January 10, 1996
Ms. Shirley Jackson, Chairman
USNRC
Washington, DC 20555
Dear Ms. Jackson:
As a retired Nuclear Engineer, I was pleased to read your responses in the Nuclear News interview (Nov 96), especially those pertaining to emphasis on safety and on the NRC mandate to protect the public.
In 1989, and again in 1991, I brought a very serious safety issue to the attention of the NRC. On both occasions, my concern was turned aside. The issue was the poor quality of Reactor Operator ClassRoom fundamentals training in the important subject area of reactor behavior. This particular ClassRoom topic, more than any other in the curriculum, most directly relates to, and is most vital to, Reactor Operator performance in the Control Room.
Both the Kemeny Commission at Three Mile Island and Soviet experts at Chernobyl identified lack of Reactor Operator understanding of the reactor as a major cause of these accidents. In the U.S., this deficiency continues to survive to this day ... big time. As an example, the principal equation of reactor behavior, the reactor rate equation, has been erroneously defined on Equation Sheets supplied to students taking the NRC License exam.
And, contrary to Mr. Thomas E. Murley's misguided response to an earlier letter, it is not at all "a matter of detail". Even overlooking several glaring omissions in the treatment of the subject, nearly all of the important basic concepts being taught are incorrect. Further, these wrong concepts are cast in concrete by none other than the NRC Exam Bank. And then, to make a bad situation even worse, most trainers teach "to pass the exam". This is perhaps the only educational system in the world that requires the student to give incorrect answers in order to pass. It is certainly not the way to provide the basic understanding that Reactor Operators need, and deserve. It is time that this matter be given your highest attention and be rectified.
Please do not take the above comments as an attack by a nuclear critic. Since first raising this serious matter, it has never been other than as a positive contribution and help to our nuclear program. I remain available to discuss this issue with you or members of your staff.
Sincerely yours,
Robert G. Stater