Press Release-I-15-010, NRC to Conduct Open House on April 7th in Middletown, Pa., to Discuss 2014 Performance of Three Mile Island 1 Nuclear Plant

Press Release-I-15-010: NRC to Conduct Open House on April 7th in Middletown, Pa., to Discuss 2014 Performance of Three Mile Island 1 Nuclear Plant

ML15096A414
Person / Time
Site:	Three Mile Island
Issue date:	03/30/2015
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region IV
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-I-15-010
Download: ML15096A414 (1)

Text

No: I-15-010 March 30, 2015 CONTACT: Diane Screnci, 610-337-5330 Neil Sheehan, 610-337-5331 NRC to Conduct Open House on April 7th in Middletown, Pa.,

to Discuss 2014 Performance of Three Mile Island 1 Nuclear Plant The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public open house on April 7 in Middletown, Pa., to discuss the agencys annual review of safety performance at the Three Mile Island 1 nuclear power plant.

NRC staff will be on hand from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Londonderry Township Municipal Building, located at 783 S. Geyers Church Road in Middletown. Agency employees responsible for inspections of the plant, including the Resident Inspectors based at the Middletown (Dauphin County),

Pa., site on a full-time basis, will be available to discuss the facilitys performance in 2014 and the agencys oversight plans for 2015.

Under the NRCs Reactor Oversight Process, the agency gauges plant performance through the use of color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators, which are statistical measurements of plant performance that can trigger additional oversight if exceeded.

Three Mile Island 1 is owned and operated by Exelon Generation Co. LLC. On an overall basis, the plant operated safely in 2014. As of the end of last year, the plant had no inspection findings or performance indicators that were greater than green (very low safety significance). Therefore, those units are currently under the NRCs normal level of oversight.

The NRCs normal level of oversight at each U.S. nuclear power plant involves thousands of hours of inspection. In 2014, the agency devoted approximately 5,600 hours0.00694 days <br />0.167 hours <br />9.920635e-4 weeks <br />2.283e-4 months <br /> of review at Three Mile Island 1.

By assessing each plants performance in a comprehensive manner, we are able to focus our inspection resources on those areas most in need of attention, NRC Region I Administrator Dan Dorman said. Because Three Mile Island 1 did not have any safety or security issues rising above low significance in 2014, we are not currently planning any inspections above and beyond our normal reviews.

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 the vicinity of each plant to discuss the results.

Normal inspections are performed by two Resident Inspectors assigned to Three Mile Island 1.

Reviews are also carried out at the sites by specialist inspectors assigned to the agencys Region I Office in King of Prussia, Pa. Among the areas to be inspected this year at Three Mile Island 1 are emergency preparedness, radiological safety and operator licensing. In addition, the NRC will perform an audit at the plant in August with respect to some of the agencys post-Fukushima requirements, namely Mitigation Strategies for Beyond-Design-Basis External Events and enhanced spent fuel pool instrumentation.

The Annual Assessment letter for Three Mile Island 1, as well as the notice for the April 7th open house, are available on the NRC website. Current performance information is also available for Three Mile Island 1.

News releases are available through a free listserv subscription or by clicking on the EMAIL UPDATES link on the NRC homepage (http://www.nrc.gov/). E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's website. For the latest news, follow the NRC on http://www.twitter.com/NRCgov.

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