Press Release-III-06-025, NRC to Discuss 2005 Performance Assessment for Quad Cities Nuclear Power Plant

Press Release-III-06-025: NRC to Discuss 2005 Performance Assessment for Quad Cities Nuclear Power Plant

ML061630092
Person / Time
Site:	Quad Cities
Issue date:	06/12/2006
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region II
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-III-06-025
Download: ML061630092 (2)

Text

NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 2443 Warrenville Road Lisle IL 60532 Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov No. III-06-025 June 12, 2006 CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 NRC TO DISCUSS 2005 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT FOR QUAD CITIES NUCLEAR POWER PLANT The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Exelon Generation Co. on Wednesday, June 14, to discuss the agencys assessment of safety performance for last year at the Quad Cities Nuclear Power Plant. The plant is located near Cordova, Ill.

The meeting, which is open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at Best Western Steeplegate Inn, 100 West 76th Street, in Davenport, Iowa. The NRC will respond to questions or comments from the public before the close of the meeting.

The NRC continually reviews the performance of the Quad Cities plant and the nations other commercial nuclear power facilities, NRC Region III Administrator James Caldwell said. This meeting will provide an opportunity for a discussion of our annual assessment of safety performance with the company and with local officials and residents who live near the plant. Our goal is to explain the NRC oversight process and make as much information as possible available to the public regarding our regulation of these facilities.

A letter sent from the NRC Region III Office to plant officials addresses the performance of the plant during the period and will serve as the basis for the meetings discussion. It is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/quad_2005q4.pdf .

The NRCs assessment concluded that the Quad Cities plant operated safely during the period.

The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess nuclear plant performance. The colors start with green and then increase to white, yellow or red, commensurate with the safety significance of the issues involved.

All of the inspection findings and performance indicators for Quad Cities during 2005 were determined to be green.

However, the assessment also states that equipment degradation related to extended power upgrade continues to be a major issue. As a result, in addition to normal, baseline inspections, the NRC will continue to monitor and review this issue in 2006.

Routine inspections are performed by two NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and by inspection specialists from the Region III Office in Lisle, Ill. Among the areas of plant operations

to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are access control to radiologically significant areas, fire protection, emergency preparedness exercise evaluation, alert and notification system testing, and identification and resolution of problems.

Current performance information for Quad Cities is available on the NRCs web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/QUAD1/quad1_chart.html and http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/QUAD2/quad2_chart.html .