Information Notice 1991-08, Medical Examinations for Licensed Operators

Medical Examinations for Licensed Operators
	ML031190668
Person / Time
Site:	Beaver Valley, Millstone, Hatch, Monticello, Calvert Cliffs, Dresden, Davis Besse, Peach Bottom, Browns Ferry, Salem, Oconee, Mcguire, Nine Mile Point, Palisades, Palo Verde, Perry, Indian Point, Fermi, Kewaunee, Catawba, Harris, Wolf Creek, Saint Lucie, Point Beach, Oyster Creek, Watts Bar, Hope Creek, Grand Gulf, Cooper, Sequoyah, Byron, Pilgrim, Arkansas Nuclear, Three Mile Island, Braidwood, Susquehanna, Summer, Prairie Island, Columbia, Seabrook, Brunswick, Surry, Limerick, North Anna, Turkey Point, River Bend, Vermont Yankee, Crystal River, Haddam Neck, Ginna, Diablo Canyon, Callaway, Vogtle, Waterford, Duane Arnold, Farley, Robinson, Clinton, South Texas, San Onofre, Cook, Comanche Peak, Yankee Rowe, Maine Yankee, Quad Cities, Humboldt Bay, La Crosse, Big Rock Point, Rancho Seco, Zion, Midland, Bellefonte, Fort Calhoun, FitzPatrick, McGuire, LaSalle, Fort Saint Vrain, Shoreham, Satsop, Trojan, Atlantic Nuclear Power Plant
Issue date:	02/05/1991
From:	Rossi C; Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:	;
References
	IN-91-008, NUDOCS 9101300033
	Download: ML031190668 (8)
	v • d • e

UNITED STATES

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555 February 5, 1991 NRC INFORMATION NOTICE NO. 91-08: MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS FOR LICENSED OPERATORS

Addressees

All holders of operating licenses or construction permits for nuclear power, test and research reactors.

Purpose

~-- This information notice is intended to alert addressees to recent problems

identified in the administration and documentation of medical examinations for

licensed operators and operator license applicants. It is expected that

recipients will review the information for applicability to their facilities

and consider actions, as appropriate, to avoid similar problems. However, suggestions contained in this information notice do not constitute NRC require- ments; therefore, no specific action or written response is required.

Description of Circumstances

During recent inspections at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station and the

Trojan Nuclear Plant, the staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

identified concerns regarding the administration and certification of medical

examinations for licensed operators and operator license applicants. The NRC

staff reviewed the facility licensees' documentation and determined that the

licensees' examining physicians had in several instances not performed some of

the tests specified by American Nuclear Society Standard ANSI/ANS 3.4-1983 to

meet the NRC's requirements for operator medical qualifications (e.g., standard

urinalysis, electrocardiogram, depth perception, and stamina tests). In other

cases, operators were performing licensed duties with disqualifying medical

conditions without the licensee having provided NRC notification as required by

Section 55.25 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR). The

inspections also indicated that some medical examinations were not performed

within the required 2-year period resulting in some operators performing

licensed duties without having a current medical examination. When those

operators with incomplete or lapsed medical examinations were examined, several

were determined to have medically disqualifying conditions.

The inspection findings indicate that these facility licensees had provided

insufficient management guidance or oversight to the examining physicians to

ensure complete, accurate, and timely medical examinations. Both facility

licensees had attested on the Certificates of Medical Examination (Form

9101300033 A* 7= > / ? // Z

. .

IN 91-08 February 5, 1991 NRC-396) submitted with their applications for operator licenses that the

guidance contained in ANSI/ANS 3.4-1983 was followed, when in fact it was not.

Discussion:

10 CFR 55.21 requires each applicant for an operator license to have a medical

examination by a physician as a precondition for licensing and every two years

thereafter. The physician must determine that the licensed operator or license

applicant meets the requirements of 10 CFR 55.33(a)(1), such that the appli- cant's licensed operator's] medical condition and general health will not

adversely affect the performance of the assigned operator duties or cause

operational errors endangering public health and safety. The facility licensee

must certify the license applicant's medical fitness by submitting Form

NRC-396, "Certification of Medical Examination by Facility Licensee," in

accordance with 1o CFR 55.31(a)(6) or 55.57(a)(6), for initial and 6-year

license renewal applications, respectively.

Form NRC-396 specifically identifies American Nuclear Society Standard ANSI/ANS

3.4-1983, "Medical Certification and Monitoring of Personnel Requiring Operator

Licenses for Nuclear Power Plants," or ANSI/ANS-15.4-1977(N380), "Selection and

Training of Personnel for Research Reactors," as the criterion to be used for

the medical examination of individuals applying for initial or renewal

licenses. Regulatory Guide1.13-4 "Medical-Evaluation of LicenseiLPersonnel

for Nuclear Power Plants," endorses ANSI/ANS 3.4-1983 as an acceptable method

for determining that the medical condition and general health of nuclear

operators will not cause operational errors and for determining whether an

applicant or operator has an abnormal health condition that could result in

disqualification.

