IR 05000454/2013301

ER 05000454-13-301, 05000455-13-301, on 04/29/2013 - 05/13/2013, Exelon Generation Company, LLC, Byron Station, Units 1 and 2, Initial License Examination Report

ML13168A595
Person / Time
Site:	Byron
Issue date:	06/17/2013
From:	Hironori Peterson Operations Branch III
To:	Pacilio M J Exelon Generation Co, Exelon Nuclear
Shared Package
ML12366A266	List: IR 05000454/2013301
References
50-454/13-301, 50-455/13-301
Download: ML13168A595 (10)

Text

June 17, 2013

Mr. Michael Senior Vice President, Exelon Generation Company, LLC President and Chief Nuclear Officer, Exelon Nuclear 4300 Winfield Road Warrenville, IL 60555

SUBJECT: BYRON STATION, UNITS 1 AND 2 NRC INITIAL LICENSE EXAMINATION REPORT 05000454/2013301; 05000455/2013301

Dear Mr. Pacilio:

On May 13, 2013, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) completed the initial operator licensing examination process for license applicants employed at your Byron Station, Units 1 and 2. The enclosed report documents the results of those examinations. Preliminary observations noted during the examination process were discussed on May 3, 2013, with Mr. R. Kearney, Byron Station Site Vice President, and other members of your staff. An exit meeting was conducted by telephone on May 14, 2013, between Mr. S. Gackstetter, Byron Station Regulatory Assurance Manager, Mr. S. Kerr, Byron Station Training Director, and Mr. D. McNeil, Senior Operations Engineer, to review the proposed final grading of the written examination for the license applicants. During the telephone conversation, it was noted that there were no post-examination comments. The NRC examiners administered an initial license examination operating test during the week of April 29, 2013, and on May 8, 2013. The written examination was administered by Byron Station Training Department personnel on May 7, 2013. Eight Senior Reactor Operators and two Reactor Operator applicants were administered license examinations. The results of the examinations were finalized on May 31, 2013. All applicants passed all sections of their respective examinations and were issued applicable operator licenses. The written examination and the proposed written examination will be withheld from public disclosure for 24 months per your request. In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter and its enclosures, and your response (if any), will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records System (PARS) component of NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room).

Sincerely,/RA/ Hironori Peterson, Chief Operations Branch Division of Reactor Safety Docket Nos. 50-454; 50-455 License Nos. NPF-37; NPF-66

Enclosures:

1. Operator Licensing Examination Report 05000454/2013301; 05000455/2013301

w/Attachment:

Supplemental Information 2. Simulation Facility Report cc w/encl: Distribution via ListServŽ Mr. Stanley Kerr, Training Manager

Enclosure 1 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REGION III Docket Nos: 05000454; 05000455 License Nos: NPF-37; NPF-66 Report No: 05000454/2013301; 05000455/2013301 Licensee: Exelon Generation Company, LLC Facility: Byron Station, Units 1 and 2 Location: Byron, IL Dates: April 29 - May 13, 2013 Inspectors: D. McNeil, Senior Operations Engineer B. Palagi, Senior Operations Engineer R. Baker, Operations Engineer Approved by: H. Peterson, Chief Operations Branch Division of Reactor Safety 1 Enclosure 1

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

ER 05000454/2013301; 05000455/2013301; 04/29/2013 - 05/13/2013; Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Byron Station, Units 1 and 2; Initial License Examination Report. The announced initial operator licensing examination was conducted by regional U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) examiners in accordance with the guidance of NUREG-1021, "Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors," Revision 9, Supplement 1. Examination Summary Ten of ten applicants passed all sections of their respective examinations. Eight applicants were issued senior operator licenses and two applicants were issued operator licenses. (Section 4OA5.1).

1

REPORT DETAILS

4OA5 Other Activities

.1 Initial Licensing Examinations

a. Examination Scope

The NRC examiners and members of the facility licensee's staff used the guidance prescribed in NUREG-1021, "Operator Licensing Examination Standards For Power Reactors," Revision 9, Supplement 1, to develop, validate, administer, and grade the written examination and operating test. Members of the facility licensee's staff prepared the outline and developed the written examination and operating test. The NRC examiners validated the proposed examination during the week of March 25, 2013, with the assistance of members of the facility licensee's staff. During the on-site validation week, the examiners audited two license applications for accuracy. The NRC examiners, with the assistance of members of the facility licensee's staff, administered the operating test, consisting of Job Performance Measures (JPMs) and dynamic simulator scenarios, during the period of April 29, 2013, through May 3, 2013, and on May 8, 2013. The facility licensee administered the written examination on May 7, 2013.

b. Findings

(1) Written Examination The NRC examiners determined that the written examination, as proposed by the licensee, was within the range of acceptability expected for a proposed examination.

Less than 20 percent of the proposed examination questions were determined to be unsatisfactory and required modification or replacement. All changes made to the proposed written examination, were made in accordance with NUREG-1021, "Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors," and documented on Form ES-401-9, "Written Examination Review Worksheet," which will be available electronically in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records component of NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS).

