Press Release-II-08-029, NRC to Discuss 2007 Performance of Farley Nuclear Plant

Press Release-II-08-029: NRC to Discuss 2007 Performance of Farley Nuclear Plant

ML081340051
Person / Time
Site:	Farley
Issue date:	05/13/2008
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region II
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-II-08-029
Download: ML081340051 (2)

Text

NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region II 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta GA 30303 Web Site: www.nrc.gov No: II-08-029 May 13, 2008 CONTACT: Ken Clark (404)562-4416 E-mail: OPA2@nrc.gov Roger Hannah (404)562-4417 NRC TO DISCUSS 2007 PERFORMANCE OF FARLEY NUCLEAR PLANT The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff is scheduled to meet with Southern Nuclear Operating Company officials in Dothan, Ala., on Thursday, May 22, to discuss the NRC=s annual assessment of safety performance for 2007 at the Farley nuclear power plant, located near Columbia, Ala.

The meeting, which is open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. in the County Commissioners Chambers of the Houston County Administration Building, located at 462 North Oats St., in Dothan. The NRC staff will present the results of the assessment and be available to respond to questions or comments from the public before the close of the meeting.

AThe NRC continually reviews the performance of the Farley plant and the nation=s other commercial nuclear power facilities,@ NRC Region II Administrator Luis Reyes said. AThis meeting is a chance for us to discuss that safety performance with the company, with local officials and with people living near the plant.@

A letter sent from the NRC Region II Office to plant officials addresses the performance of the plant during the period and will serve as the basis for the meeting discussion. It is available on the NRC web site at www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/far_2007q4.pdf .

The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess nuclear plant performance. The colors start with Agreen@ and then increase to Awhite,@ Ayellow@ or Ared,@ depending on the safety significance of the issues involved.

The NRC said the Farley plant operated safely during 2007 but experienced a moderate degradation in safety performance. NRC officials said this was because a Unit 1 cooling water systems Performance Indicator moved from green to white in the third quarter of 2007 due to the failure of component cooling water system pump breakers on two separate occasions, resulting in an NRC Augmented Inspection Team inspection. Also, a white performance indicator inspection finding on Units 1 and 2 was identified during the third quarter due to continuing problems with the plants evaluation of safety-related breaker failures, identified as a

result of an NRC Supplemental Inspection of the cooling water system performance indicator concerns which moved from green to white during the second quarter of 2006. This change resulted in Unit 1 receiving more NRC oversight.

Unit 2 received a yellow finding during the third quarter of 2007 in the mitigating systems cornerstone due to failure of a residual heat removal system (RHR) containment sump suction valve not fully opening during testing upon two separate occasions, resulting in an NRC Special Inspection, and causing the NRC to increase the level of oversight for Unit 2. In addition, the Unit 2 RHR system Performance Indicator moved from green to white in the second quarter of 2007.

As a result of the plant=s overall performance, the NRC plans to continue routine baseline inspections at the plant for the rest of 2008 and will also conduct a supplemental inspection for Units 1 and 2. The NRC will conduct an additional Identification and Resolution of Problems inspection during the current biennial period in accordance with the agencys Reactor Oversight Process. Routine inspections are performed by NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and by specialists from the Region II Office in Atlanta, and the agency=s headquarters in Rockville, Md.

Current information for the Farley plant is available on the NRC web site at:

www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/FAR1/far1_chart.html and www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/FAR2/far2_chart.html .

News releases are available through a free listserv subscription at the following Web address:

http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC homepage at www.nrc.gov also offers a SUBSCRIBE link. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web site.