Press Release-III-07-018, - NRC to Discuss 2006 Performance Assessment for Clinton Nuclear Power Plant

Press Release-III-07-018 - NRC to Discuss 2006 Performance Assessment for Clinton Nuclear Power Plant

ML071240162
Person / Time
Site:	Clinton
Issue date:	05/04/2007
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region II
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-III-07-018
Download: ML071240162 (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-07-018 May 4, 2007 CONTACT: Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 NRC TO DISCUSS 2006 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT FOR CLINTON NUCLEAR POWER PLANT The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Exelon Generation Co. on Wednesday, May 9, to discuss the agencys assessment of safety performance for last year at the Clinton Nuclear Power Plant. The plant is located near Clinton, Ill.

The meeting, which will be open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at Vespasian Warner Public Library, 310 N. Quincy St., Clinton. The NRC staff will present the results of the assessment and be available to respond to questions and comments from the public before the close of the meeting.

The NRC continually reviews the performance of the Clinton plant and the nations other commercial nuclear power facilities, NRC Region III Administrator James Caldwell said. This meeting will provide an opportunity for a discussion of 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/clin_2006q4.pdf.

The NRCs assessment concluded that the Clinton 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.

During the year, there was one white inspection finding - an issue of low to moderate importance to safety - associated with how water drains from a storage tank for emergency cooling systems and its effect on the cooling systems. The NRC plans to conduct an inspection to review the plants handling of the issue and its corrective actions.

All other inspection findings and performance indicators for Clinton during 2006 were determined to be green. As a result of this performance, 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 emergency preparedness, component design engineering, problem identification and resolution, equipment inspection, and transportation and waste handling.

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

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/CLIN/clin_chart.html.

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.