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~hm FileCyr'egulatory NIAGARAMOHAWKPOWERCORPORATION 6lI](gPf'prQ.@8~<gleda~Q~QErgo<<NIAGARA~MOHAWK300ERIEBOULEVARD WESTSYRACUSC, N.Y.13202 I~~Mqc>(~CiApril15,1970Dr.PeterA.Morris,DirectorDivisionofReactorLicensing UnitedStatesAtomicEnergyCommission Washington, D.C.20545

DearDr.Morris:

IIjt'lIIIInreference toyourletterofFebruary12,1970,concerning retraining of.licensedoperators, Ihavediscussed belowourprogramandthemannerinwhichweintendtodischarge it.Inasmuchasoursenioroperators havebeenlicensedfor9monthsandthereactoroperators only3months,aswellasthefactthatwehaveoperatedforonly30fullpowerdays,theretraining programis,forthemostpart,whatwewillcarryoutintheyearahead.Ihav'eoutlinedourretraining programbyanswering thequestions posedinyourletter,inanefforttoensurethatalltheinformation thatwasrequested issubmitted.

l.Aformalretraining programconsisting ofscheduled lectureshasbeensetup.Asplanned,thecourseofinstruction willbeapproximately 50hoursindurationcoveringthefollowing subjects:

a.Principles ofReactorOperation b.FeaturesofFacilityDesignc.GeneralOperating Characteristics d.Instruments andControlse.SafetyandEmergency SystemsStandardandEmergency

'Operating Procedures g.Radiation ControlandSafetysizeswillbeutilizedtocheckonindividual retention aswellastouncovergroupweakness.

2.Theretraining programisadministered bytheOperations Supervisor oradesignated assi.stant.

TheReactorAnalyst,Radiation Protection Supv.,Instrument andControlSupervisor, andotherqualified membersoftheplantstaffwillconducttheretraining programintheirrespective fieldsofinterest.

3.Eachmemberoftheoperating staffisissuedacompletesetofPlantOperating Procedures, Emergency Procedures, SpecialProcedures, andtheTechnical Specifications.

Whenachangeis.madeinanyofthesedocuments, eachmemberisnotifiedbyagroupdistribution noticeor 4>sA~IIC"f'1

~OgDr.PeterA.MorrisApril15,19703.isissuedacopyofthechange.Inaddition, amastersetismaintained withalistofchangesmade.TheOperations Supervisor's NightOrderBookcontainsinformation onplantevolutions, unusualoccurrences, andmajorequipment malfunctions.

Astatusofequipment outofcommission ismaintained bytheStationRedTagProcedures.

Inaddition, theStationLogcontainspertinent information onplantequipment, andeachoperatorisrequiredtoreadthelogpriortocomingonshift.4.Everyeffortwillbemadetoensurethatalloperators performreactorstartupsandshutdowns, plantconditions permitting.

Eachoperatorhasafolderfortheexpresspurposeofrecording trainingevolutions completed otherthantheformalcourseofinstructions.

Theoperators'bilities willbeobservedandevaluated bytheStationShiftSupv.orotherqualified membersofthestaff,asoftenaspossible.

5.Eachshiftcrewisrequiredto"walkthrough"theEmergency Procedures onacontinuing basistomaintainthehighestoperatorproficiency.

Periodically, asimulated drillwillbeimposedandtheshiftcrewper-formanceevaluated.

Theformalclassroom lectureserieswillalsodis-cusstheEmergency Procedures aswellasplantresponsecharacteristics duringamajoraccident.

6.Periodicfireand/orevacuation drillshaveandwillbeconducted.

Thesedrillsarenormallyunannounced sothatadegreeofrealismcanbeinjectedandpersonnel responseobserved.

TheStationSuperintendent isnormallytheevaluator duringthesedrills.NiagaraMohawkconductsitsownfireschoolinthelocalareaoftheStation.Everyoneperma-nentlyassignedtotheStationhasreceivedaone-weekcourseinfirefighting.

Itisanticipated thateachStationShiftSupervisor willreceivearefresher courseinfirefightingatleasteverytwoyears.7.Aspresently structured, theretraining programiswhollywithintheNiagaraMohawkPowerorganization.

Ifassistance becomesnecessary, itwillbeemployed.

8.Theaudio-visual trainingaidsconsisting ofvideotapesareutilizedinboththeclassroom andasaself-study program.Theentirecourse,"PhysicsforReactorOperator,"

consisting of21fifty-minute tapesisavailable, aswellastapesonmajorsystemssuchasControlRodDrive,RodWorthMinimizer, andtheNeutronMonitoring System.Varioussub-jectsofcontinuing interesthavebeenrecordedhereattheStationforuseintheretraining program.Itisanticipated thatthevideotaperecording unitcanbeutilizedduringplantevolutions suchasstartupandshutdown, andStationdrills.Thesetapeswillbemostvaluabletotheoperatorwhentheplantevolutions arestaticandthenumberofstart-upsandshutdowns arelimited.9.Asindicated intheA.E.C.Licensing Guide,asenioroperatorshouldexhibitmoredetailedknowledge thanthatrequiredofanoperator.

Also,thesenioroperatorwillberequiredtodisplayamorethoroughknowledge 1Tee=q,~-*elA'e."Off~~IJ*j~I Dr.PeterA.MorrisApril15,19709.ofadministrative controlsandprocedures.

Thus,althoughtheretrain-ingrequirements arequitesimilar,theminimumacceptable performance ofthesenioroperatorishigherthanthatofareactoroperator.

Tofurtherillustrate thispoint,theentireOperating Procedures andPre-Operational TestProgramwerewrittenbytheStation.ShiftSupervisors (SeniorOperators).

Theyhavethusbecomesystem"experts" andhavebeenutilizedintrainingreactoroperators andwillcontinuetodoso.'0.Operators andsenioroperators areevaluated usingseveralfactors,themostimportant beingtheratingbyhisimmediate supervisor whoobserves'hroughdailycontacthiscompetence indischarging thedutiesassignedtohisposition.

Sincethisevaluation isasummaryoftheindividual's achievements overaperiodofmanymonths,itshouldbethebestpossi-bleindicator ofhisabilityanddirectlysupportor.rejecthisapplica-tionforA.E.C.licenserenewal.Asecondfactorusedinappraising qualifications forlicenserenewalissuccessful participation intheretraining program.Thelectureseriesisdesignedtoreiterate themoreimportant aspectsoftheareaslistedinparagraph no.l.Itshouldkeeptheindividual asmentally, readyasthetimeatwhichthelicenseexamswerefirstgiven.Athirdfacetwillbeutilizedincertifying applications forlicenserenewal.Inconjunction withparagraph no.4(i.e.startupsandshut-downs),eachoperatorwillsuccessfully completeatleastonereactorstartupandshutdowninthepresenceoftheOperations Supervisor ordesignated assistant.

Inaddition, theOperations Supervisor willcon-ducta"walkthrough"witheachofthelicensedreactoroperators toensuretheirreadiness forlicensedrenewal.Ifthereisanydoubtconcerning anindividual's competence fromtheaboveguide-lines,acomprehensive examination ofthescopeoftheAtomicEnergyCommission examwillbegiven.Theoutcomefromsuchanexamination willindicateanindi-vidual'spreparedness forrelicense.

Verytrulyyours,a.s~~F.J.Schneider VicePresident

-Operations mjs 1III~~tFjN