Press Release-II-10-029, NRC Schedules Open House to Discuss 2009 Performance of Summer Nuclear Power Plant

Press Release-II-10-029: NRC Schedules Open House to Discuss 2009 Performance of Summer Nuclear Power Plant

ML101100600
Person / Time
Site:	Summer
Issue date:	04/20/2010
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region II
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Category:Press Release
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Press Release-II-10-029
Download: ML101100600 (2)

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NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region II 245 Peachtree Center Ave. NE, Suite 1200 Atlanta, GA 30303-1257 Web Site: www.nrc.gov No. II-10-029 April 20, 2010 CONTACT: Roger Hannah (404) 997-4417 E-mail: OPA2@nrc.gov Joey Ledford (404) 997-4416 NRC SCHEDULES OPEN HOUSE TO DISCUSS 2009 PERFORMANCE OF SUMMER NUCLEAR POWER PLANT The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has scheduled an open house for Wednesday, April 28, and will be available to discuss and answer questions about the agencys assessment of safety performance during 2009 at the Summer nuclear power plant. The plant, operated by SCE&G, is located near Jenkinsville, S.C., about 26 miles northwest of Columbia.

The open house is informal and scheduled to run from 5-6 p.m. at McCrorey-Liston Elementary School, 1978 State Highway 215 South in Blair, S.C. During the open house, NRC staff will be available to answer questions on the safety performance of the Summer plant last year, as well as the NRC role in ensuring safe plant operation.

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 near the Summer plant an opportunity to learn more about our oversight and is consistent with our commitment to openness and transparency.

A letter sent from the NRC Region II office to plant officials addresses the performance of the plant during 2009 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/sum_2009q4.pdf.

The NRC found that the Summer plants 2009 performance met all of the agencys safety objectives and was at a level that results in no additional NRC oversight. This year, the NRC plans to continue to conduct the very detailed inspections required at those plants that are operating well. In addition, the agency will complete some generic inspections related to operator licensing examinations, ground water protection and reactor cooling system welds at Summer in 2009.

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.

Current performance information for Summer Unit 1 is available on the NRC web site at: www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/SUM/sum_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.