February 12, 2010 

MEMORANDUM TO: Frederick D. Brown, Director 

Division of Inspection and Regional Support 

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation 

FROM: John McHale, Chief /RA/ 

Operator Licensing Branch 

Division of Inspection and Regional Support 

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation 

SUBJECT: SUMMARY OF JANUARY 13, 2010, MEETING WITH INDUSTRY 

FOCUS GROUP ON OPERATOR LICENSING ISSUES 

On January 13, 2010, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff held a public 

meeting with the Industry Focus Group (FG) on operator licensing to discuss a number of 

operator licensing issues. Enclosure 1 lists the attendees at the meeting. 

This meeting was the latest in a series of meetings intended to promote efficient, effective, and 

consistent preparation and administration of initial operator licensing examinations. The 

discussions addressed issues related to simulator fidelity and testing, licensed operator medical 

conditions, licensing operators at new reactors, and other operator licensing issues. 

Enclosure 2 is the agenda for the meeting, and the discussion topics are summarized in 

Enclosure 3. 

Representatives of the NRC and the industry agreed that this meeting was useful for the 

exchange of information and agreed to continue the periodic meetings. 

Enclosures: As stated 

CONTACT: David Muller, NRR/DIRS 

 (301) 415-1412 
 

MEMORANDUM TO: Frederick D. Brown, Director 

Division of Inspection and Regional Support 

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation 

FROM: John McHale, Chief /RA/ 

Operator Licensing Branch 

Division of Inspection and Regional Support 

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation 

SUBJECT: SUMMARY OF JANUARY 13, 2010, MEETING WITH INDUSTRY 

FOCUS GROUP ON OPERATOR LICENSING ISSUES 

On January 13, 2010, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff held a public 

meeting with the Industry Focus Group (FG) on operator licensing to discuss a number of 

operator licensing issues. Enclosure 1 lists the attendees at the meeting. 

This meeting was the latest in a series of meetings intended to promote efficient, effective, and 

consistent preparation and administration of initial operator licensing examinations. The 

discussions addressed issues related to simulator fidelity and testing, licensed operator medical 

conditions, licensing operators at new reactors, and other operator licensing issues. 

Enclosure 2 is the agenda for the meeting, and the discussion topics are summarized in 

Enclosure 3. 

Representatives of the NRC and the industry agreed that this meeting was useful for the 

exchange of information and agreed to continue the periodic meetings. 

Enclosures: As stated 

CONTACT: David Muller, NRR/DIRS 

 (301) 415-1412 

DISTRIBUTION: PUBLIC IOLB/NEI & Public Meetings Folders 

BBoger FBrown MCheok JMcHale 

JMunro RPelton MWidmann TKolb 

LVick SHansell MJunge MLintz 

HPeterson MHaire SCurrie 

ADAMS Accession No. ML100330995 

OFFICE IOLB IOLB/BC 

NAME DMuller JMcHale 

DATE 02/04/10 02/12/10 

 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
 

List of Attendees - NRC / Industry Focus Group Meeting on Operator Licensing 

January 13, 2010 

Name Organization 

John (Jack) McHale NRC / HQ 

Frederick Brown NRC / HQ 

Bruce Boger NRC / HQ 

Mike Junge NRC / HQ 

David Muller NRC / HQ 

John Munro NRC / HQ 

Siegfried Guenther NRC / HQ 

Tim Kolb NRC / HQ 

Mark Lintz NRC / HQ 

Sam Hansell NRC / RI 

Malcolm Widmann NRC / RII 

Hironori (Pete) Peterson NRC / RIII 

John Butler Nuclear Energy Institute 

Kent Hamlin Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) 

