IR 05000498/2005301
| ML060130337 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | South Texas  |
| Issue date: | 01/12/2006 |
| From: | Gody A Operations Branch IV |
| To: | Sheppard J South Texas |
| References | |
| 50-498/05-301, 50-499/05-301 | |
| Download: ML060130337 (10) | |
Text
January 12, 2006James J. Sheppard, President and Chief Executive Officer STP Nuclear Operating Company
P.O. Box 289 Wadsworth, TX 77483SUBJECT:SOUTH TEXAS PROJECT, UNITS 1 AND 2 -
NRC EXAMINATIONREPORT 05000498/2005301; 05000499/2005301
Dear Mr. Sheppard:
On November 18, 2005, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) completed an initialoperator licensing examination at the South Texas Project, Units 1 and 2. The enclosed reportdocuments the examination findings, which were discussed on November 18, 2005, with Mr. James Mertink, Operations Manager, and other members of your staff.
The examination included an evaluation of 3 applicants for operator licenses and 9 applicants for a senior operator license. The written and operating examinations were developed using NUREG-1021, "Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors," Revision 9. The license examiners determined that all 12 applicants satisfied the requirements of10 CFR Part 55, and the appropriate licenses have been issued.No findings of significance were identified.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter andits enclosure will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public DocumentRoom or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's document system(ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).
Sincerely,
/RA/Anthony T. Gody, ChiefOperations Branch Division of Reactor SafetyDockets: 50-498; 50-499Licenses: NPF-76; NPF-80 STP Nuclear Operating Company-2-E. D. HalpinVice President, Oversight STP Nuclear Operating Company
P.O. Box 289 Wadsworth, TX 77483S. M. Head, Manager, LicensingSTP Nuclear Operating Company P.O. Box 289, Mail Code: N5014 Wadsworth, TX 77483C. Kirksey/C. M. CanadyCity of Austin Electric Utility Department721 Barton Springs Road Austin, TX 78704J. J. Nesrsta/R. K. TempleCity Public Service Board P.O. Box 1771 San Antonio, TX 78296Jack A. Fusco/Michael A. ReedTexas Genco, LP 12301 Kurland Drive Houston, TX 77034Jon C. WoodCox Smith Matthews 112 E. Pecan, Suite 1800 San Antonio, TX 78205A. H. Gutterman, Esq.Morgan, Lewis & Bockius 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20004INPORecords Center 700 Galleria Parkway Atlanta, GA 30339-3064Director, Division of Compliance & InspectionBureau of Radiation Control Texas Department of State Health Services 1100 West 49th Street Austin, TX 78756 STP Nuclear Operating Company-3-Brian AlmonPublic Utility Commission William B. Travis Building P.O. Box 13326 1701 North Congress Avenue Austin, TX 78701-3326Environmental and Natural Resources Policy Director P.O. Box 12428 Austin, TX 78711-3189Judge, Matagorda CountyMatagorda County Courthouse 1700 Seventh Street Bay City, TX 77414Terry Parks, Chief InspectorTexas Department of Licensing and Regulation Boiler Program P.O. Box 12157 Austin, TX 78711Susan M. JablonskiOffice of Permitting, Remediation and Registration Texas Commission on Environmental Quality MC-122, P.O. Box 13087 Austin, TX 78711-3087Ted Enos4200 South Hulen Suite 630 Fort Worth, TX 76109 STP Nuclear Operating Company-4-Electronic distribution by RIV:Regional Administrator (BSM1)DRP Director (ATH)DRS Director (DDC)DRS Deputy Director (RJC1)Senior Resident Inspector (JXC2)Branch Chief, DRP/A (CEJ1)Senior Project Engineer, DRP/A (TRF)Team Leader, DRP/TSS (RLN1)RITS Coordinator (KEG)DRS STA (DAP)J. Dixon-Herrity, OEDO RIV Coordinator (JLD)ROPreports STP Site Secretary (LAR)SUNSI Review Completed: ___Y_____ ADAMS:
- Yes G No Initials: ______
- Publicly Available G Non-Publicly Available G Sensitive
- Non-SensitiveSOE:OBSOE:OBOE:OBRI:PBAC:OBC:PBAC:OBMEMurphy/lmbPCGageSMGarchowASanchezATGodyCEJohnsonATGody
/RA//RA//RA//RA//RA//RA//RA/
1/10/061/9/061/10/061/10/061/11/061/12/061/12/06OFFICIAL RECORD COPY T=Telephone E=E-mail F=Fax Enclosure-1-ENCLOSUREU.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REGION IV Dockets.:50-498; 50-499 License:NPF-76; NPF-80 Report No.:50-498/2005-301; 50-499/2005-301 Licensee:South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Company Facility:South Texas Project Electric Generating StationLocation:FM 521 - 8 miles west of WadsworthWadsworth, Texas 77483Dates:November 14-18, 2005 Inspectors:Michael Murphy , Senior Operations Engineer, Operations BranchPaul Gage, Senior Operations Engineer, Operations BranchSteve Garchow, Operations Engineer, Operations Branch Alfred Sanchez, Resident Inspector, Projects Branch AAccompanyingPersonnel:B. Larson, Operations Engineer, Operations BranchApproved By:Anthony T. Gody, Chief Operations Branch Division of Reactor Safety Enclosure-2-SUMMARY OF FINDINGSER 05000498/2005-301; 05000499/2005-301 on 11/14-18/2005; South Texas Project, initialoperator licensing examination.NRC examiners evaluated the competency of three applicants for operator licenses and nineapplicants for a senior operator license. The NRC developed the written examination and thelicensee developed the operating examination using NUREG-1021, "Operator LicensingExamination Standards for Power Reactors," Revision 9. The licensee provided proctors for the administration of the written examination to all applicants on November 11, 2005, in accordancewith instructions provided by the chief examiner. The NRC examiners administered theoperating test on November 14-18, 2005. A.NRC-Identified and Self-Revealing FingingsNo findings of significance were identified. B.Licensee-Identified ViolationsNo findings of significance were identified.
