ML17037C141

Nine Mile Point Unit 1 - Letter Referring to the February 12, 1970 Letter Concerning Retraining of Licensed Operators and Outlining the Retraining Program Niagara Mohawk Will Carry Out in the Year Ahead

ML17037C141
Person / Time
Site:	Nine Mile Point
Issue date:	04/15/1970
From:	Schneider F J Niagara Mohawk Power Corp
To:	Morris P A US Atomic Energy Commission (AEC)
References
Download: ML17037C141 (6)

Text

L>Jl'<~I~hmFileCyr'egulatoryNIAGARAMOHAWKPOWERCORPORATION6lI](gPf'prQ.@8~<gleda~Q~QErgo<<NIAGARA~MOHAWK300ERIEBOULEVARDWESTSYRACUSC,N.Y.13202I~~Mqc>(~CiApril15,1970Dr.PeterA.Morris,DirectorDivisionofReactorLicensingUnitedStatesAtomicEnergyCommissionWashington,D.C.20545

DearDr.Morris:

IIjt'lIIIInreferencetoyourletterofFebruary12,1970,concerningretrainingof.licensedoperators,Ihavediscussedbelowourprogramandthemannerinwhichweintendtodischargeit.Inasmuchasoursenioroperatorshavebeenlicensedfor9monthsandthereactoroperatorsonly3months,aswellasthefactthatwehaveoperatedforonly30fullpowerdays,theretrainingprogramis,forthemostpart,whatwewillcarryoutintheyearahead.Ihav'eoutlinedourretrainingprogrambyansweringthequestionsposedinyourletter,inanefforttoensurethatalltheinformationthatwasrequestedissubmitted.l.Aformalretrainingprogramconsistingofscheduledlectureshasbeensetup.Asplanned,thecourseofinstructionwillbeapproximately50hoursindurationcoveringthefollowingsubjects:a.PrinciplesofReactorOperationb.FeaturesofFacilityDesignc.GeneralOperatingCharacteristicsd.InstrumentsandControlse.SafetyandEmergencySystemsStandardandEmergency'OperatingProceduresg.RadiationControlandSafetysizeswillbeutilizedtocheckonindividualretentionaswellastouncovergroupweakness.2.TheretrainingprogramisadministeredbytheOperationsSupervisororadesignatedassi.stant.TheReactorAnalyst,RadiationProtectionSupv.,InstrumentandControlSupervisor,andotherqualifiedmembersoftheplantstaffwillconducttheretrainingprogramintheirrespectivefieldsofinterest.3.EachmemberoftheoperatingstaffisissuedacompletesetofPlantOperatingProcedures,EmergencyProcedures,SpecialProcedures,andtheTechnicalSpecifications.Whenachangeis.madeinanyofthesedocuments,eachmemberisnotifiedbyagroupdistributionnoticeor 4>sA~IIC"f'1