Mike Llewellyn INPO 

Chuck Sizemore Florida Power and Light 

Gregg Ludlam Exelon 

Michael Petersen XCEL Energy 

Timothy Dennis ANS Standards Committee 

Paul Hippely Westinghouse 

Steve Reininghaus Entergy 

Dave Souza Dominion 

Mark Van Sicklen Progress Energy 

Harry Fetterman PPL Susquehanna 

J. R. Steely Duke Energy 

ENCLOSURE 1
ENCLOSURE 2

AGENDA FOR THE CATEGORY 2 PUBLIC MEETING WITH THE 

 INDUSTRY FOCUS GROUP (FG) ON OPERATOR LICENSING ISSUES 

 January 13, 2010; 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 

 U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

 Two White Flint North, Room 10C2 

 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852-2738 

TOPIC LEAD

Introductions and Opening Remarks NRC/FG 

Public Input Public 

Generic Issues NRC/FG 

- Simulator fidelity and testing (ANSI/ANS 3.5 and DG) 

- Operator medical issues 

 - New reactor licensing update 

Public Questions and Answers Public 

Initial Licensing Issues NRC/FG 

 - Exam projections / scheduling (RIS 2009-11) 

 - SRO-only question guidance update 

 - FY 2009 Examination results 

 - License eligibility (ACAD 09-01 revision) 

 - Making examinations public (follow-up from last meeting) 

 - Other 

Public Questions and Answers Public 

Requalification Issues NRC/FG 

- IP-71111.11 revision update 

Focus Group Issues FG 

 - Responding to applicant questions during the written exam 

 - Time limit for making E-plan classifications 

 - Timelines/milestones for NRC-developed exams 

 - NUREG-1021 errata 

Public Questions and Answers Public 

Summary / Conclusion / Action Item Review NRC/FG 
ENCLOSURE 3

DISCUSSION SUMMARY

GENERIC ISSUES 

Simulator fidelity and testing

The NRC staff informed the Focus Group (FG) that a new revision of ANSI/ANS-3.5, “Nuclear 

Power Plant Simulators for Use in Operator Training and Examination,” was published in 

September 2009. The staff further stated that a revision to Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.149, 

“Nuclear Power Plant Simulation Facilities for Use in Operator Licensing Examinations,” was 

being drafted by the staff to clarify and endorse the new revision of ANSI/ANS-3.5, and that the 

draft revision to RG 1.149 should be issued for public comments within a few months. The staff 

suggested that the NRC and the nuclear industry conduct a workshop on the new revision of 

ANSI/ANS-3.5 and the draft revision to RG 1.149 during or soon after the public comment period 

(which typically is 60 to 90 days). The workshop would serve as a means to obtain additional 

comments on the draft revision to RG 1.149, and as training on the revisions to ANSI/ANS-3.5 

and RG 1.149 for both NRC and industry personnel. Based upon this time line, the NRC staff 

stated that a revision to RG 1.149 could be finalized and issued later this year or early next year. 

The NRC staff stated that a key advantage associated with adopting the revisions to 

ANSI/ANS-3.5 and RG 1.149 would be the use of a well-defined methodology for scenario 

based testing (SBT) of simulators, thus reducing the uncertainty in the use of SBT associated 

with the 1998 version of ANSI/ANS-3.5. In addition, the staff stated that SBT appears to be a 

better way to test simulator capabilities when compared to conducting stand-alone testing, and 

that the revisions to ANSI/ANS-3.5 and RG 1.149 would also provide more details and reduce 

uncertainty in the use of the simulator for crediting reactivity manipulations for license applicants. 

The staff also voiced their strong preference to have all licensees test and maintain their 

simulators in accordance with a common set of simulator standards, as presented in the 2009 

revision to ANSI/ANS-3.5 and the upcoming revision to RG 1.149. In addition to the advantages 

associated with SBT, the staff stated that the use of a common set of simulator standards by all 

facility licensees would allow the licensees to share their experiences with and knowledge of the 

standards, and allow the NRC staff to perform simulator inspections and assess simulator 

inspection results in a much more uniform fashion. The staff believes that licensees can 

transition to the revisions of ANSI/ANS-3.5 and RG 1.149 with little or no impact to their 

simulator testing and maintenance programs. 

