1. NRC Operator Examination Panel Presentation Johnny Eads Paul Doyle Patrick Isaac Phillip Young

2. 2 Major Program Changes in 2007 NUREG-1478 “Operator Licensing Examiner Standards for RTRs,” Rev. 2 June 2007 New Licensing Assistant – Carol Hart

3. 3 NUREG-1478 Revision 2 Changes General Changes Removed organizational names Moved portions of document to better aid in flow of document ES-102 –Applicable Regulations and Publications Removed reference to Power Reactor documents – (i.e. ANSI/ANS Standards and Regulatory Guides)

4. 4 NUREG-1478 Revision 2 Changes (cont’d) ES-201 –Pre-Examination Activities Modified issuance of corporate notification letter from 120 days prior to examination to 90 days prior to examination. Deleted requirement for submission of “Draft or Preliminary” applications 30 days prior to examination.

5. 5 NUREG-1478 Revision 2 Changes (cont’d) ES-202 –Eligibility Requirements and Guidelines Deleted reference to submitting preliminary license applications 30 days before examination start date. Added discussion of requirement for SRO-Upgrade eligibility – six months experience at facility. ES-204 –Reviewing License Renewal Applications Moved procedures for reviewing license renewal applications from ES-601N and ES602N to this new standard.

6. 6 NUREG-1478 Revision 2 Changes (cont’d) ES-301 –Preparation of Operating Tests MAJOR CHANGES –Split Research & Test Reactors (RTRs) into three groups with respect to operator licensing examinations: »Complex – License power greater than or equal to 2 MW(t) »Moderate – License power less than 2 MW(t) »Simple – AGNs

7. 7 NUREG-1478 Revision 2 Changes (cont’d) ES-301 (Continued) Category B: –Combined Category B’s two sections (B.1) Control Room Systems and (B.2) Facility Walkthrough to Facility Walkthrough (B) Category C: –Added two new definitions for scenario evolutions: »Reactivity Manipulations (R) »Major Transients with entry into the Emergency Plan (MT/E)

8. 8 NUREG-1478 Revision 2 Changes (cont’d) ES-301 (Continued) Category C: (Continued) –Modified RO and SRO competency summaries, to better reflect those necessary and able to be tested, for operators at RTRs –Revised Operating Test Systems Table to better reflect systems at RTRs. –Modified scope of examination administered based on facility type

9. 9 NUREG-1478 Revision 2 Changes (cont’d) ES-302 –Administration of Operating Tests Modified examination administration requirements to reflect different facility types. ES-303 –Grading Operating Tests Revised the Competency Review Worksheets: –To better reflect items important to reactor operators and senior reactor operators at RTRs, and, –To reflect items able to be examined at a RTRs.

10. 10 NUREG-1478 Revision 2 Changes (cont’d) ES-401 –Preparation of Written Examinations Changed written examination requirements based on facility types introduced in ES-301 ES-701, -702, -703, -704 –Senior Reactor Operator Limited to Fuel Handling Examinations A new set of standards covering examination activities related to administration of SRO limited to fuel handling examinations at permanently shutdown research reactors.

11. 11 Major Issues in 2007 Medical Examination Standards Participation in Requalification Program

12. 12 Medical Examination Standards 10 CFR 55.23 states: “To certify the medical fitness of the applicant, an authorized representative of the facility licensee shall complete and sign NRC Form 396,…” (a) Form NRC-396 must certify that a physician has conducted the medical examination of the applicant as required in 10 CFR 55.21 (b) When the certification requests a conditional license based on medical evidence, the medical evidence must be submitted on NRC Form 396 to the Commission and the Commission then makes a determination in accordance with 10 CFR 55.33

13. 13 NRC Form 396

14. 14 Medical Examination Standards

15. 15 Other Medical Examination Concerns License Conditions Lately we have noticed a few forms where the need for corrective lenses has not been checked, but when checking with the facility the applicant DID require corrective lenses.

16. 16 Participation in Requalification Program Per 10 CFR 55.59, every facility licensee is required to have a requalification program Although some of the requirements may be relaxed for RTRs, some may not. NOTSome of those requirements that may NOT be relaxed are: –The requalification program shall be conducted for a continuous period not to exceed 24 months in duration (new program begins as old ends) may –Additional training. If a licensed operator does not successfully complete a requalification program or does not pass either the comprehensive written examination or the annual operating test, the Commission may require the licensee to complete additional training and to submit evidence to the Commission of successful completion of this training before returning to licensed duties.

17. 17 FY 2008 Examination Schedule Based on survey responses from facilities, the following is the preliminary 2008 Operator License Examination Schedule The schedule is subject to change and we appreciate facility input on the schedule

18. Week ofFacilityCandidatesExam TypeChief Examiner 10/08/07GE1 ROInitialP. Doyle 11/05/07Texas A&M1 RO / 1 SROUInitialP. Isaac 12/03/07U. Mo. Rolla1 SROIInitialP. Young 12/03/07MURR1 RO / 4SROUInitialP. Young 12/xx/07Kansas St6 RO / 1 SROIInitialP. Doyle 12/10/07Rhode Island1 RORetakeP. Isaac 02/xx08U. TexasInitialP. Young 02/xx08U. Florida1 RO / 1 SROIInitialP. Isaac 03/10/07USGS2 ROInitialP. Young 03/15/08U. Wisconsin4-6 RO / 1 SROUInitialP. Doyle 04/xx/08U. New Mexico3-5 ROInitialP. Isaac 05/05/08Reed College12-15 RO / 8-10 SROUInitialP. Doyle 05/17/08NC State5-ROInitialP. Young 05/xx/08RPI1 SROIInitialP. Isaac 06/xx/08Washington St7 RO / 1 SROUInitialP. Doyle 06/xx/08Oregon StInitialP. Doyle 06/xx/08Penn St2-3 ROInitialP. Isaac 07/xx/08Idaho St3-5 ROInitialP. Young 07/xx/08Texas A&M1-2 RO / 1 SROUInitialP. Isaac 08/xx/08U. Mo. Rolla2 ROInitialP. Doyle 08/xx/08MURR4-6 RO / 1 SROIInitialP. Doyle 08/xx/08U. Maryland2 RO / 1 SROUInitialP. Isaac 09/02/08MIT8 RO/SROInitialP. Young 09/xx/08U. Mass Lowell2 RO / 1 SROUInitialP. Doyle

19. 19 Community Feedback We are here to listen to your feedback Where can we improve our performance or processes? Other concerns or comments?