Simulator Training (Category-A Reactors Only) cont'd

DOE-HDBK-1115-98

assess the accident diagnostic ability of the STA. Periodically, STAs should attend simulator

training with licensed operators and perform their STA functions. Simulator training should

address the following areas:

Conduct of normal operations

Diagnosis of and response to abnormal or emergency conditions in the nuclear system

and balance-of-plant systems

Diagnosis of and response to emergency conditions that challenge the engineered

safety features, such as

control of reactivity

maintenance of reactor coolant system integrity

assurance of adequate core cooling and decay heat removal

maintenance of containment integrity.

Simulator exercises should be conducted from a variety of operating conditions. This should

include the following modes and transitions between these modes:

Power operations

Startup

Hot standby

Hot shutdown

Cold shutdown.

Simulator exercises should address events of various severity and complexity initiated by

events such as natural disasters, fires, or toxic gases, human error, and instrument or

equipment failure. Based on significant events at operating facilities in recent years, some

exercises should include multiple failures that provide opportunities to assess the ability of the

STA to deal with complex situations and establish priorities for corrective action.

Simulator training should be structured to reflect an actual facility operating environment and to

apply the theory and fundamentals presented in lecture and discussion sessions to actual

facility situations. In-house and industry operating experiences should provide examples of

initiating events, event sequences, and lessons learned that need to be used when developing

scenarios. A sufficient number of scenarios should be developed initially, and new scenarios

should be added periodically so that the STAs are presented with varying situations to

diagnose. Repeated use of the same scenario causes STAs to make conditioned responses

rather than making a true diagnosis of the event. Additionally, enough scenarios should be

developed so tasks are exercised under different facility modes.