The FG acknowledged the information presented by the NRC staff, and the FG stated that the 

best way to ensure that facility licensees adopt the revisions to ANSI/ANS-3.5 and RG 1.149 

was for the NRC to eliminate any potential regulatory uncertainties. The FG stated that sources 

of regulatory uncertainties include the wording of the revision of RG 1.149 (and any exceptions 

the RG may take with regard to the 2009 revision of ANSI/ANS-3.5), and how the NRC would 

inspect simulators and assess simulator issues for facilities which have adopted the revisions to 

ANSI/ANS-3.5 and RG 1.149. The NRC staff stated that Inspection Procedure (IP) 71111.11, 

“Licensed Operator Requalification,” will be reviewed for any necessary changes as a result of 

the revisions to ANSI/ANS-3.5 and RG 1.149, and that during the transition to the revisions to 

ANSI/ANS-3.5 and RG 1.149, the NRC would consider enforcement discretion. With regard to 

transitioning to the revisions to ANSI/ANS-3.5 and RG 1.149, the FG postulated a range of from 

three to 18 months for a facility to complete the transition. Finally, a FG member offered to make 

a presentation regarding SBT at the NRC’s upcoming Examiner Conference.
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Operator medical issues

The NRC staff informed the FG that the NRC issued an Information Notice (IN) in September of 

2009 [IN 2009-21], which addressed several recent examples of improper or incomplete medical 

testing of licensed operators. The staff informed the FG that they have recently spent a 

considerable amount of time on licensed operator medical issues, and that the medical testing 

deficiencies described in the IN appeared to be due to shortcomings with respect to attention to 

detail. In addition, the staff informed the FG that the NRC is cognizant of the need to be 

consistent with regard to licensed operator medical issues, and that although some medical 

enforcement cases may appear to be very similar, there are differences in the details, such as 

whether or not certain medical tests were performed at all, how long have medical tests been 

missed, and/or how many licensed operators had not been properly tested. The staff also noted 

a related IN regarding licensed operator medical issues was issued in 2004 [IN 2004-20]. 

The NRC staff informed the FG that a working committee had been recently established to 

revise ANSI/ANS 3.4, “Medical Certification and Monitoring of Personnel Requiring Operator 

Licenses for Nuclear Power Plants,” and that the primary goals would be to make ANSI/ANS 3.4 

easier to use and clarify its requirements. In addition, the working committee plans to include a 

benchmarking review of the medical requirements for pilots established by the Federal Aviation 

Administration. The staff informed the FG that efforts to revise ANSI/ANS 3.4 would take 

approximately 1.5 years. 

The FG acknowledged the information presented by the NRC staff, and stated that they typically 

have little involvement with licensed operator medical issues, as these issues tend to be isolated 

to their facilities’ medical and licensing personnel. The FG further stated that missing medical 

tests appeared to be caused by a lack of knowledge or incorrect interpretations of ANSI/ANS3.4, and recommended that the NRC conduct a webcast on licensed operator medical issues, to 

include participation by appropriate NRC and industry staff, the NRC’s medical review officers, 

and the facilities’ medical review officers. The NRC staff responded that a licensed operator 

medical seminar is currently being planned and that the staff would investigate the possibility of 

webcasting the seminar. 

New reactor licensing update

NRC staff from the Office of New Reactors provided an update of new reactor operator licensing 

activities. The activities discussed included the development of knowledge and abilities catalogs 

for the new reactor types, plans and time lines for administering written examinations and 

operating tests to license applicants, and time lines for obtaining new NRC simulators and 

training NRC examiners on the new reactor types. In response to a question from the FG, the 

NRC’s new reactor staff informed the FG that operator licensing at new reactors will not be 

performed by a dedicated new reactor staff, but instead will be performed by existing NRC 

examiners with additional examiners being added to each NRC Region. 

INITIAL LICENSING ISSUES 

Examination projections

The NRC staff informed the FG that the annual Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS) regarding the 

scheduling of licensed operator examinations will be issued earlier in 2010 (May/June) when 

compared to previous years (July/August). The staff further informed the FG that although the 

RIS includes the upcoming year’s examination schedule, the RIS should not be considered as 
3 

an additional mechanism to request changes to the examination schedule as previously agreed 

upon by the NRC Regional offices. The NRC staff noted that in some instances NRC examiner 

resources are limited, and that even shifting examination schedules by one week may not be 

feasible. The staff encouraged facility licensees within a NRC Region to coordinate with each 

other with regard to examination schedule changes to better facilitate the use of available NRC 

resources. The FG acknowledged the information presented by the staff. 

