Press Release-III-05-008, NRC to Discuss 2004 Performance Assessment for Palisades Nuclear Power Plant

Press Release-III-05-008: NRC to Discuss 2004 Performance Assessment for Palisades Nuclear Power Plant

ML050830488
Person / Time
Site:	Palisades
Issue date:	03/24/2005
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region II
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-III-05-008
Download: ML050830488 (2)

Text

NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 2443 Warrenville Road Lisle IL 60532 Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov No. III-05-008 March 24, 2005 CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 NRC TO DISCUSS 2004 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT FOR PALISADES NUCLEAR POWER PLANT The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Nuclear Management Company on Thursday, March 31, to discuss the agencys assessment of safety performance for the year 2004 at the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant. The plant is located at Covert, MI.

The meeting, which will be open to the public for observation, is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

at the Guesthouse International Lighthouse Inn, 2320 Phoenix Rd, South Haven, MI Before the meeting is adjourned, NRC staff will be available to answer questions from the public on the safety performance of the Palisades plant, as well as the role of the NRC in ensuring safe plant operation.

The NRC continually reviews the performance of the Palisades plant and the nations other commercial nuclear power facilities, NRC Region III Administrator James Caldwell said. This meeting will provide an opportunity for a discussion of our annual assessment of safety performance with the company and with local officials and residents who live near the plant. Our goal is to explain the NRC oversight process and make as much information as possible available to the public regarding our regulation of these facilities.

A letter sent from the NRC Region III 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: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/pali_2004q4.pdf The NRCs assessment concluded that the Palisades plant operated safely during the period.

The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess nuclear plant performance. The colors start with green and then increase to white, yellow or red, commensurate with the safety significance of the issues involved.

All of the inspection findings and performance indicators for Palisades during 2004 were determined to be green. As a result of this performance, the NRC will conduct the normal, baseline level of inspections during the upcoming year.

Routine inspections are performed by two NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and by inspection specialists from the Region III Office in Lisle, IL, and the agencys headquarters in Rockville, Md. Among the areas of plant operations to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are emergency preparedness, maintenance, safety system performance, and radiological safety.

Current performance information for Palisades is available on the NRCs web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/PALI/pali_chart.html