Qualifications of Reactor Operators - License Examinations (Generic Letter 81-40)
UNITED STATES
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555
December 16, 1981
ALL POWER REACTOR LICENSEES, APPLICANTS FOR OPERATING LICENSE, NSSS VENDORS,
REACTOR VENDORS AND ARCHITECT ENGINEERS
Gentlemen:
Subject: Qualifications of Reactor Operators - License Examinations
(Generic Letter 81-40)
In letters dated September 13, 1979 and March 28, 1980, we informed you of
proposed recommendations and revised criteria to be used by the staff in
evaluating reactor operator training and licensing. We also informed you
that Commission review was continuing in this area and could be expected to
result in additional criteria.
As part of our effort, we have conducted an in-depth review of the
examination process, including the scope and format of the examination. The
review has resulted in several changes to our internal procedures and a
revised operator and senior operator written examination.
Both examinations will consist of five categories and have a six-hour time
limit imposed. The weight given to theory is reduced from 38% in the
operator written and 56% in the senior operator written, to about 25% in
each. Consequently, the examination becomes less of a writing marathon than
at present. Enclosure 1 presents the scope of the new examinations and how
they relate to the current examinations.
In addition to the above, the senior operator written examination is
restructured so that a senior operator need not take the operator written
portion. Senior operator candidates who elect to sit only for this written
examination will not be considered for an operator's license should they
fail this examination.
We hope to initiate the administration of the new examinations early in
1982. However, we believe that it is essential to receive public comments
prior to implementation. In particular, we would welcome comments on how
best to schedule the implementation of this program so as to minimize
disruption of ongoing training programs and staffing plans for pending
operating license applicants. Also, we believe it is essential to have some
type of controlled experiment to assure that the proposed examination will
result in well-qualified licensed individuals. We welcome any suggestions
regarding these experiments. We have scheduled an all-day meeting at the
Holiday Inn, 8200 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, Md. on January 6, 1982 at 9:00
am.
We plan a one-hour presentation and question/answer session. This will be
followed by small roundtable discussions involving OLB examiners and
industry, vendor, and members of the public to assure complete understanding
of our approach and answer additional questions and address individual
concerns. We urge you to have representation of your training department at
this meeting.
8112220187
.
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Mr. Paul F. Collins, Chief, Operator Licensing Branch, will conduct the
meeting. Mr. Collins can be reached on (301)492-4868 if you require
additional information.
Sincerely,
Darrell G. Eisenhut, Director
Division of Licensing
Enclosure:
Revised examinations
paper
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