Press Release-III-10-008, NRC to Discuss 2009 Performance Assessment for LaSalle Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 and 2

Press Release-III-10-008: NRC to Discuss 2009 Performance Assessment for LaSalle Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 and 2

ML100970486
Person / Time
Site:	LaSalle
Issue date:	04/07/2010
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region II
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-III-10-008
Download: ML100970486 (2)

Text

NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Region III 2443 Warrenville Road Lisle IL 60532 No. III-10-008 April 7, 2010 Contacts: E-Mail: opa3@nrc.gov Viktoria Mitlyng 630-829-9662 Web site: www.nrc.gov Prema Chandrathil 630-829-9663 NRC TO DISCUSS 2009 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT FOR LASALLE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT UNIT 1 AND 2 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has scheduled an open house for Wednesday, April 14, to discuss with local residents NRC activities and nuclear power issues, and answer questions about the agencys assessment of safety performance for last year at the LaSalle nuclear power plant.

The open house is informal and will begin at 5 p.m. CDT at the Brookfield Town Hall in Seneca, Ill. The two unit plant operated by Exelon Generation Co. is in Marseilles, roughly 80 miles southwest of Chicago.

The NRC continually reviews the performance of the LaSalle plant and the nations other commercial nuclear power facilities, said NRC Region III Administrator Mark Satorius.

This meeting allows us to discuss our annual assessment of safety performance with members of the local community. The goal of this meeting is to explain how the NRC works and make sure as much information as possible is available on the NRCs regulation of nuclear power plants.

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/lasa_2009q4.pdf.

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.

Overall, LaSalle Unit 1 and 2 operated safely during 2009. At the conclusion of last year, as assessed by the NRC Reactor Oversight Process, there were no performance indicators for the plant that were other than green and no inspection findings that were greater than green.

Therefore, for the rest of 2010, LaSalle will continue to receive the detailed inspection regime used by the NRC for plants that are operating well.

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. Among the areas of plant operations to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are emergency preparedness, the independent spent fuel storage installation and radiation safety.

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

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LASA1/lasa1_chart.html (Unit 1) and http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LASA2/lasa2_chart.html (Unit 2).

NRC news releases are available through a free list serve 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.