Press Release-III-12-014, NRC Schedules Open House for April 26 of Discuss Duane Arnold Nuclear Power Plant Performance and NRC Oversight

Press Release-III-12-014: NRC Schedules Open House for April 26 of Discuss Duane Arnold Nuclear Power Plant Performance and NRC Oversight

ML12110A330
Person / Time
Site:	Duane Arnold
Issue date:	04/19/2012
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region II
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-III-12-014
Download: ML12110A330 (2)

Text

NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Region III 2443 Warrenville Road Lisle IL 60532 Site: www.nrc.gov Blog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov No. III-12-014 April 19, 2012

Contact:

Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 E-Mail: OPA3 @nrc.gov Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 NRC SCHEDULES OPEN HOUSE FOR APRIL 26 TO DISCUSS DUANE ARNOLD NUCLEAR POWER PLANT PERFORMANCE AND NRC OVERSIGHT The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will conduct an open house on Thursday, April 26, to discuss the agencys assessment of safety performance for last year at the Duane Arnold nuclear power plant.

The open house is informal and will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. CDT at the Palo City Hall/Community Center in the City Council Chambers room, 2800 Hollenbeck Rd., in Palo, Iowa. The Duane Arnold Energy Center is operated by NextEra Energy Duane Arnold, LLC, and is located in Palo, Iowa, about 8 miles northwest of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The NRC continually reviews the performance of the Duane Arnold plant and the nations other nuclear power facilities, said Acting Regional Administrator for NRC Region III Cynthia Pederson. This meeting will allow us to speak directly with the local community about the plants performance last year and the NRCs actions to make sure the plant continues to operate safely. Those actions include additional inspections in response to the events at the Fukushima Daiichi facilities to evaluate the safety of US nuclear plants. The reviews showed that Duane Arnold and other US plants continue to operate safely.

A letter sent from the NRC Region III office to plant officials addressed the performance of the plant during 2011 and will serve as the basis for the discussion. It is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/duan_2011q4.pdf.

Overall, the NRC found that the Duane Arnold facility operated safely in 2011. All performance indicators and inspection findings were determined to be green. 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.

Duane Arnold will continue to receive the detailed inspection regime required for plants that are operating well and require no additional oversight. 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 currently being inspected are license renewal, fire protection, emergency preparedness and radiation protection.

The most current performance information for Duane Arnold is available on the NRC website at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/DUAN/duan_chart.html.

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