Press Release-I-12-018, NRC to Hold Open House on April 25 in Delta, Pa., to Discuss Peach Bottom Nuclear Plant Annual Assessment

Press Release-I-12-018: NRC to Hold Open House on April 25 in Delta, Pa., to Discuss Peach Bottom Nuclear Plant Annual Assessment

ML12116A193
Person / Time
Site:	Peach Bottom
Issue date:	04/16/2012
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region I
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-I-12-018
Download: ML12116A193 (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-12-018 April 16, 2012

Contact:

Diane Screnci, (610) 337-5330 Email: opa1.resource@nrc.gov Neil Sheehan, (610) 337-5331 NRC TO HOLD OPEN HOUSE ON APRIL 25 IN DELTA, PA.,

TO DISCUSS PEACH BOTTOM NUCLEAR PLANT ANNUAL ASSESSMENT Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will conduct an open house on Wednesday, April 25, regarding the agencys annual assessment of safety performance for the Peach Bottom nuclear power plant.

The open house will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Peach Bottom Inn, at 6085 Delta Road in Delta, Pa. 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.

Peach Bottom, which is the site of two boiling-water reactors, is located in Delta (York County), Pa., and is owned and operated by Exelon Generation Co., LLC.

Overall, Peach Bottom operated safely during 2011. At the conclusion of last year, as assessed by the NRCs Reactor Oversight Process, there were no performance indicators for the plant 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, Peach Bottom will receive the very detailed inspection regime used by the NRC for plants that are operating well. In 2011, the NRC devoted approximately 6,540 hours0.00625 days <br />0.15 hours <br />8.928571e-4 weeks <br />2.0547e-4 months <br /> of inspection to the Peach Bottom facility.

Throughout 2011, our inspectors kept close watch on a daily basis to ensure there were no safety issues of significance. The Peach Bottom plant was among those to meet our clearly defined performance criteria last year, NRC Region I Administrator Bill Dean said. In addition, our inspectors spent time in 2011 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 safety 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 Peach Bottom plant is available on the NRC web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/pb_2011q4.pdf. The notice for the open house is available in the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML12080A033. 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 two 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 Peach Bottom to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are activities associated with emergency preparedness, fire protection, the dry cask storage of spent nuclear fuel, adherence to license renewal commitments and the facilitys implementation of a voluntary industry initiative to address potential degradation of underground piping.

Current performance information for Peach Bottom Unit 2 is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/PB2/pb2_chart.html. Current performance information for Peach Bottom Unit 3 is available on the NRC web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/PB3/pb3_chart.html.

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