Press Release-I-14-022, NRC to Meet with Exelon on May 22nd to Discuss Performance of Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant

Press Release-I-14-022: NRC to Meet with Exelon on May 22nd to Discuss Performance of Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant

ML14135A401
Person / Time
Site:	Oyster Creek
Issue date:	05/14/2014
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region I
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-I-14-022
Download: ML14135A401 (2)

Text

No. I-14-022 May 14, 2014

Contact:

Diane Screnci, 610-337-5330 Neil Sheehan, 610-337-5331 NRC to Meet With Exelon on May 22nd to Discuss Performance of Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public meeting on Thursday, May 22, to discuss the agencys annual review of safety performance at the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant, which is located in Lacey Township (Ocean County), N.J.

The public meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Manahawkin, at 151 Route 72 West in Manahawkin, N.J. It will include a formal question-and-answer session regarding plant performance and oversight topics. It will be preceded by an open house planned for 5:30 to 6 p.m.

at the same location. During the open house, there will be an opportunity for attendees to hold one-on-one discussions with NRC staff members about the plants performance and the agencys oversight of the facility.

Under the NRCs Reactor Oversight Process, color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators are used to assess plant performance. (Performance indicators are statistical measurements of plant and equipment performance which, if exceeded, trigger additional NRC oversight.) The colors range from green, connoting very low safety or security significance, to white, yellow or red, for an issue of high significance.

Overall, the Oyster Creek plant, which is owned and operated by Exelon Generation Co. LLC, operated safely during 2013. At the conclusion of last year, as assessed by the 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 (that is, none of the findings exceeded very low safety significance). As a result, Oyster Creek will continue to receive the NRCs normal level of oversight during 2014, barring any changes.

The normal level of oversight consists of a detailed regime entailing thousands of hours of inspection. In 2013, the NRC devoted approximately 5,310 hours0.00359 days <br />0.0861 hours <br />5.125661e-4 weeks <br />1.17955e-4 months <br /> of inspection at Oyster Creek, a boiling-water reactor that began operations in 1969.

We take very seriously the task of stepping back on a regular basis to size up plant performance. These comprehensive evaluations help guide our reviews for the year ahead, though we maintain flexibility should conditions change, NRC Region I Administrator Bill Dean said. Oyster

Creek, by virtue of its performance in 2013, will receive our routine - though still substantial - battery of inspections.

The NRC issues reports on performance at each plant 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 a quarterly basis on the agencys website. Following the release of the Annual Assessment letters each March, the NRC meets with the public in vicinity of each plant to discuss the results.

Normal inspections are carried out by the two Resident Inspectors assigned to Oyster Creek.

Reviews are also performed at the site by specialist inspectors assigned to the agencys Region I Office in King of Prussia, Pa. Among the areas to be inspected this year at Oyster Creek are emergency preparedness, radiological protection and the plants problem identification and resolution program.

The Annual Assessment letter for Oyster Creek, as well as the notice for the May 22nd public meeting and open house, are available on the NRC website. Current performance information is also available for Oyster Creek.

Page l 2