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Information Notice No. 94-14, Supplement 1: Failure to Implement Requirements for Biennial

Medical Examinations and Notification to the NRC of Changes in Licensed Operator Medical

Conditions

 UNITED STATES

 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

 OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION

 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001

 April 14, 1997

NRC INFORMATION NOTICE 94-14, SUPPLEMENT 1: FAILURE TO IMPLEMENT 

 REQUIREMENTS FOR BIENNIAL 

 MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS AND 

 NOTIFICATION TO THE NRC OF 

 CHANGES IN LICENSED OPERATOR 

 MEDICAL CONDITIONS

Addressees

All holders of operating licenses or construction permits for nuclear power

and non-power reactors and all licensed reactor operators and senior reactor

operators.

Purpose

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing this information

notice to remind addressees to notify the NRC of changes in a licensed

operator's physical or mental condition, as determined by a physician, that

cause the operator to fail to meet the medical requirements of Part 55,

"Operators' Licenses," of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR

Part 55). It is expected that recipients will review the information for

applicability to their facilities and consider actions, as appropriate, to

ensure proper reporting. However, suggestions contained in this information

notice are not NRC requirements; therefore, no specific action or written

response is required.

Background

On February 24, 1994, Information Notice (IN) 94-14, "Failure To Implement

Requirements for Biennial Medical Examinations and Notification to the NRC of

Changes in Licensed Operator Medical Conditions," was issued. The information

notice was issued to alert addressees to recent problems associated with (1)

ensuring the restrictions or limitations or an operator's license were

followed and (2) reporting changes in an operator's medical condition. 

Included in the information notice were examples of facility licensees that

failed to identify or report when the eyesight of licensed operators did not

meet the medical standards described in American National Standards

Institute/American Nuclear Society (ANSI/ANS) 3.4-1983, "Medical Certification

and Monitoring of Personnel Requiring Operator Licenses for Nuclear Power

Plants." 

9704140018. IN 94-14, Supp. 1

 April 14, 1997

 Page 2 of 2

Discussion

Subsequent to the issuance of IN 94-14, a 1996 audit of licensed operator

medical conditions revealed an unexpectedly low number of license conditions

associated with hypertension or high blood pressure for operators licensed by

the Region II office in Atlanta, Georgia. Followup inspections at the

Brunswick, Catawba, Summer, Vogtle, and Watts Bar nuclear 

plants and telephone discussions with the staffs of the Surry, North Anna,

Oconee, and McGuire plants, revealed that some medical staffs were not aware

that hypertension above the standards of ANSI/ANS-3.4, even if controlled by

medication or diet and monitored by the facility physician, must be reported

to the NRC in accordance with 10 CFR 55.25 for evaluation and, if appropriate,

a license amendment. In 10 CFR 55.25, the requirements specify that the NRC

be notified when a licensed operator's medical condition no longer meets the

original licensing standard and that an appropriate certification form be

submitted if the facility licensee is requesting a conditional license to

accommodate the change in the operator's physical or mental condition. 

Subsequent to the above inspections, Region II received amendment requests to

place hypertension-related compensating requirements on 35 operator licenses,

as well as requests for license restrictions for 12 other types of medical

conditions, as compared to only one such request in 1995. NRC IN 91-08,

"Medical Examination for Licensed Operators" (issued February 5, 1991),

provides additional information on this subject. 

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This information notice reminds facility licensees that whenever a licensed

operator fails to meet any of the medical standards delineated in the

ANSI/ANS-3.4 version the facility has committed to, it should be reported to

the appropriate regional office on NRC Form 396, "Certification of Medical

Examination by Facility Licensee," for review. This submittal will include a

copy of all supporting medical information and recommended wording for the

conditional license to be issued to the affected operator.

This information notice requires no specific action or written response. If

you have any questions about this notice, please call one of the technical

contacts listed below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

(NRR) project manager. 

 signed by M.M. Slosson

 Thomas T. Martin, Director

 Division of Reactor Program Management

 Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical contacts: Donald J. Florek, RI John L. Pellet, RIV

 (610) 337-5185 (817) 860-8159

 E-mail: djf1@nrc.gov E-mail: jlp@nrc.gov

 Thomas A. Peebles, RII Stuart A. Richards, NRR

 (404) 331-5541 (301) 415-1031

 E-mail: tap@nrc.gov E-mail: sar@nrc.gov

 Dell R. McNeil, RIII

 (630) 829-9737

 E-mail: drm1@nrc.gov

Page Last Reviewed/Updated Friday, May 22, 2015

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