Press Release-I-04-014, NRC to Discuss Annual Performance Assessment of Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant

Press Release-I-04-014: NRC to Discuss Annual Performance Assessment of Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant

ML040830332
Person / Time
Site:	Calvert Cliffs
Issue date:	03/23/2004
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region I
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-I-04-014
Download: ML040830332 (2)

Text

NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region I 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406 www.nrc.gov No. I-04-014 March 23, 2004 CONTACT: Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 Email: opa1@nrc.gov Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331 NRC TO DISCUSS ANNUAL PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT OF CALVERT CLIFFS NUCLEAR POWER PLANT Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Constellation Generation Group, LLC, on Tuesday, March 30, to discuss the results of the agencys annual assessment of safety performance at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant. The twin-reactor facility, which is owned and operated by Constellation Generation, is located in Lusby, Md.

The meeting, which will be open to the public for observation, is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express, 355 Merrimac Court in Price Frederick, Md. Before the session is adjourned, NRC staff will be available to answer questions from the public on the plants safety performance, as well as the role of the NRC in ensuring safe operation of the facility.

The performance period to be discussed is January 1 to December 31, 2003. In addition, NRC staff will provide a brief overview of how the agencys Reactor Oversight Process works.

A letter sent from the NRC Region I Office to plant officials addresses the performance of the plant during the period and will serve as the basis for the meeting discussion. It is available on the NRC web site at:

www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/calv_2003q4.pdf .

Overall, the Calvert Cliffs plant operated safely and met all cornerstone objectives during the period. (Cornerstones are measures of plant performance.) Therefore, at this time the NRC plans to conduct only baseline inspections at the site through September 30, 2005.

The plant did have two white inspection findings, or findings of low to moderate safety significance, during the first three quarters of the assessment period. The findings were common to both units at the site. One of the findings was associated with the improper preparation of a package of radioactive materials for shipment. The second one involved the inability to actuate the off-site alert and notification system in a timely manner. Through

supplemental inspections conducted in December 2002 and January 2003, the NRC was able to determine that the corrective actions taken by Constellation Generation to resolve the issues and prevent a recurrence were satisfactory.

With regard to security issues, the letter points out that the NRC has issued several orders and threat advisories to enhance security capabilities and improve guard force readiness since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The agency has also conducted inspections to review the implementation of these requirements and has monitored the action of plant operators in response to changing threat conditions. For calendar year 2004, we plan to continue inspections of order implementation combined with newly developed portions of the security baseline inspection program, the letter states.

Current performance information for Calvert Cliffs Unit 1 is available on the NRC web site at: www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/CALV1/calv1_chart.html .

Current performance information for Calvert Cliffs Unit 2 is available on the NRC web site at: www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/CALV2/calv2_chart.html .