Initial Licensed Operator Examination Requirements

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations to allow nuclear power facility licensees to prepare, proctor, and grade the required written examinations and to prepare the required operating tests that the NRC uses to evaluate the competence of individuals applying for operator licenses at those plants. The amendment requires facility licensees that elect to prepare the examinations to prepare the examinations in accordance with NRC operator licensing examination standards for power reactors; establish, implement, and maintain procedures to control examination security and integrity; submit, upon approval by an authorized representative of the facility licensee, each examination and test to the NRC for review and approval; and proctor and grade the written examinations upon NRC approval. In making this final rule change, the NRC will continue to administer (i.e., manage and oversee) the initial operator licensing examination process by: Developing the generic fundamentals examinations (which are also proctored by facility licensees); reviewing and approving the facility-developed, site-specific written examinations and operating tests; and independently conducting and grading both the dynamic simulator and walk-through portions of the operating test, which is considered the most performance-based aspect of the licensing process and permits the NRC to evaluate the operator and senior operator applicants' competence under normal and abnormal plant conditions. The amendment preserves the NRC's authority to prepare the examinations and tests in lieu of licensees and to exercise its discretion and reject a power reactor facility licensee's determination to prepare, proctor, and grade the written examinations and prepare the operating tests. The Commission is concerned with examination integrity; therefore, the amendment will also revise the regulations to ensure that applicants, licensees, and facility licensees understand the scope of the regulatio