IR 05000298/2006301
| ML063240288 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Cooper  |
| Issue date: | 11/17/2006 |
| From: | Nease R Operations Branch IV |
| To: | Edington R Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) |
| References | |
| IR-06-301 | |
| Download: ML063240288 (11) | |
Text
November 17, 2006Randall K. Edington, Vice President-Nuclear and CNO Nebraska Public Power District P.O. Box 98 Brownville, NE 68321SUBJECT:Cooper Nuclear Station - NRC EXAMINATION REPORT 05000298/2006301
Dear Mr. Edington:
On October 6, 2006, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) completed an examinationat your Cooper Nuclear Station. The enclosed report documents the examination findings, which were discussed on October 6, 2006, with you and other members of your staff.The examination included an evaluation of 6 applicants for operator licenses and 7 applicantsfor senior operator licenses. The license examiners determined that 12 of the 13 applicants satisfied the requirements of 10 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 letterand its enclosure will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC PublicDocument Room 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/Rebecca L. Nease, ChiefOperations Branch Division of Reactor SafetyDocket: 50-298License: DPR-46 Nebraska Public Power District-2-
Enclosure:
Examination Report 05000298/2006301 w/Attachment - Supplemental Information
REGION IV Docket:50-298License:DPR 46 Report No.:05000298/2006-301 Licensee:Nebraska Public Power District Facility:Cooper Nuclear Station Location:P.O. Box 98 Brownville, Nebraska Dates:September 29 - October 6, 2006 Inspectors:T. McKernon, Senior Operations EngineerS. Garchow, Operations Engineer B. Tindell, Operations Engineer (UI)
B. Palagi, Senior Operations Engineer, RIIIApproved By:Rebecca L. Nease, ChiefOperations Branch Division of Reactor Safety Enclosure-2-
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
IR 05000298/2006301 on October 6, 2006; Cooper Nuclear Station, Initial operator licensingexamination.NRC examiners evaluated the competency of six applicants for operator licenses and sevenapplicants for senior operator licenses. The licensee and the NRC developed the written examination and the operating examination using NUREG-1021, "Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors," Revision 9. The licensee proctored the written examination on September 29, 2006. The NRC examiners administered the operating examination on October 2-6, 2006.No findings of significance were identified.
Enclosure-3-
REPORT DETAILS
4OA5Initial Operator License Examination.1License ApplicationsExamination ScopeThe licensee submitted 13 applications and 3 of the applications were audited. Thechief examiner audited the sampling of the applicants personnel records to verify their qualifications and requirements for taking the initial operator licensing examination.FindingsNo findings of significance were identified.
.2 Operator Knowledge and Performance
a. Examination Scope
The NRC examination team administered the operating examinations to 13 applicantson October 2-6, 2006. The 6 operator applicants and 3 instant senior operator applicants participated in 2 dynamic simulator scenarios, a control room and facilities walkthrough examination consisting of 10 or 11 job performance measures, and an administrative examination consisting of 4 or 5 job performance measures. The 4 senior operator upgrades participated in 1 dynamic simulator scenario, a control room and facilities walkthrough examination consisting of 5 job performance measures, and an administrative examination consisting of 5 job performance measures.On September 29, 2006, the licensee proctored the administration of the writtenexamination to all 13 applicants with copies of the answer sheets provided to the NRC on October 11, 2006.
b. Findings
Twelve of the 13 applicants passed all parts of the examinations. One applicant failedthe operating examination. The average score for the operator applicants was 89.4 percent and the average score for the senior operator applicants was 88.7 percent.
The operator applicant scores ranged from 84.0 to 94.7 percent. The senior operator applicant scores ranged from 85.0 to 94.0 percent.The licensee conducted a performance analysis for the written examinations with anemphasis on questions missed by one-half or greater of the applicants on each examination. This analysis determined that the answer key was incorrect for one question (No. 70) on the combined reactor operator and senior reactor operator examination. Upon subsequent review, the chief examiner agreed with this analysis and corrected the answer key. Additionally, two questions (Nos. 52 and 80) were edited
-4-during the proctoring of the written examination to clarify errors not detected duringvalidation. These edits were announced to the entire group taking the examination.The Final Reference Written Examination and Examination Analysis including postexamination comments may be accessed 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 ReadingRoom). The material is in the NRC's document control system ADAMS under accession numbers ML062890364 and ML062890358, respectively..3Initial Licensing Examination DevelopmentThe written examination was developed by the licensee in accordance withNUREG-1021, "Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power Reactors,"
Revision 9. The written examination was validated by currently licensed operators and the NRC, and recommended changes were implemented. The operating examination was developed as a cooperative effort between the NRC and the licensee's training staff. The operating examination was also validated by currently licensed operators.
Licensee facility training and operations staff involved in examination development and/or validation were on a security agreement..3.1Operating Examination Outline and Examination Package
a. Examination Scope
The licensee staff completed the operating test outlines on August 21, 2006. Theoutlines were reviewed against the requirements of NUREG-1021, Revision 9, by the NRC staff and licensee with few comments. The chief examiner conducted an onsite validation of the examinations and provided comments on September 15, 2006. These comments were incorporated into the examinations.
b. Findings
No findings of significance were identified..3.2Simulator Facility Performance
a. Scope
The examination team observed simulator performance with regard to plant fidelityduring the examination validation and administration.
b. Findings
No findings of significance were identified.
-5-.3.3Examination Security
a. Scope
The examiners reviewed examination security both during the onsite preparation andexamination administration weeks with respect to NUREG-1021 requirements. Plans for simulator security and applicant control were reviewed and discussed with licensee personnel. The chief examiner also audited a 10 percent sampling of the applicants personnel records to verify their qualifications and requirements for taking the initial operator licensing examination.
b. Findings
No findings of significance were identified.4OA6Meetings, Including ExitOn October 6, 2006, the examiners presented examination results to Mr. RandallEdington and other members of his staff. The examiners confirmed that proprietary information was not provided or examined during the examination process.ATTACHMENT:
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
AttachmentA-1SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATIONKEY POINTS OF CONTACT
Licensee personnel
- M. Barton, Licensed Operator Instructor
- B. Bement, Visiting Vice President
- J. Boyd, Program Coordinator, Initial License Training
- K. Chambliss, Operations Manager
- J. Dedic, Operations Training Supervisor
- T. Donovan, Assistant Training Manager
- R. Edington, Vice-President Nuclear, Chief Nuclear Officer
- E. McCutchen, Senior Licensing Engineer
- S. Minahan, General Manager Plant Operations
- J. Roberts, Director, Nuclear Safety Assurance
- T. Slenker, Operations Supervisor
- D. Tune, Superintendent - Operations Training
- D. Vandercamp, Licensing Supervisor
- J. Waid, Training Manager
- D. Werner, Operations Training Supervisor - Requalification
NRCNick Taylor, Resident Inspector