Enclosure-1-REPORT DETAILS4.OTHER ACTIVITIES 4OA4Initial License Examination.1Operator Knowledge and Performance a.Examination ScopeThe NRC examination team administered the operating test to the 12 applicants onNovember 14-18, 2005. The reactor operator applicants participated in two dynamic simulator scenarios, a control room and facilities walkthrough test consisting of11 system tasks, and an administrative test consisting of 1 task in each of four areas. The 5 senior operator applicants seeking an instant license participated in two dynamic simulator scenarios, a control room and facilities walkthrough test consisting of10 system tasks, and an administrative test consisting of one task in each of five areas. The 4 senior operator applicants seeking an upgrade license participated in one dynamic simulator scenario, a control room and facilities walkthrough consisting of5 system tasks, and an administrative test consisting of 1 task in each of five areas.On November 11, 2005, the licensee proctored the administration of the writtenexaminations to all 12 applicants and forwarded the proposed grades together with the performance analysis to the NRC for approval. b.FindingsTwelve applicants passed all parts of the examinations. For the written examinations,the average score for all applicants was 90.0 percent. The applicant scores ranged from 84.0 to 95.0 percent. The SRO applicant average scores were 89.7 percent, and the RO applicant average scores were 91.1 percent.The licensee conducted a performance analysis for the written examinations withemphasis on four questions missed by half or more of the applicants. After reviewing the licensee's analysis, the examiners agreed with the licensee's conclusions that one question had more than one correct answer. The recommended change had no impact of changing a passing grade to a failure or a failing grade to passing.The licensee's recommendation and the NRC response follow:Senior Operator Question 94The licensee recommended that both Answers A and D be accepted as correct. Thestem of the question asked where the minimum fire brigade staffing was defined. The original correct answer was "A - the Technical Requirements Manual (TRM)." The licensee proposed that Answer D - The Conduct of Operations Manual was also correct.
They provided a copy of page 36 of the Conduct of Operations Manual, which states under Shift Manning that the "minimum shift manning requirement . . . is . . . 5 fire brigade members. . . ."
Enclosure-2-NRC Response: The NRC examiners agreed with the licensee's conclusion thatQuestion 94 had more than one correct answer. The answer key was corrected. All remaining questions were valid and no trainingdeficiencies were identified..2Initial Licensing Examination DevelopmentThe NRC developed the written and the licensee developed the operating test inaccordance with NUREG-1021, Revision 9. Licensee facility training and operationsstaff involved in examination development were on a security agreement..2.1Operating Examination Outline and Examination Package a.Examination ScopeThe licensee staff submitted the operating examination outlines on June 20, 2005. Thechief examiner reviewed the submittal against the requirements of NUREG-1021,Revision 9. The draft operating examination package was received by the NRC onOctober 3, 2005. Examiners reviewed the examination against the requirements ofNUREG-1021, Revision 9, and provided comments to the licensee on October 11, 2005. The chief examiner conducted an onsite validation of the examinations and provided further comments during the week of October 24, 2005. b.FindingsExaminers approved the initial operating examination outline with minor comments andadvised the licensee to proceed with the operating examination development. The chief examiner determined that the operating examination initially submitted by thelicensee staff was within the range of acceptability expected for a proposedexamination.No findings of significance were identified..2.2Simulation Facility Performance a.ScopeThe examination team observed simulator performance with regard to plant fidelityduring the examination validation and administration. b.FindingsNo findings of significance were identified.
Enclosure-3-2.3Examination Security a.ScopeThe examiners reviewed examination security both during the onsite preparation andexamination administration weeks. Written plans for simulator security and applicant control were reviewed and discussed with licensee personnel. In addition, the chief examiner sampled historical records of the applicants to verify the accuracy of data on their license applications, in accordance with Examiner Standard 202.C.2.e of NUREG-1021, Revision 9. b.FindingsNo findings of significance were identified.4OA6Meetings, Including ExitOn November 18, 2005, the examiners presented the examination results to Mr. JamesMertink and other members of your staff who acknowledged the findings. The inspectors confirmed that proprietary information was not provided or reviewed during the examination process.
Attachment-1-ATTACHMENTKEY POINTS OF CONTACTLicensee personnelJ. Calvert, Operations Training ManagerA. Culver, Operations Training Instructor M. DeFrees, Operations Training Supervisor J. Mertink, Operations Manager R. Savage, Licensing Engineering Specialist