Press Release-IV-10-024, NRC to Hold Two Public Meetings on the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant on June 29

Press Release-IV-10-024: NRC to Hold Two Public Meetings on the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant on June 29

ML101610672
Person / Time
Site:	Diablo Canyon
Issue date:	06/11/2010
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region IV
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-IV-10-024
Download: ML101610672 (2)

Text

NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Region IV 612 E. Lamar Blvd., Suite 400 Arlington, TX 76011-4125 Telephone: (817) 860-8128 No. IV-10-024 June 11, 2010

Contact:

Victor Dricks: (817) 860-8128 E-Mail: opa4@nrc.gov Lara Uselding: (817) 276-6519 NRC TO HOLD TWO PUBLIC MEETINGS ON THE DIABLO CANYON NUCLEAR POWER PLANT ON JUNE 29 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold two public meetings on June 29 to discuss issues regarding the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, located near San Luis Obispo, Ca.

The NRC staff will hold an informal open house from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. during which subject matter experts will be available to answer questions on the safety performance at the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant as well as on issues related to seismic, security, public radiation safety and license renewal. There will be no formal presentation during the Open House.

From 6 - 10 p.m. the staff will hold a Town Hall style meeting tailored to maximize public participation, including a period in which members of the public can talk informally with NRC staff.

Both meetings will be held at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 333 Madonna Road, in San Luis Obispo.

Each year, the NRC assesses the performance of all of the nations commercial nuclear power plants, said Region IV Administrator Elmo E. Collins. The open house gives us an opportunity to meet with local residents for informal discussions. The Town Hall meeting has worked well in the past in fostering discussions between members of the public and the NRC.

We look forward to meeting with members of the community and answering questions they may have regarding issues related to Diablo Canyon.

A letter sent from the NRC Region IV Office to plant officials addresses the performance of the plant during 2009 and will serve as the basis for the afternoon discussion. It is available on the NRC web site at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/diab_2009q4.pdf.

The NRC said Diablo Canyon operated safely during 2009 and will receive the detailed inspection regime during 2010 used by the NRC for plants in this category.

Additionally, the NRC has identified a substantive cross-cutting issue in the area of problem identification resolution.

While you have implemented a range of substantial corrective actions to address the cross-cutting theme, these actions have yet to prove effective in mitigating the continuing trend, the NRC said in its letter to PG&E. We will monitor your progress in addressing this cross-cutting issue through baseline inspections, including semi-annual trend reviews and the biennial problem identification and resolution team inspection. This substantive cross-cutting issue will remain open until we determine that corrective actions have resulted in sustained improved performance.

Baseline inspections are performed by two NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and by inspection specialists from the Region IV office in Arlington, Texas.

Current performance information for Diablo Canyon Unit 1 is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/DIAB1/diab1_chart.html. Information for Unit 2 is available at:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/DIAB2/diab2_chart.html.

The NRC plans to videotape the Town Hall meeting, which will be broadcast at a later date on SLO-Span, the San Luis Obispo County government cable access channel.

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.