Press Release-I-14-033, NRC Plans Public Meeting for Sept. 3 on Results of Inspection Conducted at Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant

Press Release-I-14-033: NRC Plans Public Meeting for Sept. 3 on Results of Inspection Conducted at Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant

ML14237A586
Person / Time
Site:	Susquehanna
Issue date:	08/25/2014
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region I
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Category:Press Release
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Press Release-I-14-033
Download: ML14237A586 (1)

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No: I-14-033 August 25, 2014 CONTACT: Diane Screnci, 610

-337-5330

Neil Sheehan, 610

-337-5331 NRC Plans Public Meeting for Sept. 3 on Results of Inspection Conducted at Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold a public meeting Sept. 3 to provide the results of a team inspection performed recently at the Susquehanna Unit 2 nuclear power plant. The inspection was done in response to a decline in safety performance at the Salem Township (Luzerne County), Pa.,

facility, as reflected in changes to a pair of performance indicators used by the NRC.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. at the Susquehanna Energy Information Center, located at 634 Salem Blvd.

, in Berwick, Pa. There will be an opportunity for members of the public to ask questions of NRC staff or offer comments prior to the meeting's adjournment.

Susquehanna Unit 2, which is owned and operated by PPL, has been under additional NRC oversight by virtue of the performance indicators for unplanned scrams (shutdowns) per 7,000 hours0 days <br />0 hours <br />0 weeks <br />0 months <br /> of operation and for unplanned scrams with complications crossing the green/white threshold. (The NRC uses a color

-coded system to assess plant performance. In the case of performance indicators, green signifies acceptable performance, while indicators at the white, yellow or red levels result in increasing levels of NRC scrutiny.)

The Unit 2 performance indicator for unplanned scrams turned white on Sept. 14, 2013. The Unit 2 performance indicator unplanned scrams with complications turned white in the fourth quarter of 2012. This led to the plant moving to the Degraded Cornerstone Column of the NRC's Action Matrix

. From July 14 through July 31, a team of NRC inspectors reviewed PPL's root cause evaluation of the issues that contributed to the performance indicator changes; any corrective actions put in place by the company; and its assessment of whether the problems impacted safety culture reviews and other areas of plant operations. The NRC would have to be satisfied with PPL progress in all of these areas prior to returning the plant to the normal level of oversight.

The inspection report documenting any findings will be issued within 45 days of the Sept. 3 meeting.