilot Generic Letter dated April 4,.1989DISTRIBUTION:OLBRFICentral FilesPVDoyleLAWiensTLSzymanskiRACooleyKEPerkinsJAZwolinskiJWRoeSAVargaFJMiragliaJHSniezek/TEMurleyCHBerlingerP ~r p-DMe'ct .ti of COG eevwt" 5e0ft out/lcw rtlve5An Wtv~e, C58t>wA I &/ lsaqDOYLE -1OFC : OLB:DLPQk OL :DLPQ OLB:DLPQ

• TECH EDITOR D :DLPQ : & / j--------NAME : e:pd L Wiens : KEPerki alure : JW : CHBerlingerDATE :C22/0/89 : P-//d/89 :>/1-/89 l 2 1/2?/89 : 9/ 89OFC : ADT:NR : ADP:NRRNAME : FJMiraglia : Va :DATE : /289 : 7 89 *OFFICIAL FILE COPYj~@ '--n3 jgLi8 Document Name:\_ K_>DOYLE -1Requestor's ID:CARTERAuthor's Name:DOYLEDocument Comments:Gen Lttr for Second Pilot of Generic Fundamentals Exam 06/89 J UNITED STATES -NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSIONWASHINGTON, D. C. 20555MAR 1 6 1983MEMORANDUM FOR:FROM:SUBJECT:Edward Jordan, DirectorOffice for Analysis and Evaluationof Operational DataJames H. Sniezek, Deputy DirectorOffice of Nuclear Reactor RegulationWAIVER OF CRGR REVIEW OF GENERIC LETTER TO INFORM PWR AND BWRLICENSEES AND APPLICANTS FOR OPERATOR LICENSES OF A PILOTTESTING PROGRAM FOR THE FUNDAMENTALS EXAMINATION SECTIONiEnclosed is a generic letter to be sent to all Pressurized-Water Reactor andBoiling-Water Reactor licensees and applicants for Operator licenses informingthem of a pilot program for the administration of a generic fundamentalssection of the written examinations conducted in accordance with 10 CFR 55.41and 55.43.The pilot program for administration of this section, separate from thesite-specific written examination, is a change in the normal practice foradministration of operator licensing written examinations, which is designedto simplify the training of licensed operators and reduce the burden onoperator licensing examiners. The revised sequence of examinationadministration does not present any new staff positions and does notconstitute a new requirement; therefore we believe that CRGR review is notnecessary. This will be the second pilot test of this process. The firstpilot test for BWR applicants was conducted on September 21, 1988. Volunteersfor this pilot test are being requested in the enclosed GL-89-xx.We plan toconcerningissue the enclosed generic letter shortly. Therefore, any commentswaiver of CRGR review are requested asfoon as possible.Enclosure:As Stated

CONTACT

Kenneth E.X21031Perkins, NRR

UNITED STATESNUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSIONW ~WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555TO LICENSEES OF ALL POWER REACTORS AND APPLICANTS FOR A REACTOR OPERATOR'SLICENSE UNDER 10 CFR PART 55SUBJECT: PILOT TESTING OF THE FUNDAMENTALS EXAMINATION (Generic Letter 89-xx )This letter is to inform facility licensees and potential applicants under10 CFR Part 55 that the NRC is offering a second pilot test of the fundamentalsexamination for candidates for an NRC operator's license. During this pilottest, examinations will be administered to candidates for a license to operateboth Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) and Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs).The pilot test will be used to refine the development, administration, andgrading process for the fundamentals examination. Applicants who participatein this pilot test and achieve a-passing grade of 70 percent or a higherpercentage will receive a waiver under 10 CFR 55.47 of the applicable sectionof the written examination that is required by 10 CFR 55.41 or 55.43.The staff's review of the content of examinations prepared in accordance with10 CFR Part 55 and the Examiner Standards 301 and 401 of NUREG-1021, "OperatorLicensing Examiner Standards,' Revision 5, indicates that the subject matterpresented in some sections is generic to all BWRs or all PWRs. The subjectmatter includes reactor theory, heat transfer, thermodynamics, fluid flow, andcomponent operations. The staff's review of current training programsindicates that these topics are normally presented early in the operator andsenior operator training programs. Mastery of this fundamentals subjectmatter is an important first step of training, which includes systems and plantcharacteristics, on-the-job training, and simulator training.In developing the fundamentals examination, the staff used subject mattercontained in the 291000 through 293000 series of the 'Knowledge and Abilities (K/A)Catalog for Nuclear Power Plant Operators: Boiling Water Reactors" (NUREG-1123),and the 191000 through 193000 series of the "Knowledge and Abilities(K/A) Catalog for Nuclear Power Plant Operators: Pressurized Water Reactors"NUREG-1122). The K/As provided the basis for the testing objectives fromwhich a bank of multiple choice questions has been developed and screened foruse in this examination. Each examination will contain approximately 50multiple choice questions and will require approximately 3 hours3.472222e-5 days <br />8.333333e-4 hours <br />4.960317e-6 weeks <br />1.1415e-6 months <br /> tocomplete. We plan to administer the pilot examinations at one central locationin each region. As the examinations will be graded by machine, we expect topromulgate the test results within 10 days after the administration of theexamination.Copies of the fundamentals examination test sheets will be returned to eachvolunteer and facility training department for comment. The NRC staff willsummarize any comments received in a Commission paper. After reviewing thissummary, the Commission will evaluate a policy to require passing the fundamentalsexamination as a prerequisite condition to applying for a license to operate anuclear power plant under 10 CFR 55.31.

