Press Release-13-013, NRC Issues Annual Assessments for Nations Nuclear Plants
| ML13067A228 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 03/08/2013 |
| From: | Office of Public Affairs |
| To: | |
| Category:Press Release | |
| References | |
| Press Release-13-013 | |
| Download: ML13067A228 (2) | |
Text
NRC ISSUES ANNUAL ASSESSMENTS FOR NATIONS NUCLEAR PLANTS The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued annual assessment letters to the nations 104 operating commercial nuclear power plants regarding their performance in 2012. As of the end of December, 99 plants were in the two highest performance categories.
These assessment letters are an annual report card on the performance of the nations nuclear power plants, said Ho Nieh, director of the Division of Inspection and Regional Support in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. We ensure nuclear power plants are safe, inspecting them and rating their performance regularly, as part of our mission to protect people and the environment.
Of the 99 highest-performing reactors, 81 fully met all safety and security performance objectives and were inspected by the NRC using the normal inspection program. Eighteen reactors were assessed as needing to resolve one or two items of low safety significance. For this performance level, regulatory oversight includes additional inspection and attention to follow up on corrective actions.
These plants requiring additional inspection are: Beaver Valley 1 and 2 (Pa.); Browns Ferry 2 and 3 (Ala.); Catawba 1 (S.C.); Davis Besse (Ohio); Fermi 2 (Mich.); Fitzpatrick (N.Y.);
Harris (N.C.); Nine Mile Point 1 (N.Y.); Point Beach 1 and 2 (Wis.); Prairie Island 2 (Minn.);
River Bend (La.); San Onofre 2 and 3 (Calif.); Seabrook (N.H.) and Susquehanna 1 (Pa.).
(Susquehanna 1 and River Bend Station have resolved their issues since the reporting period ended and have transitioned to the highest performing level.)
Three nuclear reactors were in the third performance category with a degraded level of performance. For this category, regulatory oversight includes more NRC inspections, senior management attention and oversight focused on the cause of the degraded performance. These plants were Columbia Generating Station (Wash.), Perry 1 (Ohio), and Wolf Creek (Kans.).
One reactor, Browns Ferry 1 in Alabama, is in the fourth performance category and requires increased oversight because of a safety finding of high significance, which will include additional inspections to confirm the plants performance issues are being addressed.
NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 E-mail: opa.resource@nrc.gov Site: www.nrc.gov Blog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov No.13-013 March 7, 2013
The Fort Calhoun plant in Nebraska is in an extended shutdown with significant performance issues and is currently under a special NRC oversight program distinct from the normal performance levels. Therefore, the plant will not receive an annual assessment letter.
Since the end of the 2012 reporting period, Duke Energy announced its intention to decommission its Crystal River 3 plant in Florida. Duke certified that intention to the NRC on Feb. 20. This brings the number of operating commercial nuclear power reactors in the United States to 103.
Later this spring and summer, the NRC will host a public meeting or other event in the vicinity of each plant to discuss the details of the annual assessment results. A separate announcement will be issued prior to each public assessment meeting. In addition to the annual assessment letters, plants also receive an NRC inspection plan for the coming year.
The NRC routinely updates information on each plants current performance and posts that information to the action matrix summary as it becomes available. The annual assessment letters sent to each operating reactor licensee are also available through the NRCs webpage on the Reactor Oversight Process. Annual construction assessments for new reactors at the Vogtle and Summer sites and at Watts Bar 2 are also on the NRC website.
News releases are available through a free Listserv subscription or by clicking on the EMAIL UPDATES link on the NRC homepage (www.nrc.gov). E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's website. For the latest news, follow the NRC on www.twitter.com/NRCgov.