On May 13, 2013, the licensee submitted documentation noting that there were no post-examination comments for consideration by the NRC examiners when grading the written examination. The proposed written examination and the final as-administered examination and answer key (ADAMS Accession Number ML13148A356) will be available in 24 months electronically in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records component of NRC's ADAMS.

The NRC examiners graded the written examination on May 13, 2013, and conducted a review of each missed question to determine the accuracy and validity of the examination questions. (1) Operating Test The NRC examiners determined that the operating test, as originally proposed by the licensee, was within the range of acceptability expected for a proposed examination.

During the validation of the operating test, one Job Performance Measure (JPM) was replaced and the Spare Scenario was selected for use in the place of Scenario No. 1.

The JPM was replaced because the validation time exceeded one hour. After discussions with the operations representative, it was decided the JPM did not conform with the requirements of Form ES-301-3, Step 2.a, 4th bullet, and was replaced. Scenario No. 1 was replaced because its validation time was excessive, taking nearly two hours to complete. After discussions with the operations representative, it was decided the scenario did not conform with the requirements of Form ES-301-4, Item 6, as the scenario's timing of events was excessive. Changes made to the operating test, are in a document titled, "Operating Test Comments." The Operating Test Comments and the final as-administered dynamic simulator scenarios and JPMs, are available electronically in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records component of NRC's ADAMS. The NRC examiners completed operating test grading on May 16, 2013.

(2) Examination Results Eight applicants at the Senior Reactor Operator (SRO) level and two applicants at the Reactor Operator (RO) level were administered written examinations and operating tests. All applicants passed all portions of their examinations and were issued their respective operating licenses on May 31, 2013.

.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 Title 10 CFR 55.49, "Integrity 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

On May 2, 2013, an NRC examiner erroneously handed a procedure sheet to an applicant for a JPM scheduled to be completed on May 3, 2013. The examiner incorrectly proceeded to administer the JPM, as well as the second control room JPM scheduled to be administered on May 3, 2013. Upon completion of the two JPMs, the applicant was briefed and placed on a security agreement. Subsequently, the same two JPMs were administered to the remaining applicants on May 3, 2013. On May 3, 2013, it was determined that this was not in conformance with the requirements of NUREG-1021, Section D.1.f, which states that "The same simulator scenarios and Job Performance Measures (JPMs) shall not be repeated during subsequent days." Two new JPMs were selected to replace the exposed JPMs. The new JPMs were validated and administered to those applicants that performed control room JPMs on May 3, 2013. The replacement JPMs were administered on May 8, 2013. Because the exposed JPMs were replaced and other JPMs were administered in place of the exposed JPMs, no compromise of the examination integrity occurred.

4OA6 Management Meetings

.2 Exit Meeting The Chief Examiner conducted an exit meeting on May 14, 2013, with Mr. S. Gackstetter, Byron Station Regulatory Assurance Manager, and Mr. S. Kerr,

Byron Station Training Director, per telecon. During the exit meeting, it was noted that there were no post-examination comments. The examiner 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/exit meetings. ATTACHMENT:

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION KEY POINTS OF CONTACT Licensee

R. Kearney, Site Vice President

S. Briggs, Operations Director

M. Coffman, ILT Lead

S. Gackstetter, Regulatory Assurance Manager

D. Gudger, Regulatory Assurance Manager

B. Hochstetter, Exam Author

S. Kerr, Training Director

M. McCue, Operations Training Manager

E. Topping, NOS Manager

R. Williams, SOS

B. Youman, Plant Manager NRC

J. Robbins, Resident Inspector

D. McNeil, Chief Examiner

B. Palagi, Examiner

R. Baker, Examiner ITEMS OPENED, CLOSED, AND DISCUSSED Opened, Closed and Discussed None. LIST OF ACRONYMS USED ADAMS Agencywide Document Access and Management System CFR Code of Federal Regulations

DRS Division of Reactor Safety

JPM Job Performance Measure NRC U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission RO Reactor Operator SRO Senior Reactor Operator

SIMULATION FACILITY REPORT Facility Licensee: Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Byron Station, Units 1 and 2 Facility Docket Nos: 50-454; 50-455 Operating Tests Administered: April 29, 2013 - May 3, 2013 The following documents observations made by the NRC examination team during the initial operator license examination. These observations do not constitute audit or inspection findings

and are not, without further verification and review, indicative of non-compliance with

CFR 55.45(b). These observations do not affect NRC certification or approval of the simulation facility other than to provide information, which may be, used in future evaluations. No licensee action is required in response to these observations. During the conduct of the simulator portion of the operating tests, the following items were observed: ITEM DESCRIPTION None

M. Pacilio -2- In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's "Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter and its enclosures, and your response (if any), will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records System (PARS) component of NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public Electronic Reading Room). Sincerely, /RA/ Hironori Peterson, Chief Operations Branch Division of Reactor Safety Docket Nos. 50-454; 50-455 License Nos. NPF-37; NPF-66 Enclosures: 1. Operator Licensing Examination Report 05000454/2013301; 05000455/2013301 w/Attachment: Supplemental Information 2. Simulation Facility Report cc w/encl: Distribution via ListServŽ Mr. Stanley Kerr, Training Manager