Press Release-II-11-004, NRC Schedules Meeting to Discuss Inspection of Oconee Nuclear Plant Issues

Press Release-II-11-004: NRC Schedules Meeting to Discuss Inspection of Oconee Nuclear Plant Issues

ML16141B143
Person / Time
Site:	Oconee
Issue date:	01/20/2011
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region II
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-II-11-004
Download: ML16141B143 (1)

Text

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-11-004 January 20, 2011 CONTACT: Roger Hannah (404) 997-4417 E-mail: OPA2@nrc.gov Joey Ledford (404) 997-4416 NRC SCHEDULES MEETING TO DISCUSS INSPECTION OF OCONEE NUCLEAR PLANT ISSUES The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has scheduled a meeting with officials of Duke Energy on Jan. 26 to discuss the agencys completed corrective action inspection for two inspection findings, one yellow and one white, previously identified at the Oconee nuclear power plant, located near Seneca, S.C., about 30 miles west of Greenville.

The two findings were associated with the plants standby shutdown systems, which can be used if normal and emergency systems are unavailable. Those findings caused the NRC to place the Oconee plant in a category requiring increased oversight and a detailed additional inspection.

At the meeting, NRC and Duke officials will discuss the NRC inspection and Dukes corrective actions. If those actions have been found by the NRC to be sufficient, oversight and inspection of the Oconee plant will return to normal levels.

The meeting is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. EST in the World of Energy, 7812 Rochester Highway near Seneca. The public is invited to observe and NRC staff will be available to answer questions after the business portion of the meeting.

The NRC evaluates regulatory performance at commercial nuclear power plants with a color-coded system which classifies findings as green, white, yellow or red, in increasing order of safety significance. As the significance of findings increase, the NRC increases the level of oversight for that plant. If a plant takes appropriate corrective actions and improves safety performance, the agency returns to its normal, but still extensive, inspection schedule.

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 website.

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-11-004 January 20, 2011 CONTACT: Roger Hannah (404) 997-4417 E-mail: OPA2@nrc.gov Joey Ledford (404) 997-4416 NRC SCHEDULES MEETING TO DISCUSS INSPECTION OF OCONEE NUCLEAR PLANT ISSUES The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has scheduled a meeting with officials of Duke Energy on Jan. 26 to discuss the agencys completed corrective action inspection for two inspection findings, one yellow and one white, previously identified at the Oconee nuclear power plant, located near Seneca, S.C., about 30 miles west of Greenville.

The two findings were associated with the plants standby shutdown systems, which can be used if normal and emergency systems are unavailable. Those findings caused the NRC to place the Oconee plant in a category requiring increased oversight and a detailed additional inspection.

At the meeting, NRC and Duke officials will discuss the NRC inspection and Dukes corrective actions. If those actions have been found by the NRC to be sufficient, oversight and inspection of the Oconee plant will return to normal levels.

The meeting is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. EST in the World of Energy, 7812 Rochester Highway near Seneca. The public is invited to observe and NRC staff will be available to answer questions after the business portion of the meeting.

The NRC evaluates regulatory performance at commercial nuclear power plants with a color-coded system which classifies findings as green, white, yellow or red, in increasing order of safety significance. As the significance of findings increase, the NRC increases the level of oversight for that plant. If a plant takes appropriate corrective actions and improves safety performance, the agency returns to its normal, but still extensive, inspection schedule.

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 website.