Press Release-09-119, NRC Issues Safety Evaluation Report for Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant License Renewal Application

Press Release-09-119: NRC Issues Safety Evaluation Report for Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant License Renewal Application

ML091811127
Person / Time
Site:	Three Mile Island
Issue date:	06/30/2009
From:	Office of Public Affairs
To:
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Press Release-09-119
Download: ML091811127 (2)

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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: http://www.nrc.gov No.09-119 June 30, 2009 NRC ISSUES FINAL SAFETY EVALUATION REPORT FOR THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR PLANT LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has issued its final safety evaluation report (SER) for the proposed renewal of the operating license for the Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1 (TMI-1), located in Middletown, Pa. The report concluded that there are no open items that would preclude license renewal for an additional 20 years of operation.

The Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1 is a pressurized-water reactor located 10 miles southeast of Harrisburg, Pa. The current operating license expires April 19, 2014. Exelon Generation Group, LLC, owner and operator (formerly Amergen Energy Company, LLC.),

submitted an application to the NRC on Jan. 8, 2008, to extend the TMI-1 license by 20 years.

Under NRC regulations, the original operating license for a nuclear power plant has a term of 40 years. The license may be renewed for up to an additional 20 years if NRC requirements are met.

Therefore if approved, the current operating license for TMI-1, which expires on April 19, 2014, would be extended until 2034.

The SER documents the results of the NRC staffs review of the license renewal application and site audits of plants aging management programs to address the safety of plant operations during the period of extended operation. Overall, the results show that the applicant has identified actions that have been or will be taken to manage the effects of aging in the appropriate safety systems, structures and components of the plant and that their functions will be maintained during the period of extended operation.

The NRCs independent Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) will evaluate the SER and make its recommendation before the agency makes a final decision on the renewal of the license. The ACRS will hold a meeting that is open to public participation. The meetings will take place at NRC Headquarters in Rockville, Md. on Sept. 10. The meeting will be announced on the agencys Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/public-meetings/index.cfm. Afterwards, the ACRS will issue a report discussing the results of its review.

A copy of the SER will be available in the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management Systems (ADAMS) under accession number ML091660470. ADAMS is accessible via the agencys Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Help in using ADAMS is available by contacting the NRCs Public Document Room at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at pdr.resource@nrc.gov.

Documents related to TMI-1 are also located at the following locations: the Middletown Public Library, 20 North Catherine Street in Middletown; the Penn State Harrisburg Library, 351 Olmsted Drive in Middletown; and the Londonderry Township Municipal Building, 783 South Geyers Church Road in Middletown.

Additional information concerning license renewal in general and the TMI-1 application in particular can be found at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/license-renewal-bg.html and http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal.html respectively.

News releases are available through a free listserv subscription at the following Web address:

http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC homepage at www.nrc.gov also offers a SUBSCRIBE link. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web site.