Information Notice No. 88-91: Improper Administration and Control of Psychological Tests
UNITED STATES
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555
November 22, 1988
Information Notice No. 88-91: IMPROPER ADMINISTRATION AND CONTROL OF
PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS
Addressees:
All holders of operating licenses or construction permits for nuclear power
reactors and all fuel cycle facility licensees who possess, use, import,
export, or transport formula quantities of strategic special nuclear material.
Purpose:
This information notice is being provided to alert addressees to identified
weaknesses in the administration and control of psychological tests used in
personnel screening programs. It is expected that recipients will review the
information for applicability to their programs, including their contractor
programs, and will consider actions, as appropriate, to avoid similar
problems. However, suggestions contained in this information notice do not
constitute NRC requirements; therefore, no specific action or written response
is required.
Description of Circumstances:
Recently there have been a number of reported incidents involving improper
administration and control of psychological tests used to assist licensees in
determining acceptability of candidates for unescorted access into pro-tected
areas (PAs) and vital areas (VAs) of nuclear facilities.
One incident involved a licensee who administered a modified version of a
psychological test. The licensee's modified test contained only 414 of 566
questions required for the complete test. When the licensee evaluated the
modified test results, after adding an appropriate correction factor to ac-
count for grading questions that were not used in the modified test, an error
rate of nearly 10 percent was found.
In other cases, individuals were allowed to take onsite tests unproctored or
were allowed to take the tests home to complete. To date, 148 contractor
employees have been retested as a result of identified unproctored tests. One
hundred of these individuals had already been granted unescorted access to PAs
and VAs. At least 49 of the 100 individuals required follow-up interviews
with a psychologist. Employment for 2 of the 49 individuals was subsequently
terminated.
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Discussion:
Requirements concerning psychological determinations for nuclear facility
security personnel are indicated in 10 CFR Part 73, Appendix B. Although no
regulations specifically require employee screening at nuclear power plants,
NRC published a statement in the Federal Register (42 FR 10836) on February
24, 1977, recommending that "....applicants and licensees continue to use the
employee screening guidance from the American National Standard, ANSI N18.17,
'Industrial Security for Nuclear Power Plants'." General expectations
concerning the psychological testing of nuclear facility personnel are also
published in ANSI/ANS 3.3-1982 and in Nuclear Management and Resources Council
(NUMARC) Industry Guidelines For Nuclear Power Plant Access Authorization
Programs. It is important that licensees choose measurement techniques and
instruments that are highly reliable (i.e., produce consistent results) and
valid (i.e., measure what they purport to measure). NUREG/CR-2075, "Standards
for Psychological Assessment of Nuclear Facility Personnel," provides
standards and criteria for assessing emotional instability as well as a
description and analysis of some psychological testing methods and advances in
the state of the art. Licensees are required to meet their commitments
relating to psychological testing as specified in their license conditions.
As indicated by the examples above, valid results cannot be assured from
psychological tests unless these tests are properly administered. It is
important that recipients of this notice review their security screening
programs, and those of their contractors, to ensure proper administration and
control of test materials and testing environments. Some of the actions taken
by licensees in response to improper administration and control of
psychological tests include retesting in a controlled environment and
suspension of unescorted access to PAs and VAs pending evaluation of
retesting.
Failure to ensure reliable and valid measurement techniques and instruments
could compromise nuclear safety. Enforcement action has been taken in recent
events in which a licensee failed to meet security program plan commitments
regarding administration of psychological tests.
No specific action or written response is required by this information notice.
If you have any questions about this matter, please contact the technical
contact listed below or the Regional Administrator of the appropriate regional
office.
Charles E. Rossi, Director
Division of Operational Events Assessment
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Technical Contact: Nancy E. Ervin, NRR
(301) 492-0946
Attachment: List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices
. Attachment
IN 88-91
November 22, 1988
Page 1 of 1
LIST OF RECENTLY ISSUED
NRC INFORMATION NOTICES
_____________________________________________________________________________
Information Date of
Notice No._____Subject_______________________Issuance_______Issued to________
88-90 Unauthorized Removal of 11/22/88 All NRC licensees
Industrial Nuclear Gauges authorized to
possess, use,
manufacture, or
distribute
industrial nuclear
gauges.
88-89 Degradation of Kapton 11/21/88 All holders of OLs
Electrical Insulation or CPs for nuclear
power reactors.
88-88 Degradation of Westinghouse 11/16/88 All holders of OLs
ARD Relays or CPs for nuclear
power reactors.
88-87 Pump Wear and Foreign 11/16/88 All holders of OLs
Objects in Plant Piping or CPs for nuclear
Systems power reactors.
86-106, Feedwater Line Break 11/10/88 All holders of OLs
Supp. 3 or CPs for nuclear
power reactors.
88-86 Operating with Multiple 10/21/88 All holders of OLs
Grounds in Direct Current or CPs for nuclear
Distribution Systems power reactors.
88-85 Broken Retaining Block 10/14/88 All holders of OLs
Studs on Anchor Darling or CPs for nuclear
Check Valves power reactors.
88-84 Defective Motor Shaft 10/20/88 All holders of OLs
Keys in Limitorque Motor or CPs for nuclear
Actuators power reactors.
88-83 Inadequate Testing of Relay 10/19/88 All holders of OLs
Contacts in Safety-Related or CPs for nuclear
Logic Systems power reactors.
88-82 Torus Shells with Corrosion 10/14/88 All holders of OLs
and Degraded Coatings in or CPs for BWRs.
BWR Containments
_____________________________________________________________________________
OL = Operating License
CP = Construction Permit
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