The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday outlined the latest opportunity for regulatory exemptions for licensees during the COVID-19 pandemic, this one for on-the-job training for security personnel.
Expedited reviews of exemption requests are being offered for several subsections in the NRC regulations on licensee security personnel, according to an NRC letter Monday to three nuclear industry executives.
These include requirements that: prior to assignment, security personnel tasked with carrying out a site’s safeguards contingency plan finish no less than 40 hours of on-the-job training, as documented by a supervisor; that armed security personnel undergo periodic medical examination by a licensed physician; and that all shift security personnel who support implementation of safeguards contingency and licensee protection participate in one tactical response drill and one force-on-force drill each quarter.
The exemptions cover active nuclear power plants and sites being decommissioned, along with spent-fuel storage pads, the NRC said. Requests would be considered on a case-by-case basis, with exemptions lasting 90 days after the end of the federal public health emergency or the last day of 2020, whichever occurs first.
No requests had been filed by Tuesday afternoon, an NRC spokesman said.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has offered a series of exemptions to help licensees maintain operations during the pandemic while limiting the potential spread of the novel coronavirus 2019. Notably, the agency is allowing nuclear power plant operators to exceed the regulatory limits on work hours. It had approved at least six requests for a break on work-hour rules as of Tuesday afternoon, most recently at Exelon’s Braidwood Generating Station in Illinois.
