Press Release-I-12-016, NRC to Discuss Millstone Nuclear Power Plant Annual Assessment at Open House, Meeting with Nuclear Energy Advisory Council

Press Release-I-12-016: NRC to Discuss Millstone Nuclear Power Plant Annual Assessment at Open House, Meeting with Nuclear Energy Advisory Council

ML12107A427
Person / Time
Site:	Millstone
Issue date:	04/09/2012
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region I
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-I-12-016
Download: ML12107A427 (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-12-016 April 9, 2012

Contact:

Diane Screnci, (610) 337-5330 Email: opa1.resource@nrc.gov Neil Sheehan, (610) 337-5331 NRC TO DISCUSS MILLSTONE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT ANNUAL ASSESSMENT AT OPEN HOUSE, MEETING WITH NUCLEAR ENERGY ADVISORY COUNCIL Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will conduct an open house and public meeting on Thursday, April 19, regarding the agencys annual assessment of safety performance for the Millstone nuclear power plant.

The open house will take place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Waterford Town Hall, at 15 Rope Ferry Road in Waterford, Conn. Members of the public will have an opportunity to learn first-hand from NRC staff members about the plants safety performance during 2011 and the NRCs oversight of the facility. The meeting format 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.

Immediately following the open house, beginning at 7 p.m. at the same location, NRC staff will meet with the Connecticut Nuclear Energy Advisory Council (NEAC) to discuss the agencys 2011 assessment for the plant. Members of the public will also be afforded an opportunity to ask questions of the NRC staff regarding the assessment at that session.

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

Overall, Millstone operated safely during 2011. At the conclusion of last year, as assessed by the NRCs Reactor Oversight Process, there were no performance indicators for Millstone Unit 3 that were other than Green (very low risk) and no inspection findings that were Greater than Green (all findings were of very low safety significance). Therefore, for the rest of 2012, Millstone Unit 3 will receive the very detailed inspection regime used by the NRC for plants that are operating well.

Millstone Unit 2, however, was in the Regulatory Response Column of the NRCs Action Matrix (http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/actionmatrix_summary.html) at the end of 2011 after receiving a White (low to moderate safety significance) inspection finding.

As a result, the unit will receive additional NRC oversight this year. The finding, which was finalized on Aug. 8, 2011, involves the failure of Millstone Unit 2 personnel to carry out their assigned roles and responsibilities and inadequate reactor power-level management during main

turbine control valve testing, contributing to an unanticipated reactor power increase, from 88 to 96 percent of rated thermal power, on Feb. 12, 2011.

In 2011, the NRC devoted approximately 6,450 hours0.00521 days <br />0.125 hours <br />7.440476e-4 weeks <br />1.71225e-4 months <br /> of inspection to the Millstone plant under its normal battery of reviews included in the agencys Reactor Oversight Process.

We will be closely watching to ensure that Dominion addresses the issues surrounding the White inspection finding applied to Millstone Unit 2. The company needs to not only understand why the problems occurred but also put in place lasting and meaningful corrective actions, NRC Region I Administrator Bill Dean said. Looking back on 2011, our inspectors spent time checking on whether there were any immediate safety concerns at U.S. nuclear power plants following the March events at the Fukushima Daiichi facility in Japan. Those reviews indicated the plants remained safe for continued operation.

The NRC utilizes a combination of color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to measure plant performance. The colors start with Green and then increase to White, Yellow or Red, commensurate with the risk significance of the issues involved.

The agency issues reports on performance at specific plants twice a year: during the mid-cycle, or mid-point, of the year, and at the conclusion of the 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 reports every March, the NRC meets with the public in the vicinity of each plant to discuss the results. The meetings are in keeping with the agencys commitment to transparency with regard to its activities.

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

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/mill_2011q4.pdf . The notice for the open house is available in the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML12093A0831. The notice for the public meeting with NEAC is available under accession number ML12093A0960. ADAMS is available at:

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.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.Resource@NRC.GOV.

Routine inspections are carried out by the three NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and by inspection specialists from the agencys Region I Office in King of Prussia, Pa.

Among the areas of performance at Millstone to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are activities associated with radiological safety, emergency preparedness, the dry cask storage of spent nuclear fuel and the facilitys implementation of a voluntary industry initiative to address potential degradation of underground piping.

Current performance information for Millstone Unit 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 Unit 3 is available on the NRC web site at:

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

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