Press Release-I-11-010, NRC to Hold Public Meeting on May 12th in Prince Frederick, Md., to Discuss Annual Assessment of Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Plant

Press Release-I-11-010: NRC to Hold Public Meeting on May 12th in Prince Frederick, Md., to Discuss Annual Assessment of Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Plant

ML111220417
Person / Time
Site:	Calvert Cliffs
Issue date:	05/02/2011
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region I
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-I-11-010
Download: ML111220417 (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: www.nrc.gov Blog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov No. I-11-010 May 2, 2011

Contact:

Diane Screnci, (610) 337-5330 Email: OPA1.RESOURCE@nrc.gov Neil Sheehan, (610) 337-5331 NRC TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING ON MAY 12th IN PRINCE FREDERICK, MD.,

TO DISCUSS ANNUAL ASSESSMENT OF CALVERT CLIFFS NUCLEAR PLANT Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold a public meeting on Thursday, May 12, regarding the agencys annual assessment of safety performance for the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant during 2010.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at the SpringHill Suites hotel, at 75 Sherry Lane in Prince Frederick, Md. Prior to the sessions conclusion, there will be an opportunity for members of the public to ask questions of the NRC staff regarding the plants performance, as well as the agencys oversight of the facility.

Calvert Cliffs is the site of two pressurized-water reactors. It is located in Lusby (Calvert County), Md., and is owned and operated by Constellation Energy.

Our Annual Assessment reviews allow us to step back and gauge whether the nuclear power plants we regulate are on the right track in terms of performance and adhering to the highest levels of safety, NRC Region I Administrator Bill Dean said. Once weve completed these evaluations, we reach out to the public to share that information and to receive their feedback at a location near each plant. We welcome and value these exchanges.

The NRC utilizes a combination of color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to measure 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, the Calvert Cliffs Unit 1 and 2 reactors operated safely during 2010. At the conclusion of last year, as assessed through the NRCs Reactor Oversight Process, there were no inspection findings that were Greater than Green or any performance indicators that were other than Green for Calvert Cliffs Unit 1. Therefore, for the remainder of 2011, it will receive the normal, very detailed inspection regime used by the NRC for plants that are operating well.

While Calvert Cliffs Unit 2 had no performance indicators other than Green, it did have a White (low to moderate safety significance) inspection finding. The finding involved the failure to implement scheduled preventative maintenance on safety-related time delay relays used to ensure

the operation of one of the plants emergency diesel generators, which provide back-up power for safety systems in the event of a loss of off-site electricity. Because this maintenance was not performed, a relay failure caused the emergency diesel generator to cease operating prematurely on Feb. 18, 2010. The plants other emergency diesel generators remained available and were used during the event, and the plant was safely shut down.

In response to the White finding, the NRC conducted a supplemental inspection at Calvert Cliffs Unit 2 from March 16 to 18, 2011, to independently verify whether Constellation understood the root and contributing causes of the issue; had identified the extent of the condition; and had taken appropriate corrective actions to prevent a recurrence. The results of that inspection determined that the company had identified all root and contributing causes, appropriately addressed whether similar systems had similar issues, and put in place appropriate steps to prevent the problem from occurring once again.

Calvert Cliffs Unit 2 will also receive the normal suite of NRC inspections during 2011.

Routine inspections are carried out by two NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to each plant and by inspection specialists from the agencys Region I Office in King of Prussia, Pa. In 2010, the NRC devoted about 6,800 hours0.00926 days <br />0.222 hours <br />0.00132 weeks <br />3.044e-4 months <br /> to inspection of Calvert Cliffs, including two major team inspections. Among the areas at Calvert Cliffs being inspected this year are radioactive material handling and transportation; permanent plant modifications; emergency preparedness; and the plants problem identification and resolution program.

The agency issues its review of performance at specific plants twice a year. Inspection findings and performance indicators are also updated on the NRCs website, 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 the plant, are in keeping with the NRCs commitment to transparency and openness with regard to its activities.

The annual assessment letter for Calvert Cliffs Units 1 and 2 is available on the NRC website at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/calv_2010q4.pdf. The notice for the public meeting is available in the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML111180291. 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.

Current performance information for Calvert Cliffs Unit 1 is available on the NRC website at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/CALV1/calv1_chart.html. Current performance information for Calvert Cliffs Unit 2 is available on the NRC website at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/CALV2/calv2_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 website.