Press Release-I-15-013, NRC Staff to Meet with Connecticut Nuclear Energy Advisory Council April 14 to Discuss Millstone Nuclear Plant Annual Assessment

Press Release-I-15-013: NRC Staff to Meet with Connecticut Nuclear Energy Advisory Council April 14 to Discuss Millstone Nuclear Plant Annual Assessment

ML15099A269
Person / Time
Site:	Millstone
Issue date:	04/07/2015
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region I
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Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-I-15-013
Download: ML15099A269 (2)

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No: I-15-013 April 7, 2015 CONTACT: Diane Screnci, 610-337-5330 Neil Sheehan, 610-337-5331 NRC Staff to Meet with Connecticut Nuclear Energy Advisory Council April 14 to Discuss Millstone Nuclear Plant Annual Assessment Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with the Connecticut Nuclear Energy Advisory Council (NEAC) on April 14 in Waterford, Conn., to discuss the agencys annual review of safety performance at the Millstone nuclear power plant.

The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at Waterford Town Hall, located at 15 Rope Ferry Rd. Prior to the sessions adjournment, attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions of NRC staff regarding the 2014 assessment.

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.

Dominion Nuclear Connecticut Inc. owns and operates the Waterford plant. On an overall basis, Millstone, which has two operating reactors, operated safely in 2014. As of the end of last year, Millstone Unit 2 had no inspection findings or performance indicators that were greater than green (very low safety significance). Therefore, that unit is currently under the NRCs normal level of oversight.

Unit 3, however, is receiving additional NRC oversight due to a white (low to moderate safety significance) inspection finding resulting from problems involving the plants turbine-driven auxiliary feedwater pump. The pump is one of several that can be used to help cool down the reactor after a shutdown by pumping water into the secondary side of the plants steam generators. Once Dominion notifies the agency of its readiness, the NRC will conduct a supplemental inspection at the facility to assess the companys root-cause evaluation of the underlying issues and its corrective actions. The results of that inspection will determine whether the finding can be closed out.

The NRC also issued a final significance determination for a security-related inspection finding for Millstone Unit 3 on April 2. That violation has been classified as greater than green. Unless the finding is successfully appealed, it will result in additional scrutiny in the area of security.

Millstone Unit 3 is currently under stepped-up scrutiny in response to the white inspection finding and due to the greater than green security-related finding, NRC Region I Administrator Dan Dorman said. More broadly, our annual assessments serve to help us focus our inspection resources on those areas where attention is most needed.

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 9,150 hours0.00174 days <br />0.0417 hours <br />2.480159e-4 weeks <br />5.7075e-5 months <br /> of review at Millstone.

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 three Resident Inspectors assigned to Millstone. 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 Millstone are the dry cask storage of spent nuclear fuel, radiological safety and emergency planning.

The annual assessment letter for Millstone, as well as the notice for the April 14 meeting, are available on the NRC website. Current performance information is also available for Millstone Unit 2 and Millstone Unit 3.

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