Press Release-II-10-016, NRC Schedules Meeting to Discuss 2009 Performance of Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant

Press Release-II-10-016: NRC Schedules Meeting to Discuss 2009 Performance of Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant

ML100970552
Person / Time
Site:	Vogtle
Issue date:	04/07/2010
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region II
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-II-10-016
Download: ML100970552 (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-10-016 April 7, 2010 CONTACT: Roger Hannah (404) 562-4417 E-mail: OPA2@nrc.gov Joey Ledford (404) 562-4416 NRC SCHEDULES MEETING TO DISCUSS 2009 PERFORMANCE OF VOGTLE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials have scheduled a meeting Wednesday, April 14 to provide information on the agencys annual assessment of safety performance for the two operating units at the Vogtle nuclear power plant during 2009.

The meeting will begin with an open house at 6 p.m. followed by a brief presentation at

7. There will be a question and answer session after the presentation. The meeting will be held in the Burke County Public Library, 130 Ga. Highway 24 S. in Waynesboro, Ga.

The Vogtle plant, which has two pressurized-water reactors, is located near Waynesboro, about 26 miles southeast of Augusta. It is owned and operated by Southern Nuclear Operating Company.

Overall, the NRC staff concluded that the Vogtle plant operated safely in 2009, and there were no inspection findings or performance indicators that would cause the NRC to increase its level of oversight and inspection. Based on the plants performance, the NRC staff plans to continue the detailed routine or baseline inspections all nuclear power plants receive.

Every year, the NRC evaluates the safety performance of nuclear plants in a systematic and detailed way. These reviews allow us to respond to ongoing issues, if needed, and to plan our future inspections, NRC Region II Administrator Luis Reyes said. This open house gives local officials and citizens an opportunity to learn more about our oversight and is consistent with our commitment to openness and transparency.

The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess plant performance. The colors start with green, which has very low safety significance, to white, yellow or red, based on the significance of the issues. Inspection findings and performance indicators are updated on the NRCs web site ( www.nrc.gov ) each quarter.

The annual assessment letter for the Vogtle plant is available on the NRC web site at www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/vog_2009q4.pdf.

Routine inspections are carried out by the NRC resident inspectors assigned to the plant and by inspection specialists from the Region II office in Atlanta. Among the areas at the Vogtle plant to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are fire protection, modifications, component design basis, dissimilar metal welds and operator licensing requalification.

Current performance information for Vogtle Unit 1 is available on the NRC web site at www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/VOG1/vog1_chart.html. Current performance information for Vogtle Unit 2 is available on the NRC web site at www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/VOG2/vog2_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.