[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 164 (Wednesday, August 25, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52313-52314]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-19403]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Revision 9 of NUREG-1021, ``Operator Licensing Examination 
Standards for Power Reactors;'' Notice of Availability

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued Revision 9 
of NUREG-1021, ``Operator Licensing Examination Standards for Power 
Reactors,'' which provides policy and guidance for the development, 
administration, and grading of written examinations and operating tests 
used to determine the qualifications of individuals who apply for 
reactor operator (RO) and senior reactor operator (SRO) licenses at 
nuclear power plants pursuant to the Commission's regulations in 10 CFR 
part 55, ``Operators' Licenses.'' NUREG-1021 also provides guidance for 
verifying the continued qualifications of licensed operators when the 
staff determines that NRC requalification examinations are necessary.
    NUREG-1021 has been revised to implement a number of clarifications 
and enhancements that have been identified since Revision 8, Supplement 
1, was published in April 2001. A draft of Revision 9 was issued for 
comment and voluntary trial use on February 3, 2003 (68 FR 5312), and 
seven responses were received during the comment period, which closed 
on December 31, 2003. The public comments and recommendations, as well 
as others that were provided by the NRC regional offices and staff, are 
available for review via the NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room 
(http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html) and in the NRC's Public 
Document Room located at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland; the 
Accession Number for the comment summary is ML041240004.

[[Page 52314]]

    Revision 9 includes a number of changes that the NRC staff believes 
will maintain operational safety and public confidence, while reducing 
the regulatory burden on facility licensees and improving efficiency: 
notably, the RO written examination has been shortened from 100 to 75 
questions, the design of the 100-question SRO written examination has 
been clarified and simplified, the administrative and systems portions 
of the walk-through operating test have been combined and 
reapportioned, and the grading criteria for the simulator operating 
test have been clarified to enhance consistency. A number of additional 
changes have been made to address questions raised since Revision 8, 
Supplement 1, was issued and to conform with other regulatory 
activities. The changes in Revision 9 are outlined in the Executive 
Summary, and the new or revised text is identified with vertical lines 
in the margins.
    Revision 9 will become effective for operator licensing 
examinations that are administered 180 or more days after the date of 
this notice, or at an earlier date agreed upon by the facility licensee 
and its NRC Regional Office. After the effective date, facility 
licensees that elect to prepare their examinations will be expected do 
so based on the guidance in Revision 9 of NUREG-1021, unless the NRC 
has reviewed and approved the facility licensee's alternative 
examination procedures.
    Copies of Revision 9 are being mailed to the plant or site manager 
at each nuclear power facility regulated by the NRC. A copy is 
available for inspection and/or copying for a fee in the NRC's Public 
Document Room, located at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. 
NUREG-1021 is also available for downloading from the NRC's Web site 
(http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1021/). 
If you do not have electronic access to NRC documents, you may request 
a single copy of Revision 9 by writing to the Office of the Chief 
Information Officer, Reproduction and Distribution Services Section, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001 
(facsimile: 301-512-2289). Telephone requests cannot be accommodated. 
NUREG documents are not copyrighted, and Commission approval is not 
required to reproduce them.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 18th day of August 2004.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
David C. Trimble,
Chief, Operator Licensing and Human Performance Section, Reactor 
Operations Branch, Division of Inspection Program Management, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 04-19403 Filed 8-24-04; 8:45 am]
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