Press Release-III-15-006, NRC to Discuss Performance of Clinton Nuclear Power Station April 1

Press Release-III-15-006: NRC to Discuss Performance of Clinton Nuclear Power Station April 1

ML15084A468
Person / Time
Site:	Clinton
Issue date:	03/25/2015
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region II
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-III-15-006
Download: ML15084A468 (1)

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No: III-15-006 March 25, 2015 CONTACT: Viktoria Mitlyng 630-829-9662 Prema Chandrathil 630-829-9663 NRC to Discuss Performance of Clinton Nuclear Power Station April 1 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will be available on April 1 to discuss the agencys annual safety performance of the Clinton Nuclear Power Station during the Clinton Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureaus Business Expo. The expo is open to the public and will be held at Clinton High School, 1200 Highway 54, in Clinton from 4 to 7 p.m. The plant is located in Clinton, Ill.,

about 23 miles southeast of Bloomington, and is owned by Exelon Generation Co.

We are trying something new by participating in the expo in order to have more conversations with people who live near the plant about what the NRC does, said NRC Region III Administrator Cynthia D. Pederson. We are looking forward to joining this community event and as always our inspectors will also be available to answer questions about the plants performance and NRC oversight.

The annual assessment letter from the NRC Region III office addresses the plants performance in 2014 and is available on the NRC website. Overall, the Clinton plant operated safely in 2014.

The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess nuclear plant performance. The colors start with green and then go to white, yellow, or red, to denote the safety significance of the issues involved. Performance indicators are statistical measurements of plant and equipment performance. The NRCs action matrix reflects overall plant performance and agency response. There are five columns in the matrix with Column 1 requiring a baseline level of inspections. A move to another column results in an increased level of NRC oversight and inspections.

For the first quarter of 2014, the plant was in Column 2 of the action matrix due to a white performance indicator in the area of unplanned scrams that occurred in 2013. The NRC conducted a supplemental inspection to review the plants actions to correct the problem and found the plant had taken appropriate actions. In the second quarter, the plant had a greater-than-green security finding which kept the plant in Column 2. Security details are not disclosed publicly but the issue was immediately addressed before the NRC inspectors left the site. The NRCs supplemental inspection to review the security issue has been conducted and the report with results will be issued later in the year.

Routine inspections are conducted 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. Some of the performance areas to be inspected this year include radiation protection and the independent spent fuel storage facility. The most current performance information for Clinton is available on the NRC website.