If, during the term of a license, an operator's medical condition changes and

no longer meets the standards set forth in ANSI/ANS 3.4-1983 or ANSI/ANS-

15.4-1977(N380), as certified to the NRC with the individual's license applica- tion, then the facility licensee must notify the Commission pursuant to 10 CFR

55.25 within 30 days of learning of the diagnosis. If the examining physician

indicates that the condition can be accommodated as noted in Section 5.1 of

ANSI/ANS 3.4-1983, then an authorized representative of the facility licensee

may request a conditional license by submitting Form NRC-396 with the support- ing medical evidence for NRC evaluation. The facility licensee may return the

operator to licensed duties before obtaining the NRC's permission, provided the

examining physician, using the guidance in ANSI/ANS 3.4-1983 or

ANSI/ANS-15.4-1977(N380), has recommended to the facility's management that the

operator can return to duty. This recommendation of medical qualification must

be documented and retained for future NRC inspection.

The NRC's regulations do not require Form NRC-396, which invokes the medical

examination criteria established in ANSI/ANS 3.4-1983 or

ANSI/ANS-15.4-1977(N380), to document an operator's medical condition and

general health during the second and fourth years after the initial or renewal

license is issued. However, the facility licensee must continue to conduct

those biennial medical examinations in accordance with the ANSI Standard to

detect any changes in the operator's medical condition. The facility licensee

is responsible, pursuant to 10 CFR 55.27, to document and maintain the results

IN 91-08 February 5, 1991 of medical qualifications data, test results, and the medical history of each

operator and senior operator for the current license period and to provide the

documentation to the Commission upon request.

It is important to note that the deficiencies identified during NRC inspections

and described herein may provide some insight into the adequacy of addressees'

medical examination programs for licensed operators and license applicants.

The NRC is concerned that some facility programs may not be receiving suffi- cient management oversight to ensure that all license applicants and licensed

operators are medically qualified to safely perform their assigned operator

duties. The NRC cautions facility licensees to ensure the completeness and

accuracy of the medical examinations performed by their physicians prior to

certifying the fitness of their license applicants to the NRC on Form 396.

This information notice requires no specific action or written response. If

you have any questions about the information in this notice, please contact one

of the technical contacts listed below or the appropriate NRR project manager.

e t Charles E. Rossi, rector

Division of Operational Events Assessment

-Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical Contacts: D. J. Lange, NRR R. M. Gallo, NRR L. F. Miller, RV

(301) 492-3171 (301) 492-1031 (415) 943-3869 T. A. Peebles, RII G. C. Wright, RIII J. L. Pellet, RIV

(404) 331-5541 (708) 790-5695 (817) 680-8159 L. Bettenhausen, RI

(215) 337-5291 Attachment: List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices

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Attachment 1 Or- IN 91-08

-'0 February 5, 1991 Ca n MC :I

0 a LIST OF RECENTLY ISSUED

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(A I Z Om_ NRC INFORMATION NOTICES

Information Date of

rn rn Q2 Notice No. Subject Issuance Issued to

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ic'm (

90-77, Inadvertent Removal of Fuel 02/04/91 All holders of OLs or

rUn Supp. I Assemblies from the Reactor Core CPs for pressurized- rn water reactors (PWRs).

0

91-07 Maintenance Deficiency Assoc- 02/04/91 All holders of OLs or

Zo iated with General Electric CPs for nuclear power

Horizontal Custom 8000 reactors.

Induction Motors

91-06 Lock-up of Emergency Diesel 01/31/91 All holders of OLs or

Generator and Load Sequencer CPs for ruclear power

Control Circuits Preventing reactors.

Restart of Tripped Emergency

Diesel Generator

91-05 Intergranular Stress Corrosion 01/30/91 All holders of OLs or

Cracking in Pressurized Water CPs for pressurized

Reactor Safety Injection water reactors (PWRs).

Accumulator Nozzles

91-04 Reactor Scram Following Control 01/28/91 All holders of OLs or

Rod Withdrawal Associated with CPs for nuclear power

Low Power Turbine Testing reactors.

91-03 Management of Wastes Contaminated 01/07/91 All medical licensees.

with Radioactive Materials ("Red

Bag' Waste and Ordinary Trash)

(

91-02 Brachytherapy Source Management 01/07/91 All Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC)medi- cal licensees author- ized to use byproduct

material for medical

purposes.

91-01 Supplier of Misrepresented 01/04/91 All holders of OLs or

Resistors CPs for nuclear power

reactors.

0.

OL - Operating License

CP* Construction Permit

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