Press Release-I-10-021, NRC to Hold Open House, Public Meeting on April 22 in Waterford, Conn. to Discuss Annual Assessment of Millstone Nuclear Power Plant

Press Release-I-10-021: NRC to Hold Open House, Public Meeting on April 22 in Waterford, Conn. to Discuss Annual Assessment of Millstone Nuclear Power Plant

ML101090095
Person / Time
Site:	Millstone
Issue date:	04/19/2010
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region I
To:
Category:Press Release
References
FOIA/PA-2011-0115 Press Release-I-10-021
Download: ML101090095 (2)

Text

NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region I 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406 E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov Site: http://www.nrc.gov No. I-10-021 April 19, 2010

Contact:

Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 Email: OPA1.RESOURCE@nrc.gov Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331 NRC TO HOLD OPEN HOUSE, PUBLIC MEETING ON APRIL 22 IN WATERFORD, CONN. TO DISCUSS ANNUAL ASSESSMENT OF MILLSTONE NUCLEAR PLANT The results of the Nuclear Regulatory Commissions annual safety performance assessment for the Millstone nuclear power plant will be the subject of an open house and a public meeting on Thursday, April 22.

The open house will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. at Waterford Town Hall, 15 Rope Ferry Road in Waterford, Conn. During the open house, members of the public will have an opportunity to learn first-hand from NRC staff members about performance at the plant during 2009, as well as NRC oversight of the facility. That format being used will allow citizens to discuss plant-related topics on a one-on-one basis with NRC inspectors assigned to the plant and their NRC Region I supervisor.

Then at 6 p.m., NRC staff will present the results of the Millstone Annual Assessment to Connecticuts Nuclear Energy Advisory Council (NEAC) during a public meeting that will also be held at Waterford Town Hall. Prior to the conclusion of that session, NRC staff will be available to answer questions from the public on the plants performance, as well as the agencys oversight of the facility.

Millstone, which is the site of two operating pressurized-water reactors, is located in Waterford. It is operated by Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc.

The NRC utilizes a combination of color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to gauge plant performance. The colors start with green, representing very low safety significance, and increase to white, yellow or red, commensurate with the significance of the issues involved.

Overall, Millstone operated safely during 2009. At the conclusion of last year, as assessed by the NRC Reactor Oversight Process, there were no performance indicators for the plant that were other than green and no inspection findings that were greater than green. Therefore, for the remainder of 2010, Millstone will continue to receive the very detailed inspection regime used by the NRC for plants that are operating well.

In 2009, the NRC devoted approximately 7,249 hours0.00288 days <br />0.0692 hours <br />4.117063e-4 weeks <br />9.47445e-5 months <br /> to inspection of the Millstone facility, including two major team inspections.

Each year, the NRC steps back and assesses the performance of nuclear power plants in a systematic and detailed manner. We take these reviews very seriously and they help guide our oversight in the year ahead, NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins said. We also believe that providing the public with an opportunity to not only learn about these results first-hand but to communicate with us about our determinations is an integral part of the process and consistent with our commitment to openness and transparency.

The agency issues its review of performance at specific plants twice a year. Inspection findings and performance indicators are also updated on the NRCs web site, www.nrc.gov, each quarter. Following the release of the annual performance reviews every March, the public is provided with an opportunity to discuss the results. The meetings, which are held in the vicinity of each plant, are in keeping with the agencys commitment to transparency with regard to its activities.

The annual assessment letter for the Millstone plant is available on the NRC web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/mill_2009q4.pdf. The notice for the annual assessment meeting for the plant is available in the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML100880398. ADAMS is available at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Help in using ADAMS can be obtained via the NRCs Public Document Room at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at PDR.Resources@NRC.GOV.

Routine inspections are carried out by three NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and by inspection specialists from the agencys Region I Office in King of Prussia, Pa. The NRC will be following up on three Severity Level IV non-cited violations issued within the same area during the assessment period. Also among the areas at Millstone to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are fire protection, radiation safety and emergency preparedness.

Current performance information for Millstone 2 is available on the NRC web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/MILL2/mill2_chart.html. Current performance information for Millstone 3 is available on the NRC web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/MILL3/mill3_chart.html.

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.