SRO-only question guidance update

The NRC staff provided a brief update on the implementation of SRO-only written examination 

question guidance developed by Region II. The staff noted that Region II expended 

considerable effort in developing the SRO-only question guidance, and that comments internal 

to the NRC have been resolved and incorporated into a revision of the guidance. The staff 

further stated that in the near term, the NRC will likely post the latest revision of the SRO-only 

question guidance on the NRC Operator Licensing public website, and that the guidance will 

likely be eventually added to a new revision to NUREG-1021, “Operator Licensing Examination 

Standards for Power Reactors.” The staff re-iterated that even after posting on the web, the 

latest revision of the SRO-only question guidance was for guidance only and is not required to 

be used. The FG acknowledged the information presented by the staff, and stated that the 

SRO-only question guidance was a good tool for reducing the uncertainty associated with 

developing SRO-only questions. 

FY 2009 examination results

The staff informed the FG that the site-specific NRC initial licensing examination results for 

FY 2009 showed an upward trend in test scores, arresting the previously observed downtrend in 

scores. 

License eligibility (ACAD 09-001)

The NRC staff informed the FG that there was a meeting in November 2009 with the Institute of 

Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) regarding licensed operator eligibility and INPO’s proposed 

revision to ACAD 09-001. The senior INPO representative then indicated that the revision to 

ACAD 09-001 was undergoing final INPO concurrence, with final approval expected to occur by 

February 2010. The INPO representative further described the implementation of the revision to 

ACAD 09-001, including communications with the nuclear industry, allowing both the revision 

and current version of ACAD 09-001 to be used for eligibility during all of 2010 (transition year), 

and then retiring the current version of ACAD 09-001 in January 2011. The FG and the NRC 

staff discussed possible licensing class scenarios and which ACAD would apply, and the NRC 

staff emphasized that eligibility should not be determined by the selective use of parts of the 

current version of ACAD 09-001 and parts of the revision to ACAD 09-001, but instead eligibility 

should be determined by the use of either the current version of ACAD 09-001 in its entirety or 

the revision to ACAD 09-001 in its entirety. 

Making examinations (including GFE) public (follow-up from last meeting)

The NRC staff informed the FG that there appears to be no regulatory or legal reasons which 

would prevent delaying the public release of NRC initial licensing examinations after they have 

been administered. Although delaying the public release of examinations appears possible, the 

staff informed the FG that there were several process details that the NRC and the industry 

needs to review, including how much of a delay is acceptable, whether a delayed release would 
4 

be on a case by case basis or for all examinations, and how to accommodate applicants who 

currently receive a copy of the written examination if they fail it. In addition, the staff informed 

the FG that examinations which have not been publically released would likely be subject to 

public release if the NRC received a Freedom of Information Act request. Furthermore, the staff 

noted that even if examinations were not publically released, questions from previously 

administered NRC examinations would still be considered “bank” questions if used on future 

NRC examinations. The FG acknowledged the information presented, and informed the staff 

that in order to be useful for administering audit examinations, the public release of NRC sitespecific examinations should be delayed by two years, and the public release of NRC Generic 

Fundamentals Examinations should be delayed by six months. 

REQUALIFICATION ISSUES 

IP-71111.11 revision update

The NRC staff updated the FG on the status of revising Inspection Procedure (IP)-71111.11, 

“Licensed Operator Requalification Program.” Currently, a draft revision to IP-71111.11 has 

been reviewed internally by the NRC, the internal comments are being resolved, and potential 

changes to the IP based upon the revisions to ANSI/ANS-3.5 and RG 1.149 are being reviewed. 

The NRC staff informed the FG that a draft revision to IP-71111.11 may be completed in the first 

half of 2010, at which time the nuclear industry will have the opportunity to review the draft 

revision consistent with current NRC practices for communicating reactor oversight process 

issues. 