"I41\tThe following conditions will apply to pilot testing of the fundamentalsexamination:0 The Commission will waive the usual requirements under 10 CFR 55.31,"Subpart D -Applications." Therefore, Form NRC-398 does not need to besubmitted.V Volunteers should be enrolled in either a facility-sponsored reactoroperator or senior reactor operator training course.V Volunteers who pass the fundamentals examination with a score of 70 percentor a higher percentage will be granted a waiver under 10 CFR 55.47 of theappropriate section (1 or 4) of the written examination.O Volunteers who do not achieve a grade of 70 percent will subsequently be ableto take the entire regularly scheduled written examination at the site. Asa formal application under 10 CFR 55.31 is not required, the provisions of10 CFR 55.35, "Re-applications," will not apply.° Pilot testing of these examinations is planned for June 28, 1989. You willbe informed of the exact time, and location of the examinations within60 days after the date of this generic letter.Candidates interested in participating in this program are requested to submitthe enclosed application to Mr. Kenneth E. Perkins, Chief, Operator LicensingBranch, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,Washington, D.C. 20555, with a-copy to the appropriate Regional Administrator.These applications must be received by April 14, 1989, to ensure participationin these pilot tests. We appreciate your cooperation. If you have anyquestions concerning this generic letter, please call Mr. Perkins at (301)492-1031.This request is covered by Office of Management and Budget Clearance Number3150-0090 which expires January 31, 1992. The estimated average burden is 2hours per response. Comments on the accuracy of this estimate and suggestions toreduce the burden may be directed to the Office of Management and Budget,Paperwork Reduction Project (3150-0090), Room 3208, New Executive OfficeBuilding, Washington, D.C. 20503, and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,Records and Reports Management Branch, Office of Information ResourcesManagement, Washington, D.C. 20555.Sincerely,Steven A. Varga, Acting Associate Directorfor ProjectsOffice of Nuclear Reactor RegulationEnclosure:Application for Pilot Testingof Fundamentals Examination Enclosure(GL 89-xx)I, , employed at the(Name) (Station Name)50- request participation in the Pilot Test Progran ot(Facility Docket Number)the Fundamentals Examination for an operator or a senior operator license. Iagree to the conditions outlined in GL-89-( ).Applicant:DateApproved:Training Department ManagerDate Distribution and concurrence for memo to Edward Jordan datedDISTRIBUTIONCentral FilesOLB RFPVDoyleLAWiensRACooleyTLSzymanskiKEPerkinsJZwolinskiJWRoeFJMiragliaJHSniezek/TEMurleyDOYLE -2 2MA1R I B 19 ?.bOFC : OLB p4 : OLB-DLPQ : OLB:DLP J : DIR:DLPQ : AD R ' : DDIR RR______ .... --- --- -'--- ---- -----CA -- -------: -- 7-+ e-<NAME : PVDoyle:pd :LA1iens : KEPerk~is' : JW e : aglia : zek______----- --------------_ _________ __________*-----____ --------------A-t_ _DATE : o:/q/89 : /: /ID/89

• j/:/89OFC : RN:NAME: 7RfQVQyrlinger :--- -- -- -- -- --- ---- --- -- -- -- -- -------------------DATE: XKX4B : 2/J9/89OFFICIAL FILE COPY