~OgDr.PeterA.MorrisApril15,19703.isissuedacopyofthechange.Inaddition,amastersetismaintainedwithalistofchangesmade.TheOperationsSupervisor'sNightOrderBookcontainsinformationonplantevolutions,unusualoccurrences,andmajorequipmentmalfunctions.AstatusofequipmentoutofcommissionismaintainedbytheStationRedTagProcedures.Inaddition,theStationLogcontainspertinentinformationonplantequipment,andeachoperatorisrequiredtoreadthelogpriortocomingonshift.4.Everyeffortwillbemadetoensurethatalloperatorsperformreactorstartupsandshutdowns,plantconditionspermitting.Eachoperatorhasafolderfortheexpresspurposeofrecordingtrainingevolutionscompletedotherthantheformalcourseofinstructions.Theoperators'bilitieswillbeobservedandevaluatedbytheStationShiftSupv.orotherqualifiedmembersofthestaff,asoftenaspossible.5.Eachshiftcrewisrequiredto"walkthrough"theEmergencyProceduresonacontinuingbasistomaintainthehighestoperatorproficiency.Periodically,asimulateddrillwillbeimposedandtheshiftcrewper-formanceevaluated.Theformalclassroomlectureserieswillalsodis-cusstheEmergencyProceduresaswellasplantresponsecharacteristicsduringamajoraccident.6.Periodicfireand/orevacuationdrillshaveandwillbeconducted.Thesedrillsarenormallyunannouncedsothatadegreeofrealismcanbeinjectedandpersonnelresponseobserved.TheStationSuperintendentisnormallytheevaluatorduringthesedrills.NiagaraMohawkconductsitsownfireschoolinthelocalareaoftheStation.Everyoneperma-nentlyassignedtotheStationhasreceivedaone-weekcourseinfirefighting.ItisanticipatedthateachStationShiftSupervisorwillreceivearefreshercourseinfirefightingatleasteverytwoyears.7.Aspresentlystructured,theretrainingprogramiswhollywithintheNiagaraMohawkPowerorganization.Ifassistancebecomesnecessary,itwillbeemployed.8.Theaudio-visualtrainingaidsconsistingofvideotapesareutilizedinboththeclassroomandasaself-studyprogram.Theentirecourse,"PhysicsforReactorOperator,"consistingof21fifty-minutetapesisavailable,aswellastapesonmajorsystemssuchasControlRodDrive,RodWorthMinimizer,andtheNeutronMonitoringSystem.Varioussub-jectsofcontinuinginteresthavebeenrecordedhereattheStationforuseintheretrainingprogram.Itisanticipatedthatthevideotaperecordingunitcanbeutilizedduringplantevolutionssuchasstartupandshutdown,andStationdrills.Thesetapeswillbemostvaluabletotheoperatorwhentheplantevolutionsarestaticandthenumberofstart-upsandshutdownsarelimited.9.AsindicatedintheA.E.C.LicensingGuide,asenioroperatorshouldexhibitmoredetailedknowledgethanthatrequiredofanoperator.Also,thesenioroperatorwillberequiredtodisplayamorethoroughknowledge 1Tee=q,~-*elA'e."Off~~IJ*j~I Dr.PeterA.MorrisApril15,19709.ofadministrativecontrolsandprocedures.Thus,althoughtheretrain-ingrequirementsarequitesimilar,theminimumacceptableperformanceofthesenioroperatorishigherthanthatofareactoroperator.Tofurtherillustratethispoint,theentireOperatingProceduresandPre-OperationalTestProgramwerewrittenbytheStation.ShiftSupervisors(SeniorOperators).Theyhavethusbecomesystem"experts"andhavebeenutilizedintrainingreactoroperatorsandwillcontinuetodoso.'0.Operatorsandsenioroperatorsareevaluatedusingseveralfactors,themostimportantbeingtheratingbyhisimmediatesupervisorwhoobserves'hroughdailycontacthiscompetenceindischargingthedutiesassignedtohisposition.Sincethisevaluationisasummaryoftheindividual'sachievementsoveraperiodofmanymonths,itshouldbethebestpossi-bleindicatorofhisabilityanddirectlysupportor.rejecthisapplica-tionforA.E.C.licenserenewal.Asecondfactorusedinappraisingqualificationsforlicenserenewalissuccessfulparticipationintheretrainingprogram.Thelectureseriesisdesignedtoreiteratethemoreimportantaspectsoftheareaslistedinparagraphno.l.Itshouldkeeptheindividualasmentally,readyasthetimeatwhichthelicenseexamswerefirstgiven.Athirdfacetwillbeutilizedincertifyingapplicationsforlicenserenewal.Inconjunctionwithparagraphno.4(i.e.startupsandshut-downs),eachoperatorwillsuccessfullycompleteatleastonereactorstartupandshutdowninthepresenceoftheOperationsSupervisorordesignatedassistant.Inaddition,theOperationsSupervisorwillcon-ducta"walkthrough"witheachofthelicensedreactoroperatorstoensuretheirreadinessforlicensedrenewal.Ifthereisanydoubtconcerninganindividual'scompetencefromtheaboveguide-lines,acomprehensiveexaminationofthescopeoftheAtomicEnergyCommissionexamwillbegiven.Theoutcomefromsuchanexaminationwillindicateanindi-vidual'spreparednessforrelicense.Verytrulyyours,a.s~~F.J.SchneiderVicePresident-Operationsmjs 1III~~tFjN