Press Release-III-07-006, NRC to Discuss 2006 Performance Assessment for Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant

Press Release-III-07-006: NRC to Discuss 2006 Performance Assessment for Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant

ML070820364
Person / Time
Site:	Point Beach
Issue date:	03/23/2007
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region II
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-III-07-006
Download: ML070820364 (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-07-006 March 23, 2007 CONTACT: Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 NRC TO DISCUSS 2006 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT FOR POINT BEACH NUCLEAR POWER PLANT The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Nuclear Management Co. on Wednesday, March 28, to discuss the agencys assessment of safety performance for last year at the Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant. The plant is located near Two Rivers, Wisc.

The meeting, which will be open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at the Two Creeks Town Hall, 5128 E. Tapawingo Rd. (Intersection of Highway 42 and Tapawingo Road), north of Two Rivers. 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.

The NRC continually reviews the performance of the Point Beach plant and the nations other commercial nuclear power facilities, NRC Region III Administrator James Caldwell said. This meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss 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/poin_2006q4.pdf .

The NRCs assessment concluded that the Point Beach 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.

The Point Beach plant was placed under heightened regulatory scrutiny in 2003 as a result of earlier equipment problems. In December of last year, the agency determined that the plant had taken sufficient corrective actions to allow its return to routine agency oversight.

All of the inspection findings and performance indicators for Point Beach during 2006 were determined to be green. As a result of the 2006 performance and the termination of the heightened oversight, 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, Ill., and the agencys headquarters in

Rockville, Md. Among the areas of plant operations to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are fire protection, emergency preparedness, maintenance, and equipment testing and inspection.

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

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/POIN1/poin1_chart.html for Unit 1 and http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/POIN2/poin2_chart.html for Unit 2.