November 12, 1996
Ms. Shirley Jackson, Chairman
USNRC
Washington, DC 20555
Dear Ms. Jackson:
In 1989 I appeared before the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safety to express concern about the poor quality of Reactor Operator ClassRoom fundamentals training, particularly in the important subject area of reactor behavior. For whatever reason, this distinguished committee chose not to pursue the issue. It is now seven years later and nothing much has changed, except that hundreds more Reactor Operators now hold licenses based on training material filled with error, misinformation, incorrect equations, flawed graphics, false concepts, and mangled theory.
My letter dated January 10, 1996, brought this matter to your attention. Subsequently, the Operator Licensing Branch contacted me and we have been communicating, sporadically, since that time. They have been responsive and I believe are honestly trying to address the issues raised. My latest detailed submittals to Stuart A. Richards concerning a small sampling of erroneous items in the INPO Generic Fundamentals Catalog and to a litany of error in an important supporting reference are dated October 23 and October 25, respectively.
However, to date, progress is minuscule, much much too slow, based on the magnitude of the problem facing us. The nuclear industry would greatly benefit from your direct intervention to formalize a program of corrective action with an agency recognized mandate and priority status.
In the event that you are burdened with other immovable priorities, with limited resources, or with lack the in-house expertise, I am willing to assist, or provide consultation, toward resolution of this entire situation. If the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the nuclear industry truly strive for excellence, as I believe to be the case, then this matter, being at the heart of Reactor Operator licensing, urgently begs your personal attention.
Sincerely yours,
Robert G. Stater