IR 05000461/2007301
| ML073040240 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Clinton  |
| Issue date: | 10/26/2007 |
| From: | Hironori Peterson Operations Branch III |
| To: | Crane C Exelon Generation Co, Exelon Nuclear |
| References | |
| ER-07-301 | |
| Download: ML073040240 (38) | |
Text
ber 26, 2007
SUBJECT:
CLINTON POWER STATION NRC INITIAL LICENSE EXAMINATION REPORT 05000461/2007301(DRS)
Dear Mr. Crane:
On August 23, 2007, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) examiners completed initial operator licensing examinations at your Clinton Power Station. The enclosed report documents the results of the examination. An initial de-brief of the examination was presented on August 23, 2007, with Mr. B. C. Hanson and other members of your staff. An exit meeting was conducted by telephone on September 18, 2007, between Mr. M. Helton, Initial License Training Lead of your staff and Mr. D. McNeil, Senior Operations Engineer, to review the NRC's resolution of the station
=s post examination comments and the proposed final grading of the written examination for the license applicants.
The NRC examiners administered an initial license examination operating test during the weeks of August 13 and August 20, 2007. The written examination was administered by NRC examiners and Clinton Power Station training department personnel on August 23, 2007. Seven Senior Reactor Operator (SRO) and five Reactor Operator (RO) applicants were administered license examinations. Two of the Senior Reactor Operator applicants were previously licensed Reactor Operators at the Clinton Power Station. The results of the examination were finalized on October 12, 2007. Four applicants (1 SRO and 3 RO) failed the written examination and were issued proposed license denial letters. Five applicants (4 SRO and 1 RO) passed all sections of their respective examinations and were issued applicable operator licenses. In accordance with NRC policy, the remaining three applicants (2 SRO and 1 RO) passed all sections of their respective examinations, but because their final written examination grade was less than 82 percent, their licenses are being withheld pending the outcome of any written examination appeal that may be initiated by the applicants that failed the written examination.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter and its enclosure will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room, or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS), accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room). We will gladly discuss any questions you have concerning this examination.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Hironori Peterson, Chief Operations Branch Division of Reactor Safety
Docket No. 50-461 License No. NPF-62
Enclosures:
1. Operator Licensing Examination Report 05000461/2007301(DRS)
w/Attachment: Supplemental Information 2. Simulation Facility Report 3. Post Examination Comments w/ NRC Resolution 4. Written Examinations and Answer Keys (RO/SRO)
REGION III==
Docket No: 50-461 License No: NPF-62
Report No: 05000461/2007301(DRS)
Licensee: AmerGen Energy Company, LLC
Facility: Clinton Power Station
Location: Clinton, Illinois
Dates: August 13, 2007, through August 23, 2007
Examiners: D. McNeil, Senior Operations Engineer C. Zoia, Operations Engineer C. Moore, Operations Engineer
Approved by: Hironori Peterson, Chief Operations Branch Division of Reactor Safety Enclosure 1 1
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
ER 05000461/2007301(DRS); 08/13/2007 - 08/23/2007; AmerGen Energy Company, LLC,
Clinton Power Station. Initial License Examination Report.
The announced initial operator licensing examination was conducted by regional Nuclear Regulatory Commission examiners in accordance with the guidance of NUREG-1021, AOperator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors,@ Revision 9.
Examination Summary
$ Four applicants (1 Senior Reactor Operator and 3 Reactor Operators) failed the written examination and were issued proposed license denials. Eight applicants passed all sections of their respective examinations. Five applicants (4 Senior Reactor Operators and 1 Reactor Operator) were issued applicable operator licenses. The remaining three licenses (2 Senior Reactor Operators and 1 Reactor Operator) may be issued pending the outcome of any written examination appeal. (Section 4OA5.1).
2
REPORT DETAILS
OTHER ACTIVITIES (OA)
4OA5 Other
.1 Initial Licensing Examinations
a. Examination Scope
Members of the Clinton Power Station Training Department prepared the examination outline and developed the written examination and operating test. The NRC examiners validated the proposed examination during the week of July 23, 2007, at the Clinton Power Station Training Building with the assistance of members of the licensee training staff. During the on-site validation week of July 23, 2007, the examiners audited two license applications for accuracy. The NRC examiners conducted the operating portion of the initial license examination during the weeks of August 13, 2007, and August 20, 2007. The NRC examiners and members of the Clinton Power Station training department staff administered the written examination on August 23, 2007.
