Nuclear Regulatory Commission Letter

February 13, 1996

Mr. Robert G. Stater
105 Pashley Road
Scotia, New York 12302

Dear Mr. Stater:

This letter acknowledges

receipt of your letter dated January 10, 1996 to Chairman Jackson,

which was further discussed during a telephone

call between Mr. Stuart Richards and other members of the

NRC staff and yourself on January 30, 1996. Based on your

letter and the subsequent telephone

discussion, our understanding of your

concerns is as follows:

Training by the nuclear industry in the area of reactor behavior is of poor quality. These concerns were previously summarized to the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards on December 12, 1989. Your concerns focus largely on equations used to define reactor behavior being incorrect.

Questions administered by the NRC in the Generic Fundamentals Examination are incorrect. Facilities incorrectly train students in order to pass the examination. During the January 30, 1996 telephone discussion, you agreed to forward to the NRC the specific questions, and your explanation of why each question is incorrect.

If the above summary of your concerns is

incorrect, please contact Stuart A. Richards within

two weeks at 1-800-368-5642. Resolution of these issues

has been assigned to the Operator Licensing Branch. Upon

completion of our review, we will inform you in

writing of the results.

For your information, the following

is a discussion of our routine procedures for handling issues

such as those you raised. Although you are not a confidential

source unless a written confidentiality agreement has been issued, it is the policy of the NRC to take all reasonable

efforts to prevent disclosure Of your identity to any

individuals or other organizations outside the NRC unless (a) you indicate

no objection to being identified, (b) disclosure is

necessary to ensure public health and safety,

inform Congress or State or Federal

agencies in furtherance of NRC responsibilities

under law or public trust, or (c) you have

taken actions that are inconsistent with NRC

protection of your identity. If we determine

that an investigation of wrongdoing

matters (including harassment and intimidation) should be

conducted, it may be necessary to disclose your identity.

If a request is filed under the

Freedom of Information Act related to your area of concern, the

information provided will, as allowed by that

Act, be purged of your name and other

potential identifiers.

If you have any

questions or additional information

concerning the above, please do not hesitate

to contact us. Thank you for bringing these

issues to our attention.