FOCUS GROUP ISSUES 

Responding to applicant questions during the written exam

The FG asked the NRC staff if the NRC must be contacted prior to responding to any applicant 

questions asked during the administration of the written examination. The FG further stated that 

this can cause a delay in responding to applicant questions if the NRC must always be 

contacted first, and that in at least one instance, the delay was about 30 minutes. The NRC staff 

responded that a 30 minute delay was not per expectations, and that a NRC point of contact 

should be readily available by telephone to answer any questions that might occur while the 

written examination is being administered. The staff further responded that the NRC point of 

contact for the examination should be contacted prior to making a significant examination 

change, such as whether to provide a reference or additional information, with additional 

consideration given for prior NRC contact if the NRC authored the examination. For nonsignificant examination changes or if the NRC did not author the examination, prior NRC contact 

in response to applicant questions was not necessary. However, the staff further stated that 

regardless of whether the NRC was contacted prior to making an examination change, all 

applicant questions during the examination and the response to those questions by the proctor 

(including any examination changes) must be documented and provided to the NRC after the 

examination has been administered. 

Time limit for making Emergency Plan classifications

The FG asked the NRC staff if the NRC had adopted a new time standard during examinations 

for applicants to complete Emergency Plan (E-Plan) classifications. The FG reported that until 

recently, the time standard for E-Plan classifications during examinations was always 15 

minutes, but that on some recent examinations, the time standard has been reduced, ostensibly 
5 

because the 15 minute time standard should not only include classifying the event, but also 

include completing a form and initiating the notification by telephone. The NRC staff responded 

that it had not adopted a common new time standard for E-plan classifications to be used for all 

examinations, and that any reductions to the typical 15 minute time standard have occurred on 

an exam-by-exam basis. The NRC staff further affirmed what the FG reported, that for 

examinations in which the typical 15 minute time standard for E-plan classification has been 

reduced, the reduction was based upon the fact that if a plant event actually occurred, then the 

regulatory requirements would be to not only classify the event within 15 minutes, but to also 

initiate the notification within 15 minutes. The NRC staff informed the FG that test item time 

standards used on examinations, including the time standard for E-plan classifications, should 

be determined by each facility, subject to the review of each examination’s NRC chief examiner. 

Timeline/milestones for NRC-developed exams 

The FG asked the NRC to consider facility timelines and milestones when the NRC is writing 

initial licensing examinations, so that facility licensees can review and validate the examinations 

consistent with their programs. The FG further informed the NRC staff that when facility 

licensees write examinations they start about one year before examinations are to be 

administered. The NRC staff acknowledged the information presented, and stated that in 

general, the NRC cannot start to write examinations a full year before the exam. The NRC staff 

further stated that the NRC will work with facilities to meet agreed upon timelines and 

milestones, but ultimately, when the NRC writes an examination, the NRC will meet the timelines 

and milestones contained in NUREG-1021. 

NUREG-1021 errata

The FG informed the NRC staff that it had identified some minor errors with NUREG-1021, 

Revision 9, Supplement 1, and asked whom on the NRC staff these errors could be e-mailed to. 

The NRC staff provided the FG with a point of contact. 

SUMMARY / CONCLUSION / ACTION ITEM REVIEW 

In summary, the NRC staff and attendees agreed that the meeting was useful, and that 

communications between the staff and the FG are good. A future meeting date for late summer 

or early fall of 2010 was discussed. 

Action Items

1. The NRC staff will submit for public comments a proposed revision to RG 1.149, “Nuclear 

 Power Plant Simulation Facilities for Use in Operator Licensing Examinations,” within a few 

 months. 

2. During or soon after the public comment period for the proposed revision to RG 1.149, the 

 NRC will coordinate with the nuclear industry to conduct a simulator workshop. 

3. The NRC staff will set up a medical issues seminar, possibly to be webcast, between the 

 NRC’s contracted physicians, facility medical personnel, and other interested individuals. 

4. The NRC staff will make available via the operator licensing public website the latest revision 

 of supplemental NRC guidance for developing and reviewing SRO-only written examination 

 questions. 
6 

5. The NRC staff will continue to review the process changes necessary to allow for the 

 implementation of the delayed public release of NRC site-specific and generic fundamentals 

 examinations. 

6. The NRC staff will issue for industry review revisions to IP 71111.11 and its associated 

 significance determination process document, possibly in the first half of 2010.