The station=s examination developers and the NRC examiners used the guidance established in NUREG-1021, AOperator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors,@ Revision 9, to prepare, validate, revise, administer, and grade the examination.
b. Findings
Written Examination During the validation of the written examination several questions were modified or replaced as requested by the NRC examiners. Changes made to the written examination were documented on Form ES-401-9, AWritten Examination Review Worksheet,@ which is available electronically in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records component of NRC's document system (ADAMS). Less than 20 percent of the examination was considered unsatisfactory for examination use and therefore, met the NRC
=s expectations for a submitted examination. The licensee submitted sixteen written examination post-examination comments for consideration by the NRC examiners when grading the written examination. Twelve of the submitted post-examination comments were comments from the applicants and were not supported by the facility
=s training staff. Based on the significant number of written examination failures, additional reviews were conducted with the licensee with respect to post-examination comments. The post-examination comments and the NRC resolution for the post-examination comments are contained in Enclosure 3, APost Examination Comments and Resolutions.
@ The NRC examiners completed the final grading of the written examination on October 10, 2007, and conducted a review of each missed question to determine the accuracy and validity of the examination questions.
3Operating Test
During the validation of the operating test, minor changes to the operating test were made to the JPMs and to the dynamic simulator scenarios. One JPM was replaced because it lacked discriminatory value. Less than 20 percent of the operating test was considered unsatisfactory for use and therefore, met the NRC
=s expectations for a submitted examination. Changes made to the operating test were documented in a document titled, AOperating Test Comments,@ which is available electronically in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records component of NRC's document system (ADAMS). The NRC examiners completed operating test grading on October 9, 2007.
Examination Results Seven applicants at the Senior Reactor Operator (SRO) level and five applicants at the Reactor Operator (RO) level were administered written and operating tests. Two of the SRO applicants were previously licensed as ROs at Clinton Power Station. Four applicants (1 SRO and 3 ROs) failed the written examination and were issued proposed license denials. Five applicants (4 SRO and 1 RO) passed all portions of their examinations and were issued applicable operating licenses. Three applicants (2 SRO and 1 RO) passed all portions of the license examination, but received a written test grade below 82 percent. In accordance with NRC policy, t hose applicants' licenses will be withheld until any written examinat ion appeal possibilities by other applicants have been resolved. If an applicant
=s grade is still equal to or greater than 80 percent after any appeal resolution, the applicant will be issued an operating license. If the applicant
=s grade has declined below 80 percent, the applicant will be issued a proposed license denial letter and offered the opportunity to appeal any questions the applicant feels were graded incorrectly.
.2 Examination Security
a. Scope
The NRC examiners reviewed and observed the licensee's implementation of examination security requirements during the examination validation and administration to assure compliance with 10 CFR 55.49, AIntegrity of Examinations and Tests.
@ The examiners used the guidelines provided in NUREG 1021, "Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors,@ to determine acceptability of the licensee
=s examination security activities.
b. Findings
No findings of significance were observed in the area of examination security.
44OA6 Meetings Debrief The chief examiner presented the examination team's preliminary observations and findings on August 23, 2007, to B. Hanson and other members of the Clinton Power Station Operations and Training Department staff. The examiners asked the licensee whether any of the material used to develop or administer the examination should be considered proprietary. No proprietary or sensitive information was identified during the examination or debrief meetings.
Exit Meeting The chief examiner conducted an exit meeting on September 18, 2007, with Mr. M. Helton, Clinton Power Station Initial License Training Lead, by telephone. The
NRC=s proposed disposition of the station
=s post-examination comments were disclosed and revised preliminary written examination results were provided to Mr. Helton during the telephone discussion.
ATTACHMENT:
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
KEY POINTS OF CONTACT
Licensee
- B. Hanson, Site Vice President
- F. Kearney, Plant Manager
- J. Lindsey, Training Director
- D. Shavey, Operations Director
- T. Chalmers, Shift Operations Supervisor
- A. Bailey, Operations Training Manager
NRC
- D. McNeil, Senior Operations Engineer
- B. Dickson, Senior Resident Inspector
- A. Koonce, Acting Resident Inspector
ITEMS OPENED, CLOSED, AND DISCUSSED
Opened, Closed, and Discussed
None